We're in Cusco! Part 2

Yesterday we were picked up at 8am for the second part of our city tour. After curving through the mountain roads for some time, we stopped at small market full of beautiful souvenirs. Unfortunately, none of us had many Soles left to buy things with, but with the small change we had, we took some fun pictures with a local woman, her alpacas, and a small lamb!

We then continued on for about another hour until we reached Pisac. It was a bit of a hike to get to the top, but worth it! And it was great to get the excercise in the fresh Cusco air.

After we hiked back down, we got back in our tour bus and headed to a large market area, with more local crafts.

It was here that we saw more local women who had the world's cutest baby goats

It was two Soles well spent!

Since it was lunch time, we stopped at a restaurant. The outside was so cute, and they had two macaws and some parrots right outside the entrance.

Inside we were greeted by a wonderful buffet, filled with lots of Peruvian dishes. I tried alpaca meat there - it was good!

After lunch, we traveled to Ollantaytambo. This archeological site is at the top of the terraces that the Inca people would develop for their farming on the steep hillside. So, in order to reach the stone structures at the top, we had to climb up many stairs - early practice for Machu Picchu! Once at the top, we were able to see more of the incredible stone work that the Incas are so famous for. Also, more amazing scenery below!

And the cloud here are incredibly beautiful against the striking blue sky!

When leaving Ollantaytambo, we picked up two new passengers. Two professional Peruvian muscians played music for us as we headed to our next stop. They used one bass drum, a South American guitar (called a charango), a panpipe, and an indian flute. It was so fun listening to their music, and they even played a few Beatles songs!

Finally, we stopped at a town called Chinchero. We got to walk through the small streets until we reached an open grass square, where the local women were selling their goods on large blankets on the ground. We arrived just as the sun was setting, and since there weren't many tourists, it was a very relaxing area.

We then entered one of the oldest cathedrals in the area (no pictures were allowed inside). The entire ceiling was painted by the Incas, along with many classic catholic mural imitations.

An intersting thing about the murals is that because the local were replicating them, instead of drawing the traditional angel wings, they drew macaw wings instead! And I made another doggie friend here - what a cute little face :)

On the drive home we could see a mountain in the distance with a snowcap.

We arrived back at our hotel around 8pm - it was such a long day! Definitely worth it though, we had so much fun.