More Cusco

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We have seen the city of Cusco now from horseback, from a bus, and plenty from walking around this hilly town. We rode the caballos (horses, for those muy gringos) up some very steep, rocky hills, through the forests of Eucalyptus trees, and around the Inca ruins that surround the city. If anyone thinks Brian has lots of gas...these horses put him to shame. Practically every step these caballos were letting it fly...but our exertion fart-filled journey was really fun. We saw the countryside, the ruins, and just had the feeling that we were experiencing the country from a unique perspective. One of the ruins above the city is called Saqsaywaman is awesome, it overlooks the entire city, and is made of these perfectly cut stones (limestone), and was used for worship. It looks like a military fort in ways, and so thought the Spanish when they arrived, but it was actually used for Inca religious purposes. Check out the picture of Rebecca with the Inca in full attire.
Yesterday we went for a walk with a Shaman woman from South Africa who showed us the area around the ruins and gave us another perspective to consider...an unforgettable experience. We took some pictures of her garden and house...
Tomorrow we leave for our 4-day trek to Machu Picchu, so we took it easy today. We missed out on the rafting, but we may get another chance after the trek. We went to the place where we needed to pay for the rafting trip and it was closed...the whole siesta break is a little tricky sometimes.
We have also included some pictures of the local Inca people, who sell their goods EVERYWHERE! The people here are so friendly, so its fun to shop and interact with them. We ordered food last night with a big group of fellow travelers and had it delivered to the hostel. The guy delivering the food even came inside, dished things up for us, ran back to the restaurant to get my spaghetti he forgot...and ran back (@ 11,500ft remind you) with a smile on his face and happy to help!
Anyways, you won't hear from us for 4-5 days, because we´ll be on our trek, but we will post another blog when we get back.

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Photos

Rebecca & Friend
Inca in full attire at Saqsaywaman

Shadow hands @ Saqsaywaman
cool shot at sundown

Lesley´s House
Beautiful adobe house and garden

flower
Flower del San Pedro cactus

Comments

[Dad]

Happy Independence Day
Thanks for the pics and note. We saw some awesome fireworks right here in Palm Desert last night, and wondered what you two would be doing. Happy to hear from you and your "exersions"? Love, Dad

[Frank]

Having fun
Sounds like you guys are having fun...