Day 4 - Cusco, Peru

Today was by far the best day in Peru. Jenn and I got up and had breakfast at the hotel and then back on the bus for some more touring. Our first stop was to see how blankets are woven. They showed us a step by step process, from having the wool cleaned from the root of a potato to how they spin the wool to be easier to thread and then how they dye it using different minerals such as leaves, flowers, and the blood of the bugs that live in a cactus. This was very interesting and it gives us a different perspective on how these products are made.


After that we went to another Incan temple, The Sacred Valley of the Incas. On our way to this temple we stopped and saw a festival, in honor of the last day of Christmas, The Epiphany when the Three Wisemen saw baby Jesus. The streets were filled with people dancing, music, and people carrying saints around the square. Everyone was out watching this and they were all dressed up in their traditional clothing.

After that little detour we arrived at the Incan temple. Its amazing how these people carried these large rocks all the way up the mountain. We climbed up to the Sun temple where they used to worship the Sun God. There were a lot of steps to climb up, and Jenn and I joked how we were glad we took that exercise bootcamp because it helped us out a lot.


We had a nice buffet lunch outside before we went to a market. At the market the people were selling blankets, sweaters, pottery, and jewelry. This reminded me of a flea market that we go to at home. We tried to bargain a bit, but its hard when we can't speak their language very well.

There are a lot of people following you around wanting you to buy their products, even kids that are dressed up in their traditional outfits and ask for you to take a picture with them so you can give them a tip. It's sad that the parents actually push them to approach you, but they are so cute and thats why.

The tour today was really fun, and to end the day we stopped at a restaurant and had dinner. The meal was Alpaca (they are animals that are like llamas). I wasn't so sure about eating this, but I gave it a try.

It tasted just like a skirt steak, not so bad. Here is Jenn eating it:

Now we are getting ready to go to bed. We are getting up early again to catch a train to Machu Pichu, (possible New Seventh Wonder of the World). Jenn and I are really excited about this part of the trip. We'll let you know all about it.