July 3:
We awaken a little late by tourist standards and head down to breakfast around 8:15. Lovely spread and we eat and then start to think about finding transport to the sites we want to see. Apparently, we are too late to get a driver. Never willing to accept defeat, we agree to head toward the square to see what our options might be for hiring a taxi or private driver to take us on the hour and half drive to tour destinations. We locate a nice lady that speaks English and she can't believe we have waited so late to plan :-( But she says she can get us a driver to Pisac and Awanacancha which we had planned to do the following day. Then we have time to plan to go to Morey Maras and Salineras tomorrow. We go get out cash at the ATM and around the corner for snacks and soon enough, Juan Jose comes with his spiffy van and whisks us off toward Pisac, about 35km away. He stops intermitantly so we can take pictures and offers us an amazing amount of information on the history and customs of the people. Our first stop, at the Pisac ruins, turns out to be a bust because we did not pony up the entrance ticket in advance....so we head down to the town of Pisac to visit the local market......widely known to be the best artisan market in the country. WOW....it really is amazing and we spend far too much time gawking at and buying some amazing things. We return to the van around 3pm and invite Juan Jose to lunch. He takes us to a local restaurant where we dine on local fare that is grown in the town....YUM! We finish up and it is starting to get cold again, but we head toward the llama farm and it is amazing. The llamas, alpacas and vicunas. We feed the llamas and take any number of funny pictures and then admire the wonderful weavings. We are all a bit weary from our day, but have a surprise stop courtesy of Juan Jose....to see some live Andean Condors......the place is closed but we sneek a peek at the animals from the entry way....awesome! As we return to Cusco, we stop at the Christo Blanco, a towering sculpture of Christ that is lit at night and stands guard over the town. It is an amazing sight. We diembark at the Plaza de Armas and the kids make their way home while Paulie and I head to the market to pick up a snack dinner since we ate lunch so late. Great day here in Peru.
We awaken a little late by tourist standards and head down to breakfast around 8:15. Lovely spread and we eat and then start to think about finding transport to the sites we want to see. Apparently, we are too late to get a driver. Never willing to accept defeat, we agree to head toward the square to see what our options might be for hiring a taxi or private driver to take us on the hour and half drive to tour destinations. We locate a nice lady that speaks English and she can't believe we have waited so late to plan :-( But she says she can get us a driver to Pisac and Awanacancha which we had planned to do the following day. Then we have time to plan to go to Morey Maras and Salineras tomorrow. We go get out cash at the ATM and around the corner for snacks and soon enough, Juan Jose comes with his spiffy van and whisks us off toward Pisac, about 35km away. He stops intermitantly so we can take pictures and offers us an amazing amount of information on the history and customs of the people. Our first stop, at the Pisac ruins, turns out to be a bust because we did not pony up the entrance ticket in advance....so we head down to the town of Pisac to visit the local market......widely known to be the best artisan market in the country. WOW....it really is amazing and we spend far too much time gawking at and buying some amazing things. We return to the van around 3pm and invite Juan Jose to lunch. He takes us to a local restaurant where we dine on local fare that is grown in the town....YUM! We finish up and it is starting to get cold again, but we head toward the llama farm and it is amazing. The llamas, alpacas and vicunas. We feed the llamas and take any number of funny pictures and then admire the wonderful weavings. We are all a bit weary from our day, but have a surprise stop courtesy of Juan Jose....to see some live Andean Condors......the place is closed but we sneek a peek at the animals from the entry way....awesome! As we return to Cusco, we stop at the Christo Blanco, a towering sculpture of Christ that is lit at night and stands guard over the town. It is an amazing sight. We diembark at the Plaza de Armas and the kids make their way home while Paulie and I head to the market to pick up a snack dinner since we ate lunch so late. Great day here in Peru.
That's an amazing day you have in Cuzco, I love you get to tour even was a last minute tour guide , and extra happy you get to see The Christo Blanco especially because was my fathers dad Francisco Olazo one of the two sculptors, and I just feel happy about it , thank you for visiting Cuzco Peru. =)
ReplyDeleteElizabeth Bowers Olazo