Where are Caroline + Neil?: Ruins, ruins and more ruins

09 March 2006

We headed off today to see the Sacred Valley of Cuzco. First stop was Sasqaywaman, some ruins that overlook the city of Cuzco and gave a great view of the city. You don´t realise how big the city is until you view it from this vantage point.

Next stop was llama and alpaca where we got to feed some of them. We also saw some of the local people turning the wool of these animals into garments.

Our next stop to visit was the village of Pisac which is famous for its market and ruins. A small group of us chose to visit the Pisac ruins and when we arrived we were glad we made the choice. Everywhere we looked was a picture postcard view down into the Sacred Valley - so we took a number of photos. We then headed back down to Pisac to do some shopping at the market. We bought a number of items and did some bargaining with the locals. There was heaps of alpaca products and I even saw a human skull with hair on it. Not sure if it was real and I didn´t stop to ask.Our last stop for the day was Ollantytambo where paid a visit to some Inca ruins. Again most of the buildings had been destroyed by the Spanish.

As at least half our tour group was going back to Lima tomorrow we went out to a local restaurant called Fallen Angel for a meal and some drinks. The food was fantastic. Some of us then headed off to the local Irish Pub. Yes, they even have an Irish Pub in Cuzco. Although to be perfectly honest there wasn´t much Irish about it apart from selling Guinness. I don´t think there was any Peruvians at the bar. When we arrived at the bar it was the start of a happy half hour. Instead of the usual drinks at half price they gave us two drinks for the price of one. So I had 2 vodkas for the 8 peruvian soles - which is about $aus4. And they were strong mixes as well.

We are off to the Jungle tomorrow.

Neil