Urubamba

Last night we went to a dinner show where we were able to sample traditional Peruvian cuisine as well as see a wide variety of dances. The food for OK. The highlight for me was the ceviche. The dances

were pretty great especially some guys from the high Andes who did a version of break dancing while rattling what looked like disassembled scissors. We got to bed with a very early wake up call and we were very tired.
This morning we left bright and early and headed to Cusco. The elevation of Cusco is 11,000 ft, so altitude sickness is a concern. Everywhere you go there are remedies for altitude sickness from coca leaves. These leaves are what cocaine are extracted from. Of course we had to try it :).
We then took a bus for an hour to a restaurant where we were able to try the food traditional to the area, including guinea pig. The food was excellent although I probably never need to try guinea pig again :). After the lunch we were given a demonstration of traditional weaving that was done at the restaurant complex. It was pretty amazing to see how they were able to make such bright and beautiful dyes in the way their ancestors have been doing it for thousands of years. I couldn't resist but to buy stuff and support this amazing tradition!

The next stop was at Ollantaytambo which is a site that was built by the Pre-Incan and Incan societies on the side of a mountain. They built amazing terraces to farm thehill side with very sophisticated drainage systems as well as running water. Even though this site hasn't been inhabited for hundreds of years it all still works perfectly. It was obvious what was pre-Inca because they used bricks and mortar. The Inca fit the stones perfectly together like legos and therefore didn't need mortar. The Inca stuff has also fared better over time and it was a pretty amazing site. My dad and I hiked to the top for the view and to really see the site. Marc and my mom took it a little easier due to the elevation.

We finally headed back to the hotel for a small rest before going to dinner. This trip feels like a total whirlwind! I guess if you want to get as much of an experience as you can in 10 days you keep pretty busy.