20 June: Pisac and Cusco, Peru

We had made arrangements with our driver to pick us up early at the top of the steps.

View from the top of the Steps

 He dropped us off at the ruins in Pisac and waited for us while we toured them

then dropped us off at the marketplace in Pisac. We did some shopping there,but the highlight of the day was unquestionably holding a baby alpaca.

 After the market we ate at El Encanto Cafe overlooking the botanical gardens. 

a slightly blurry picture from the back of the collectivo

After that we took a collectivo taxi back to Pisac. It was a little over a dollar per person for almost an hour ride back to Cusco, and it leaves when it's full--8 people crammed in tightly in a minivan. We were the last 2 so it left immediately.








There was a huge Inca festival going on in Cusco and everything was super crowded.

We walked around for a while. At the marketplace the main thing to eat appeared to be Cuy--guinea pig.

The one thing we meant to do but didn't was to visit Koricancha (Qorikancha), the golden temple of the sun.

In the evening we met someone at the hotel who briefed us on our trek in the morning. We had booked ahead of time through Hotel Resbolosa but most of the other people the group booked 1-2 days before. Turns out we probably would have been fine booking last minute since the tickets for Machu Picchu weren't purchased  until a couple of days into the trek. But since we had a very tight schedule it was worth the extra money to have peace of mind. It was still a great deal cheaper than purchasing tickets online.