Sad to say goodbye :(

a llama.


Overlooking the main square of Machu Picchu. The acoustics here are perfect. It echoes so everyone would be able to hear.

Today´s post will include pictures from both yesterday and today at Machu Picchu...

In front of the sign for our hotel

We woke up bright and early this morning after having a great time last night. After blogging we went to dinner at the lodge. We both split beef skewers to start. Dad had beef tenderloin and I had Alpaca tenderloin. For dessert, dad had chocolate cake with mint ice cream and i had fried bananas. Yum.

Part of the main plaza of Machu Picchu with Wyna picchu in the background, to your right. It means "young mountain"

Dad woke up this morning not feeling so well in the stomach department but we decided to try and make it out to Machu Picchu by sunrise anyway. We went out there and hiked around for a bit. It was overcast and cloudy so the sunrise wasnt exactly what happened but it was still awesome. We went back to the Lodge for breakfast, ate and then headed back. Dad and I parked ourselves on one of the terraces of Machu Picchu and just absorbed it all. We just relaxed and took in the sun. It´s pretty surreal being there. It looks like something out of Jurrasic Park. It just looks so unreal.

The sun temple. On the two soltices the sun shines through the windows and lands exactly on the altar where the Inkas would give offereings to the Sun.

overlooking Machu Picchu. At the bottom of the picture are the terraces used for farming in the Inka times.

After, we decided to try and hike to the very top of the citadel. Once we got up there, 8 llamas were there to greet us. It was pretty cool (and scary...c´mon their hooves are sharp). We stayed a while longer and finally it was time to catch the bus back down the mountain. I really didnt want to leave. I mean I´ve been dreaming of going to Machu Picchu for 5 years now and to have it actually happen seems like a dream. So it sucked to have to walk away. As we were boarding the bus we saw Miguel (our guide from yesterday) and he wished us good luck on the rest of our journey.

Machu Picchu

The bus ride down took us back to the village of Aguas Caliente. We hung around in the main square people watching and hiked up to the thermal baths there. The town is a pretty unique place. We decided to try and squeeze lunch in before catching our train. We ate at this little restaurant near the station. Dad had a taco and I got fried chicken tenders. Dad was pretty brave eating Mexican food considering his track record throughout the day with eating and trips to the baño. We rushed through lunch and got on our train.

You can see the bus route up the mountain. Notice all the switchbacks!

The train ride was fairly uneventful except when the workers put on crazy masks and went down the aisles dancing or put on a fashion show of alpaca sweaters to Abba´s "Dancing Queen". Overall a good time to be had by all. We pulled into the station praying that our bags were still at "El Albergue" where we had left them. Thankfully the guy remembered us (He was like a Peruvian Jay Leno) and our bags were safe. He called a taxi for us to Urumbamba.

The little girl from breakfast yesterday. Check out her blingin candy bracelet

The taxi driver picked us up and we haggled over the price to take us. Unfortunately he didnt speak any english so it was all in Español. We finally ended up on 30 soles (US$10) and were off. We arrived in Urumbamba a half hour later at our hotel, Sol Y Luna.

Our bungalow. Second from the left. #17

Our hotel is actually made up of 30 or so different bungalows. There are also tennis courts, a spa and a ranch with horses on the grounds. Its like a little compound really. It´s really pretty and will be relaxing. Dad and I walked out to the ranch earlier and saw that there was a little pony. When we asked the worker when it was born he told us "Dos Dias". Two days old!!

So now we are heading back to the room to relax or in dad´s case pass out and try and recover. Tomorrow we head to Pisac where we will see the ruins and the famous market there on Sunday morning. It should be great!

Adios!

notice: these are only a small fraction of the pictures we have from Machu Picchu. Pictures cannot describe the wonder and beauty of the place. If we were to put them all up it would take over the blog. Hopefully we will find someway to send a link to our online albums. Thanks for reading!

"Hold on to your hats and glasses cuz this here's the wildest ride in the wilderness..."- Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Disneyland

First off, let me start with the bad news. No pictures today :( We can access this computer's USB port so you are gonna have to wait in suspense until tomorrow. "Although the pictures cant tell you...(shakes his head)..."- DadWe started off this morning bright and early. We woke up at 6, packed the rest of our things in our bags (which we left at our hotel in Ollantaytambo because it was too big [Dad: "Thats what she said"]) and went downstairs for breakfast. We had delicious pancakes with banana. While we were eating, the cook's daughter peeked around the corner so of course the candyman sprang into action. She sat with us through breakfast and yelled "Caio! Amigos" when we left. She couldnt have been more than 3. We boarded the Orient Express and left the station at 7:45. This train leads all the way from Cusco to the gateway to Machu Picchu, Aguas Caliente. We picked it up half way down in Ollantaytambo. We were seated in the midst of a tour group with some guy from Texas who thought he was a comedian. guh. About halfway through Dad got this little box to pop up over the pictures he took so of course he stressed over that the rest of the way. The train ride was awesome thought, taking us through several of Peru's climates. The whole time I kept expecting to go through the primeival world or grand canyon like at Dland but no such luck. I have to admit…this was a tad bit better.We pulled into Aguas Caliente and unlike the other people on the train we were on our own. It is an awesome little town full of markets and merchants selling their wares. We ran to teh bus station hoping to get up to our hotel (which is located at the entrance to Machu Picchu, the only hotel you can get that is actually around the citadel). Only, we found out that not only did we need to purchase bus tickets up but our entrance to the citadel as well! We rushed around (me using my limited spanish skills) and finally found the place. We were unsure as to whether or not the hotel had tickets for us but decided to buy them anyway. We ran to the bus and were finally on our way.
After the 15 minute bus ride up the hill we finally pulled up to our hotel. It is literally right outside the entrance gates to Machu Picchu. We are staying at the Machu Picchu Sanctuary Lodge, an Orient Express hotel. They showed us to our room (which thankfully has a bathroom...when we booked it we were told it would have a shower but no toilet). We dropped our stuff off and made our way into Machu Picchu. Nothing can prepare you for a glimpse of Machu Picchu. It is much bigger than I could have ever imagined. Even if we could post pictures tonight, it would not do it justice. We wandered around for a while just getting the feel for the place. It was a beautiful experience just to walk around taking it all in. There are llamas who live in the citadel and simply graze all day. You have to watch where you walk, there not coffee beans, its llama caca. There were a lot of tourists though.Luckily we found some camera guru who fixed dad's camera. Then we went back to the room to rest before our tour which was scheduled at 2pm.Dad wasnt feeling well so we hung around the room before heading to the lunch buffet. All of our food and drinks are included in the price of the room (which explains why dad and I are sitting at the bar right now drinking and blogging. We are trying to get some of dad's $815 back by drinking it back. So far we are at $38 but the night is young. We're aiming for $200 ;) The lunch buffet had a whole roasted pig (with the head I might add) and was delicious! After that we headed to the room to rest and figure out what movie to get from the front desk tonight.

We met our guide Miguel at 2 in the lobby. He took us around the citadel but first made us sit down so he could explain that Machu Pichu was a sacred place, a place for the Inka people to connect with nature and their gods. It was a place for them to learn. He equated it to a University. He said around 700 people lived in the citadel but only stayed for a limited time. He showed us the sundial the Inkas used to keep their calendar, the guest house for visiting Inka royalty and the Sun temple. He took us all around Machu Pichu for 2 hours before taking us to the edge of the cliffs and explaining to us the importance of Coca. I didn't let on that dad was actually a coca expert and recovering addict but listened intently anyway. When he offered us a taste of the coca of course dad perked up like a fat lady when they bring out the birthday cake at a kids birthday party. I regret to inform you readers, that I also succumb to the peer pressure and partook in the coca myself. It wasn't half bad but didn't really like it. Dad had been dying all day; he hadn't been feeling well but hung in there like a trooper but now claims that the coca made him feel better.


So for now we have returned back to the hotel. Dad is feeling real good and muttering things for me to add into the blog. We have dinner reservations at 7 and then we'll retire to the room to watch movies and relax. We have an early morning tomorrow, hoping to watch the sunrise over Machu Picchu.

Tomorrow we take the train back to Ollantaytambo where we will continue on for a day of relaxation in Urumbamba. Hopefully I will be able to post another entry tomorrow of just pictures from Machu Picchu but I don't know what the internet situation will be. Be patient. Thanks for reading!

Adios!

"I like Deep Purple...and the beach boys"- Carlos

NOTICE TO ALL READERS: If you double click any picture it will get bigger. That is all.

Dear Readers...tonight for the first tme we come to you from an internet cafe. We have arrived in the small town of Ollantaytambo. But the journey to it is the real story.

We left our hotel in Cusco after a good night's sleep (thanks to cough medicine and Tylenol PM on Dad's plate. We woke in a frenzy though because we were late getting down to breakfast. We packed up and ran downstairs to grab a bite to eat. We finished our hectic breakfast and met our guide for the day, Carlos in our hotel.

Dad and I in front of the Sacred Valley

Carlos bagan our whirlwind tour by taking us through Cusco out to the Sacred Valley. The Sacred Valley is located a little north of Cusco. It is mainly agricultural but holds some of the most amazing ruins in Peru. It is also the gateway to the mother of all ruins: Macchu Picchu. On the way out of town Carlos pulled over to let us watch a guy bungee jump. From there we blazed through the countryside. Carlos would pull off every so often to show us something new or let us take a picture. His english was fairly good but still lacking which made for a fun day. He pulled over and showed us the Andes mountain range. He explained that how 2 years ago, the Andes were covered in ice, glaciers in fact. Now there are only a few snowcapped peaks left, the effects of Global warming.

The Andes behind us.

We moved on to the town of Chinchero. This is a small town know for its textile market. We pulled in and everyone seemed to know "papa Carlos". He took us through the main square where we played some music with a local merchant. (Dad and I played some sort of percussion instument made out of hoofs or beaks or something). Then we went into the church of Chincheros. Yet again we learned that when the Spanish came into Peru they destroyed the Inka's temples, only to use the stones to build their own churches on top. This church had frescoes on the cielings. We then went out back to what was remaining of the Inka ruins. It was beautiful and built right into the hillside. Then Carlos made us run across the field with him so we could see what it was like to breathe at that elevation. Yea...thanks Carlos. We tried some local potatoes (which tasted of rocks), learned that during the time of the Inkas there were over 3,000 different types of potatoes and even learned the process of textile weaving. We were taken back into a pueblo where a girl showed us how first they take a root that they grind up (on a cheese grater) and it turns into soap. They clean the wool, spin it and begin making the dyes. The dyes are all made out of natural elements (insects, plants, minerals, roots and even salt.) It was pretty amazing and something we wouldnt have seen without Papa Carlos.

She smashed some bugs off of that cactus behind her to make the red. Add salt and you get orange.

From there Carlos took us to the salt mines of Maras. These mines are cascading pools with little toughs bringing the water (which comes from a thermal spring in the nearby mountains) down into various levels of pools. This was something taht was used by the Inkas. There were around 2500 little holes that deposit the water into the pools. It was very interesting. After 28 days, the water evaporates leaving salt. This salt is not exported. It is used only in Cusco and the surrounding areas.

The Salt flats at Maras

After this Carlos took us to Moray. Moray is made up of 14 cocentric circles all elading down into the earth. It created 14 different terraces. These terrances were used for biological and agricultural laboratories. At one point the Inka's had over 300 types of Orchids grown there. They say that the temperature drops 5 degrees for every terrance you descend.

Moray

In the meantime, everywhere we drive through the valley is showing us the real Peru. It is all agricultural areas, really country. Donkeys carrying corn on the side of the road, dogs running amuck and 4 wheeling in Carlos' little car (it was smaller than a taurus. lets just leave it at that.)

Check out the kid. Dad wanted a ride. Luckily the child locks were on.

Carlos found a spot for lunch in Urumbamba, the last town before the city we arestaying in tonight, Ollantaytambo. It was an Andian buffet. And it was delicious. We ate several types of potato, alpaca, chicken, rice pudding with purple corn syrup, flan and the most delicious soup we had ever had. It was delicious.

From there Carlos brought us up to Ollantaytambo. He had put on music earlier, and i think it was music he thought we liked. When we asked him he said "I like Deep Purple and the Beach Boys". As we were flying past the base of the Andes mountains and countryside the soothing sounds of "Hotel California" came on his radio. It was quite an existential experience for me: Here listening to a song that I have listened to so many times in the States, but now listening to it in Peru. Listening to it while passing other cars on the wrong side of the road. Listening to it while whizzing past glaciers. But there was no where in the world I would rather be. It was one of those moments you know you are gonna look back on in time and remember forever. And it was so simple. It was perfect.

We pulled into Ollantaytambo (which cant even really be called a town) just aroudn 4:30. The "town" is one small square with restaurants and internet cafes. Its the smallest town we've ever been in; smaller than Dixon or Los Gatos. I'm talkin small. So we turned down this small road and came to the train station. The streets arent even cobblestone, but rocks. There are motorcars (or as Carlos called them 'taxis del Cholos´). They are basically a mix between a motorcycle and a rickshaw. We hope we can get one back to our hotel :) As we got closer to the station Carlos found that the street leading to our hotel (which is actually on the train platform..something we knew before hand. dont worry) was closed. After arguing with the cops for 10 minutes (smart move Carlos) he decided to park the car and we walked our bags toward the hotel. We had to go through the station to get to our hotel. We checked in and now found out that our bags are too big to take to Macchu Picchu. So now we will leave them at our hotel and go up only with our backpacks.

Ollantaytambo...pretty much all of it.

Our hotel is comfortable, simple but enough. There are hammocks in the back and a game where you try to throw golden coins into corresponding holes, or a frog's mouth (la rana). Dad killed me but whatever. Now we are on the lookout for somewhere to eat dinner then will go back to the hotel to rest before our big day tomorrow. We leave on the train to Macchu Picchu at 7:45 am. I cant wait. With that said we must be going. Today was definitely a good day.

Attention readers: We REALLY appreciate all of your comments. We wish you were all here with us too...but sorry we cant replay to you all. But know that we are reading them and thinking of you all. We appreciate hearing from you. It's nice to come on the computer and read some english for a change :) Keep commenting!! We love logging in everyday to see who's reading!

"Caca Agua...see I know Spanish"-Dad

Well well well. This morning we woke up at 6:30 am in order to meet Norka, the lady we booked our Inti Raymi tickets through, at 7:15 in the lobby. Dad woke up sick and now I am paranoid. It's just a cold though so no need to send the mounties. We ran downstairs grabbed a quick bite to eat and went to wait in the lobby. Well, she was on Peru time so she showed up around 7:45. We walked a block down to where we were supposed to meet the other members of our party.

First, some backstory. Dad and I decided that we wanted to attend the Inti Raymi pretty much as soon as we decided to come to Peru. The Inti Raymi is a major Inkan festival which celebrates the winter solstice and allows the Inka's to give thanks to one of their gods: the Sun. We looked for tickets in the U.S. but couldnt really find anything because they dont go on sale (for tourists) until a week before the festival. Luckily we met Norka who was the sister of our cab driver from the airport. She offered us an English tour with seats in the best section of the field. After shopping around we took 'em.

Flash forward, to dad and I sitting in a courtyard with a mother and son from Spain and a family from California (who's father was originally from Peru) who is fluent in Spanish, and a tour guide speaking only in Spanish. Yikes. Luckily the son, Ivan, who is 24 years old offered to translate for us. I was pretty okay following along but dad was pretty much lost (whats new). The whole family helped fill in the blanks when I came up short. We were given a DVD, informational pamphlet, and the best, a radio receiver that was supposed to translate for everyone since the entire ceremony takes in Quechua, the native peruvian language (a mix of Spanish and Inkan).

Dante, Our Guide

The first portion of the celebration takes place at Koricancha, the temple we visited a few days ago. We all waited along the fence and got to know each other a little better. We were packed in like sardines. Finally the horn blew and represetatives of the 4 regions of the inkan empire took the field below Koricancha. Cusco was the capital of the Inkan empire because it was the place that these 4 regions connected. There were warriors, messengers and accolytes from each region, the Inka's wife and daughters and finally, the man himself: The Inka. The Inka is the son of the Sun. He ruled over all the Inka's and lead today's ceremony. It was wonderful to watch all of the different regions displayed with different colors all together on the field.

at Koricancha

After initiating the ceremony at Koricancha we hurried to the Plaza del Armas for the second portion of the ceremony. And by hurried I mean we tried to move through the other sardines as best we could without getting lost. We hurried up to wait. We waited, and waited, and waited at the Plaza del Armas. All the while the masses were pushing and inching their ways into our laps. Finally the Inka processed in and told us all that we should proceed to Sacsayhuman (pronounced "Sexy Woman", dad just likes saying it for that reason) for the official ceremony.

Plaza del Armas

We body checked people out of our way to get to our van and all loaded in, after a potty and water break. The van began the accent up the hill, along with every other van in Cusco. Our guide told us different facts about Cusco and Macchu Picchu, translated of course by Ivan, but it helped to pass the time.

Finally we made our way to Sacsayhuman. This ancient fortress is located high above Cusco. It overlooks the entires city. It is made of stones that were brought there by the Inka people from 5-10 km away, this without a wheel. We made our way through the throngs of people and found our seats. It was like woodstock, people everywhere, selling hats, food, and native Cusqueños (residents of Cusco) sitting on the hill high above the field. We found our seats and found that something had gone right, we had the best seats in the house. We were dead center right in front of the Inkas throne. Our guide left to get our bag lunches while we took the time to people watch. The ceremony began with everyone parading in, but while this was happening we heard a commotion behind us. They had allowed the Cusquños to take seats on the hills behind us! It was a freakin zoo, like the running of the bulls or something. This massive group of Cusquños ran down the mountain all fighting for spots on the hill. At last the ceremony went on.

The hills behind us.

The ceremony included several sacrafices. The first was an offering of Chicha, or corn beer, to both the sun and the mamapacha, the earth. Next a llama was sacrificed (but not really) and its heart and lungs were examined. There was one point where the Inka asked everyone present to raise their arms and pray to the sun god for warmth. The clouds at the time were blocking the sun out and it was actually quite cold. As I turned to dad and told him to raise his arms, believe it or not, the clouds parted and the sun shone down. Dad is convinced it was him but I have my doubts. It was truly a moment I will never forget.

The llama hart and lungs

Throughout the ceremony I had tried to pick up this promised "english transmition" with no luck. No matter how many times I went through the radio stations it wasnt there. As we left the field I joined our guide in cursing the "mentirosas", the liars.We headed back to the van with the other thousands of people who were in attendance. We waited for the van with our group and finally boarded. It took us over an hour to make the normally 10 minute drive back to Cusco. The whole time we chatted with everyone in our group. While talking about cold drinks (or lack thereof) dad asked Ivan if he had been drinking the water here. Ivan said he didnt because he was scared of getting sick. To which dad replied "si, caca agua...see, I can speak Spanish". Ivan cracked up.

The ceremony was the most fascinating part of our trip so far, in my opinion. The Peruvians are forced to lead dual lives because of the past. They have deep ties to the Catholic church from when the Spanish colonized here yet still maintain ties to their Inkan roots. It truly is a situation like very few in the world.

And now, after getting dad some cold medicine (we think) at the Peruvian pharmacy we will be hitting the hay. Well in dad's case passing out of Codine purchased over the counter! Hay Oh! Tomorrow we will be heading out to the sacred valley. We will stop in Moray, Chincheros and end our day in Urumbamba: our last stop before Macchu Picchu. I'm not sure what the computer situation will be but hopefully we will be able to catch you up again. Thanks for reading!

Adios!

Dancing in the streets

Dear readers, tonight we are on a time crunch. The masses have descended upon Cusco. It is the night before the Inti Raymi festival and it seems as if the population of Cusco has doubled, or even tripled.

We started this morning by sleeping in for the first time on our trip. This day was very South American. We took everything at our own pace. Dad woke up twitching so I figured the coca was out of his system. So we needed to get him more pronto. We walked up to San Blas, the artisan neighborhood, and found the store we had been searching for: The Coca Shop. They had everything here: coca leaf, coca candy, coca chocolate, coca toffee, coca cookies, coca brownies and even coca ice cream (the ice cream kinda looked like a turd in a cone, but who am i to judge). We bought a few things (and dad tried some samples...) and were on our merry, or in dad's case very merry, way. Now his mission is to ship it out of the country. My mission is not to be involved.

coca must stunt your growth. look at that door...

We started the morning at the Cathedral. The cathedral is the main focal point in Cusco, it is the most important part of the Plaza del Armas. The Cathedral is actually made up of three different churches. Each more elaborate than the next. My favorite was the main church. It is still used today; Mass is held at 6am and 10am every day. The walls of the main church are filled with miniature shrines devoted to various saints. But unfortunately no photos were allowed in the church (that doesnt mean dad didnt try...again. but this time they didnt come out) There was a special choir loft with individual seats carved out of wood for each member. It was hands down the most beautiful church I have ever seen (but LMU's is a close second). The next portion of the cathedral even had some underground catacombs holding the remains of prominent Inka and Spanish leaders of Cusco.

After we left the Cathedral, we made our way to the Museo del Inka. This museum is home to many artifacts that have been excavated from around Peru. It even had 8 mummies, which kind of freaked me out but whatev. The Inkas were amazing people. Not only did they build homes and buildings that were earthquake proof but had tweezers all the way back in 400 a.c.

From there we decided we needed a really good lunch. Of course this meant going to the store to buy some rolls, salami, chips and 2 crush sodas. Hands down, best lunch we've had. While going to get a refill on my crush dad bought a tamale for 50 centimos, or US$0.15. He says it was delish. We left after lunch to explore the town.

There was yet again another festival in the Plaza so we watched for a while but we made our way to Calle del Sol, a main avenue off the Plaza. This is where the real party was. It was wall to wall locals, selling everything you could think of. Off the streets! There were ladies frying eggs, french fries and meats right on the street. And fresh squeezed juices from ladies who peeled the fruit on the spot. Dad scored a shish kabob from a woman cooking on the street and followed it up with some fresh pineapple. yum! The smells and colors are something that can never be described.

carne on a stick. what kind? who knows.

We went to dinner at this place in the Plaza del Armas called Inka Grill. It was the best dinner we have had yet! Dad had a pisco sour and fettucinne with proscuitto, and I had a club sandwich. superb. We walked around the Plaza some more just watching the amazing sights around us. We decided to head back to the real party on Calle del Sol. There were so many people; it was like a concert, with everyone pushing and cramped together. There were firecrackers going off and the smell of fried eggs and fruits in the air. Men with megaphones put on sugar cane poles yelling "chocolates, 50 centavos" while the man next to him yells into his own pole "50 centavos chocolate", but both are considerate enough to take turns.

The people here have been welcoming and friendly so far. Whenever we seem to have trouble someone is there to help us out with spanish words, directions or making room on a bench. They are filled with a pride I have never observed anywhere else and are true to their roots. It's moving to see customs that have survived not only decades, but millenia.

Tomorrow is the day that will top it all off. The festival of Inti Rymi. It is the day the Inka's pay homage to the father sun, the pachapapa. We will join thousands (200,000 approx) at the ancient fortress of Sacsayhuman up in the hills of Cusco, and we will all be connected by the events we will witness. I may not understand the language but everyone will understand the sentiment in the air. I cant wait. And with that we wish you a good night.

Adios!

Capitol: Sacramento, Governor: Arnold Schwartzenegger, Hasta La Vista, Baby.

Day 3 in Cusco: Still no sign of Kevin. Dad is begining to worry he has lost his BFF (best friend forever)

Well, we've moved on to our next hotel, Casa Andina Cathedral. We said goodbye to our ricketty door, squeeky floor and girls at the front desk who hate us for using the computer for hours at a time :) We moved this morning and got a cab to take us three blocks. But at least it only cost 3 soles or US$1. We arrived here, checked in and had our breakfast. Dad thinks the french toast here is the greatest thing, personally I feel its too soggy but to each his own. After breakfast we decided to head out and try and find the famous 12 corner Inka rock. Its part of the original Inka wall that runs through Cusco. When we arrived we were told "This is the famous rock. More famous than Michael Jackson". (Dad says Michael Jack-stone...dont worry I'm rolling my eyes too) The leaf has gone to his head. This alley was also featured in "Motorcycle Diaries" for all you film buffs out there.


count the corners.

From there we decided to go find a shop that dad wanted to visit. Surprise Surprise it was a coca shop. We hiked up a giant hill (it can be seen as the first picture in yesterdays post). This area is known as San Blas and is where all the artisans lived in the heyday of Cusco. It is filled with litle shops and hotels. Dad and I hiked around taking in the scenery but damn, the shop was closed because it is the sabbath. Dad still has not recovered. Only now has he stopped crying but i'm sure upon reading this his hysterics will begin again. We went back down the hill and decided to make our way to the Plaza del Armas. We were treated to the pleasant sight of a woman peeing in the street between 2 cars. She tried to be sly but nothing gets past dad, especially if it involves bodily functions and fluids. Sorry no picture (not to say dad didnt think about taking one.)


There was another festival in the plaza today. This one involved miltary marchings, and much more Inkan influence. as we were walking around the Plaza we were stopped by a little boy who claimed to see us yesterday and we told him that we would get a shoe shine from him today. So dad took a seat on a park bench and he got to work. He told us that he was all alone and that he slept beneath Koricancha in the big field there (the ruins where we took the tour yesterday). He also told us he was trying to save up money to buy a dancing hat for his school´s show. Meanwhil a bunch of kids spotted the candyman and had heard of the crazy american handing out ring pops and grinding his teeth. So they staked out a spot to watch us. The finished product is kind of remarkable. I could do my makeup in dad´s shoes. they hurt to look at. But we gave him and his cousin some candy after paying him and were on our way.


We had lunch on a balcony above the Plaza del Armas. And when I say lunch I mean dad and i split some nachos and i had a soda and dad a pisco sour. So far we have our doubts about Peruvian food. I mean who screws up nachos? They cheese is like a powder and all of our drinks come lukewarm with barely any carbonation. But it{s a small price to pay for the experience we are having (but thats not to say I wouldnt kill someone for some chicken strips...dont forget Ranch. and a freezing cold diet coke) After lunch we parked it on a bench in the square and people watched. We noticed 2 people sitting about 50 feet up on a balcony of la compania de jesus. They were taking pictures and had a great vantage point of the festival. We spotted them soon after on a bench near by and dad went to ask them how to get up their. They gave us directions and we were off.


We bought our tickets into the church and took off Amazing Race style to find the staircase that would take us up. Eventually dad found it and we had a balcony all to ourselves. It would never be allowed or legal in the US to sit where we sat. Dad took some contraband pictures inside the church (sinner) and we continued to explore. It was a beautiful church. It was built by the Jesuits and had several murals and painting of St Ignatius Loyola (the namesake of both LMU and Ignatians Service Org) so it was a pretty special thing for me to experience.




our overlook is on the left bell tower above the man's head. that archway is where we sat.

this was the view. you can see how high we are!



inside the Compania de Jesus

After dad broke as many laws as he could inside the church, and you'll see first hand the fruits of his labors we decided to check in at the hotel. We had had problems with our power converter (thanks mom) and by problems i mean it exploded my battery charger.

***20 mins later***
Sorry readers! Dad and I just heard a parade going by our hotel so we ran out to meet them. Of course dad took forever to put on his shoes (I really need to get him some velcro ones) we ran outside to catch up only to find it was a marching band from Juliaca, near Lake Titicaca! Lord knows I cant resist a good marching band! They even played grandma's favorite song. We followed them for at least a half mile before deciding to go home. How those wind instrument players kept up is beyond me, these hills are steep and all cobblestone!







for a duck may be somebody's mother...

Where was I? Oh yea we went on a quest for a converter (Un transformador). We needed to go from the 220V they use here in Peru to the 110V we use in the U.S. We went to 2 different places and finally found it. Since we have felt perpetually hungry since arriving we caved in and went to Jack's again for some burgers. As we were waiting in line I noticed a girl 2 parties in front of us who looked oddly familiar. It ended up being Dani Dirks, a new member in Delta Zeta. Small World. Dad warned me this would happen but i didnt believe him. She is interning here in Peru for 2 months and is enjoying it a lot. We ate our burgers and busted out to cruise around the city. We ended up walking around the Plaza and went beyond to this little bakery just southwest of the Plaza. We shared a chocolate strawberry torte (the strawberries are small here, the size of rasberries) dad had a mocha and i had some half-and-half aka milk here.

We went to the market to buy some bottled waters to brush our teeth and were walking back to the hotel when a little boy approached us. he was selling finger puppets. We told him "no gracias" but he followed us and asked where we were from. Dad said the United States and he said "washington d.c.?". Dad said "California" and the brainiac responded in broken english (but better grammar then dad) with "Ahhh capitol: Sacramento. Governor: Arnold Schwartzenegger. Hasta La Vista Baby. I'll Be Back. Terminator 2". This kid was all of about 10! He was pretty legit. We gave him a ring pop and he went on his merry way. After that amazing encounter we walked back to the hotel, watched some good ole fashioned drag racin until we heard the band and now our night has come to an end.

Adios!

who can make the sunrise, sprinkle it with goo...(and chew) the candyman can

So...last night was good. Except for the part where we blew up my (well acually it was Dad´s) battery charger for my camera. So this morning after being woken up from MUCH needed sleep we decided to head off and try to find another. We went downstairs, ate our free breakfast and took off . Before we did, Dad grabbed a handful of coca leaves and tried chewing them. I´m scared this will become a habit and an intervention may be necessary. Right now he is just twitching in the corner and picking his head but we have more important things to deal with now. Finally we ended up buying one from some hole -in-the-wall store and we thought we had lucked out and found one. Little did we know that when we turned the corner to buy our tourist tickets that we came upon a WHOLE STREET with friggin camera shops. Every place was selling the exact thing we bought. Sonofa.

So we bough our tourist ticket and took advantage by going to see a convent near the Plaza del Armas. It was pretty cool. the nuns have to stay there all the time. but we saw one. she was a rebel. So then we made our way through the Plaza del Armas where there was another festival going on. But dad did not enjoy it as much as the last :( We then wandered around a bit and went to the history museum. It was legit and had a bunch of colonial art from the 17th century. Sorry no pictures were allowed.

We decided to wander around some more when what should we come upon? But the Calle de Santa Clara! Of course Dad felt the need to score some more coca to chew, this time a whole sack for 1 sole (no kidding its really a problem.) Dad is jazzed about being the candyman so he is hounded by kids. I fear that soon he will be handing our coca to gain more followers. We made our way down and happened to find the market that dad had been really jazzed about going to.

if not for dad, think of the kids...

As we made our way into the market we were the only tourists there. It was all locals. The market is seperated into different sections. There was a meat section, fruits, crafts, fish. You name it, it was there (except tourists i guess). The meat section featured everyone´s favorite: whole pig heads. Whole pigs, whole chickens. The Peruvians are nothing if not economical. They dont waste anything. The colors were beautiful. We made our way to the back where the fresh lunch is served in the hopes of finding this soup that we had seen on "Anthony Bourdain". After to talking to um...pretty much everyone we decided to ask one more lady. Luckily there was a man who helped me fill in the Spanish I couldnt remember and the word for potatoes came to me right before we got to her stall (papas BTW). We ordered two bowls of soup for 2 soles ( aka US$ 0.60, each, holla). It was pretty delicious. It was just broth But you just belly up to the bar and start scarfing.

We decided to try and take in one of the sacred places in Cusco and made our way to Quoricancha. This was a main temple for the Inka people of Cusco. We luckilly found a guy who gave us a private tour for 20 soles ($US7). The temple was for the Sun, moon, stars, ranbow and lightning gods. But when us Spaniards came we decided to destroy their temple and build a church over it, a-holes. He showed us how to decifer between Inkan walls and counterfeit wannabes. The Inkas used no mortars between tehir stones. And their work is amazing and done entirely by hand. It really is something that cant be described unless you can get up close and personal with it. It´s ever earthquakes proof having survived 3 major ones already. (in 1353, 1653 & 1953, every 300 years. FREAKY. the next ones comin!) Ugo, our tour guide, also let us know that the Inkas celebrated the Inti Raymi (the main festival we are here for) on June 21st, but when the Catholics came they changed it to the 24th (which it still is) in order to coincide with the feast of St. Joseph. Also that the Inkas used 3 symbols (see the picture below) to represent the upper world, the middle world and the lower world: The condor, The Puma and the snake. And Cusco is in the shape of a Puma, since it was the capital of the Inka world. It was definitely a highlight.

After that we meandered around a bit more and made our way back to the Plaza del Armas for dinner. We (stupidly) tried to give pizza a chance and was dissapointed, yet again. but dad claimed that if you put hot sauce and guacamole on it, it could work. The Plaza del Armas was packed! There was a concert tonight and there was literally no room to move. We grabbed some desert. (gelato, i know in Peru!) and Dad scored some more coca (please send help) . And as we were sitting in the room watching the Tony Awards (hahah Dad) when we heard fireworks going off outside. We ran outside to watch and were joined by two douchebags from Tennessee who told us "I would rather take the chance of getting Malaria then take those pills". A gem, I know. We here you are cookin in the Yay area. And here it´s 39 degrees (at night). and the computer is outside. and i somehow have to detox dad before bed. So we bid you goodnight. Until mañana.

A NOTE TO OUR READERS: you do not need to print out copies of our blog. It will be here until I decide to take it down. Thanks for reading :) (this means you grandma, love ya!)

Adios!