Spending the past nine days in Cusco, I of course visited many famous sites. Machu Picchu was as amazing as expected, with countless ruins giving a real sense of scale to the mountain city. Suprisingly, it didn't feel insanely crowded, despite the average 4,000 daily tourists. The Sacred Valley, several towns to the north of Cusco, was interesting but incredibly touristy. The historic center was beautiful and peaceful outside of the Plaza de Armas, where one was always approached by someone selling somethiing.
However, even more than all the Incan ruins and natural beauty I saw, my favorite experience was without a doubt a weaving workshop I took at the Centro de Textiles Tradicionales de Cusco, a cooperative that works with ten different Cusqueño towns to preserve and promote traditional weaving practices and designs.
Essentially, the style is called "backstrap weaving'" where one anchor point is attached to a wall or post while the other is tied to a belt, or backstrap, securing the loom so that it is placed directly in front of you. The weaving itself is done by using your fingers to alternate the order of the threads while you use sticks to tighten the fabric and organize the loom.
