The Market that Time Forgot

There is a weekly regional farmers market in the town of Urubamba, which is about a 20 minute drive by “combi”. The combi’s are essentially mini-vans that operate as taxi’s/busses. The seat 12, but the one I was on started out with 16 people, then the driver decided to pick up a few more riders along the way (hence the role of bus) pushing the total to 20. When we came to a slight incline of no more than 2% the vehicle could hardly make it up the hill. I was the only gringo.

The regional market was like a walk into the past. Most of the scenes could have been 25, 50, 100, or even 150 years ago. In many ways, the Peruvian Andes are a place where time has stood still. I walked around the market for an hour or so, and did not see one other tourist, gringo, or person with a camera.