Peru Trip - Day Three

9 April 2010

5:45am. Wake up call. I woke up a little early. Good thing because the call was 10 minutes late. Got to the airport and checked in by 8:30am. Boarded 8:55. Flight was 9:30am. Flew to Cuzco. A 45 minute flight. A136 Airbus. Angle of attack on landing was severe. Ground met us rather than vice-versa. Landing in Cuzco around 10:15am. Altitude 9200 feet. You can definately feel the change in altitude there. I bought a souvenir hat reading "Cusco MachuPicchu." There was a young girl there who welcomed us with the traditional drink: Coca Tea.

We were told she was dressed in traditional Quechua fashion. I figured that was kind of stretching things.

We went up the Andes in a bus, as high as 12,000 feet before coming down into the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Here there were many examples of terraced mountainsides, jagged peaks, and a wide, flowing river. We followed that river to a hotel/restaurant called Posada del Inca Ycay. Here we had a buffet. lunch. I had two different types of fried potatoes, both native. Some fresh fish, chicken, and rice as well as rice pudding. Also, two cups of coffee (supplemented by bottled water - all the drinkable water in Peru is in bottles). Took good pictures of the complex.








That's Mom in front on the left, by the way.
















Then back up the trail to visit a local silversmith who showed us his wares. He showed us the difference between alpaca and baby alpaca wool, his looms, and the difference between 950 silver (almost pure) and 925 silver (more copper). He had some awesome Inca figures in silver and gold.



















I inquired about the price of these and the low end was $5,000 and the biggest was $15K.

Then we visited the famous Pisac market to look at the local wares.

My jacket was a casualty of the cat pee incident, so I thought maybe I could find a poncho. I asked a seller how much for one and she said 116 Soles (local currency), which is annotated as S./116. That is about $40. I didn't have that much but I worked her down to $18 and made a deal.







Then we went back to the hotel for a presentation on Machu Picchu by the former director of the site about its religious and spiritual meaning. Finally, dinner at the restaurant again. Appetizer was a kabob of beef, chicken, and alpaca (tasted like ostrich but more buttery), and potatoes on the side. Entree was beef stir fried with fresh onions and chiles with potatoes and rice. Dessert was chocolate cake. Our dining companions were the Abbruzios and they were excellent company.