We're about to be ruined

Getting cosy with Cuzco had been awesome! The last two days we have been checking out the Sacred Valley of the Inca.

Last night for dinner we decided to get all Peruvian so we ate alpaca, trucha (trout), cuy (Guinea pig), and drank pisco sours and Gem ended up with the worlds biggest glass of Peruvian wine. Cuy is a local speciality eaten on special occasions. It was a bit weird as it came it while with its teeth still in its face. It tasted ok. The alpaca was amazing, it tasted a bit like beef but a bit gameyer. Pisco sour is totally yummy and heaps of restaurants try to lure you in with free ones.yum

We've done two tours of various inca ruins. To Qorikancha, Pisaq, Ollamtatambo, Chinchero, Moray. The inca ruins were awesome but they really liked stairs! We learnt heaps about the incas and the local Peruvians. Did you know they have over 2500 kinds of potatoes! And heaps of different corn! Moray was an incan agricultural test site to grow different kinds of plants at different altitudes. It even had a tropical microclimate to grow coca.
At lunch there was a bilingual talking Macaw that said "hello" and "ola" to us.
We also visited salt pans at Maras where they dry salt.
Every stop had the obligatory craft market which have Andean ladies in traditional dress selling handicrafts and textiles. Gem of course is a total sucker and bought a beautiful blanket. I'm sure it'll fit in my pack somehow. all of us also now have llama hats or in Meredith's case a bear hat so we all look quite the part! This morning we also visited the workshop and she showed us how the spinning colouring and weaving is done.

Tomorrow we begin the inca trail to Machu Picchu, at 5.20 am!! Four days hiking up to 4200m at the highest elevation.
See you on the other side
Love Gem and Jez

PS pics are:

Qorikancha (Santo Domingo church on inca foundations)
Cuy for dinner
Maras salt pans
Moray
Ollamtatambo