In Chivay (1)

Our second stop on the way to Chivay was at the highest point along the way, where everybody stops for the view. The air was thin and cold. Here, too, women had laid out piles of knitted and woven goods. I bought a brown and white striped alpaca wool jacket to go under the black felt hat I'd bought in the market in Arequipa. I paid fifty soles for it, less than twenty dollars, and I've been wearing it steadily ever since. (The picture was not taken where I bought the jacket, but some time later, at an Inca site near Cuzco).
The last part of the road to Chivay descends steeply. In the last email that he sent us, from Chivay, Asher described the terraces cut into the mountains above the town. He spent the night there, and we never found out where he slept. That was one of the mysteries that haunted us during the time he was missing.
In November, 2007, Boaz mainly stayed in Chivay while Ofer was searching for Asher with the Mountain Police. Boaz and Ofer took a room in a hostel on the town square, and when they left, the owner had refused to accept payment. She had been very involved in the search, anxious not only to help but also to show that no foul play had been involved - for the sake of the town's good name and the tourism business.
Judith bought some Christian souvenirs of Jerusalem for her, but she was out of town, and we couldn't give them to her personally.
She bought similar presents for the owners of a restaurant, relatives of the hostel's owner, who had treated Boaz and Ofer to a couple of free meals while they were there. After we ate lunch, the couple who own the restaurant and their daughter came up to the dining room to meet us. Along with the presents for them, we gave them the gifts we'd brought for the hostel owner.
Ofer translated for us as we gave the gifts and told them we were grateful for their kindness and concern.
They were very pleased with the religious items Judith had bought for them. They explained that they were "charismatic" Catholics and hoped to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
When it was time to go, I told them, through Ofer, that I very much wanted to pay for the meal we had enjoyed there, and they answered that they very much wanted to treat us to it. I accepted their hospitality.