cuzco!!

since i arrived in cuzco i've been to pisac which is a small town nearby to see some inca ruins.  i hiked the hour and a bit uphill with a local from a nearby town. i wandered around the ruins in the pouring rain (i was the only one without a raincoat) and met a french guy who i had lunch with. 

the following day we headed off together to see four nearby ruins.  again it poured, and again i didn't bring my raincoat (you'd think i'd learn!!)  the ruins were quite impressive and at the first one, tambo machay, i had my photo taken by about 20 different school children (in groups and solo) as they were in awe of me and my hair! the ruins themselves are supposed to be a ceremonial bath site dating back to inca time. during our visit, there was a bit of water running from it.  we then trekked down the hill (about 8km) to two other ruins - one of which was particularly cool as it was part of the inca fortress and is supposed to be shaped like the teeth of a puma! 

i checked my emails and discovered that a guy i met in santiago (tugomir) was coming up to cuzco the next day.  it was great to see him again!  we wandered around the first day together so he could acclimatise to the altitude and then yesterday we went to urubamaba, a nearby town, to see some salt pans together.  we hiked into the salt pans (something like in bolivia but on a much smaller scale).  we had a picnic lunch and enjoyed the relaxing scenery. 

we're going to try and organise to an inca trail hike starting from tomorrow - fingers crossed we can find a place on a tour!

i can't believe how quickly time is passing - i'll be heading back to canada very shortly!

miss you!

sarah

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