Day in Pisac!

Today is turning out to be yet another great day!! My dad and I got up early and caught a bus to Pisac a town about 40 mins away in the Sacred Valley. The bus ride probably took over an hour though because it kept stopping every time someone on the sidewalk indicated they wanted to get on. It took us a half hour to get out of town, when it should only take about 5 minutes. It was fun though!!

In Pisac we hit up the local market. Which was really neat, but quite similar to the market in Cusco, except it was outside but it was still nice to walk around and see what the locals had to offer. Today was probably the hotest day yet so it was really nice to be outside, however the shade from the stands was also very welcome. After we got sick of being hassled at the market we hiked part way up a mountain with Inka ruins to take in the view. We wanted to go all the way to the top, where there were Inka buildings but decided not to since we need to be in tip top shape for the hike tomorrow. After having taken a few pictures we rushed back down the mountain because the weather looked threatening. Luckily it only started raining with about 5 minutes to go in our descent.

Before my dad and I left we read that on average it rains 18 days in Cusco in January. We were kind of worried that the poor weather would dampen our time here. So far it has rained every day but has not impeded on anything we have wanted to do. It hasn´t rained for more than an hour everyday and the rest of the time the weather is gorgeous.

We had lunch at a pretty neat place. They cook almost everything in a huge woodstove about the size of a small bedroom. When we got there, there were fresh epanadas that had just come out so we had those for lunch. Beside the woodstove was a pen of guinea pigs (Cuy in spanish). Unfortunately the fate of those Cuy lay inside the woodstove. It is very peruvian to eat Cuy and they are often sold fully cooked at the markets. I haven´t tried it and I´m not quite sure if I will, my dad plans on it though.

In Pisac we also took a ¨cab¨ to drive us around the town. The cab was actually a 3 wheel motorcycle with 2 seats side by side behind the driver. The driver ended up taking us on a dirt road to show us the construction of some houses. They make their own bricks out of clay, straw and water. It takes about 3 days for them to dry and be ready to be part of a wall. It was a very bumpy ride but was very interesting.

After the cab ride we caught a bus back to town. And here I am now.

Tonight we have an orientation for the hike and we are getting picked up outside our hotel at 5:45 tomorrow morning. We get back to Cusco on the 12th, and there will be lots to write about!