4th September 5th September

Cusco!! Had an early wake up at 5am & off to airport for flight to Cusco.Smooth flight again(how lucky are we?)and looking down over the city it looks very flat and dry.Met our wonderful guides Elvis and Oscar.As we left the airport we drove through some pretty sad looking parts of town.Rubbish everywhere with dogs & people rummaging through it. Had been looking forward to today as we are stopping at Chincherro for a lunch & weaving demonstration.The ladies were dressed in traditional clothes and looked very colourful as they showed the process from the start..Lots of their wares to buy and nice to know they were really handmade.The women also prepared the lunch which was all vegetarian except we tried some cuy(guinea pig).Too many small bones but glad I tried it. We had booked a dinner that night at a local restaurant which was very nice and entertained with a traditional pipe player.Bought his cd called PachMama.Very restful listening. We continued on to Urumbamba Sacred Valley staying at San Augustin Urumbamba Hotel which is set in lovely grounds with mountains as a backdrop. Today is Sacred Valley and Ollantaytambo Ruins.In the morning we decided to join in an optional side tour to Maras & Moray and then do the breathtaking Inca fortress of Ollantaytambo in the afternoon. Moray is an amphitheatre with terraces that were used to test which crops would grow in each layer.An ancient CSIRO !!Quite awesome in it's size . Ollantaytambo !! The terraces soared skywards forever while below were stunning ruins of temples..It was a wonderful feeling wandering through such an ancient historical site that was so much more than pictures in a travel brochure!Loved this place .. Back to Urumbamba and our hotel where my husband took to his bed with a fierce headache from altitude..Coca tea and lollies to try and help but in the end it was lots of sleep and against his protests,a Nurofen which did the job!!Because he felt ill he didn't go to the dinner that night with a Peruvian family in their own home.The dinner was delicious with potatoes the main ingredient.No guinea pigs to eat but they did escape their pen and were running around under our feet! Definitely not pets but kept like chickens until ready for the pot..