Last day in Cusco

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So we got to our hotel thursday night after 10 and happily our luggage was already in our room for us! Showers felt great but my hair still felt diurty. By the time we got all settled it was nearly 11:30.

Kelsey was supposed to go today to Maras and Moray with our guide David from Peru Treks and he was supposed to pick her up at 9 a.m. I planned to do some handwashing, then see the Cathedral and Qoricancha and then shop in the markets. Well, David never showed up. Understandably, Kelsey was disappointed and ticked off - I don't blame her! So she ended up tagging along with me as i visited the Cathedral and Qoricancha. We got a guided tour at the Cathedral and the guide introduced us to St. Antonio, the patron saint of single women. There were piles of little notes left by his sculpture and the guide told us we could leave a note too, asking St. Antonio for a wish. After the two sites, we walked down to the end of Avenida del Sol to visit the large market there and then stopped for lunch around 2:00 on the way back to the hotel. At that point, we ran into Dave, which turned out to be fortuitous because I had emailed him earlier about meeting us for dinner that night but I got his email wrong so he didn't get it. Anyway, he was spending the day at the markets so I decided to join him as Kelsey went back to the hotel to rest up a bit. We hit a very local market first where we got some fresh orange-pineapple juice and then Dave gave me a tour of the market since he had apparently been there several times. The main thing to see were the cow snouts in the meat section - yes, actual cow snouts! I tried not to be too squeamish, but I ended up laughing quite a bit.

We also went through the more touristy part looking for gifts to buy. After that, we went to head over to the market on Avenida del Sol that Kelsey and I had visited earlier because I wanted some more time there and it was close to Dave's hotel. On the way, we stopped in some local shops and got some good laughs over the mannequins, which all had huge boobs and butts and totally emphasized the butts by having them face outwards. I also managed to buy a really cute black & white winter coat for only 85 soles! (about $30). After the market, Dave headed back to his hotel for a nap and I visited another market on my way back to our hotel. We met back up with Dave at 7:30 at a restaurant called Kusikuy recommended by one of my guidebooks. It apparently means "cute little guinea pig" in Quechua. We were practically the only people in the place, which seemed odd considering it was a Friday night. We hung out until the place closed around 10 or so. Then Kelsey headed home and Dave and I went to check out one of the "discotheques." We got sucked into one right on the main square handing out coupons for a free drink which turned out to be a very watered down rum & coke. The bar was just kind of amusing - all American pop music being played and a mix of locals and tourists dancing. I think we hung out til around midnight and then called it a night.

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