Cusco, Peru

We arrived in Peru yesterday, tired and worn from our three airplane rides. The afternoon consisted of much needed showers and a brief exploration of the streets around out gorgeous hotel.

This morning we were off and running bright early at 9 o'clock in the morning. Before even leaving the hotel however, I got get my hair braided buy a girl sitting in the lobby weaving a table runner. We were just talking about how braided here in Peru is seen as beautiful when she asked me if I wanted her to put a couple of braids in mine. Answer: of course! She was fast! Writhing five minutes I have six or seven braids in my hair and a new friend.

After my impromptu hairdo I hopped on the bus with the rest of the ACA students to listen to our tour guide explain our first stop: Qorikancha. That means enclosure of gold in Quechua, the indigenous language spoken in Cusco. We hopped out and began our tour inside the temple. There were so many fascinating things about Incas I didn't know. For example, the way they built building was by first pre-selecting the stones there were going to use, forming them, and then placing them perfectly together and without mortar. that's right. The huge building was without glue. The rocks were so perfectly fitted that it was unnecessary. I also got to see where a Guinea pig was sacrificed. Here it's eaten like chicken! Glad I'm vegetarian, but my friends said it was pretty good.

After that we went to a beautiful cathedral, the Basílica Catedral, where no pictures could be taken. Gold plated cedar had been intricately carved and painted in ways that the Spanish conquistadores hoped would help bring the incan souls to Christian ways.

By 12:30, we were free to to whatever we wanted. So off we went to exchange money and start shopping! Peru is famous for it's llama and alpaca scarce and sweaters, etc. So after buying a hat to keep my little head warm, I set off bargaining my way through keychains, bags, and coin purses. I realized how Mich Spanish I actually do know! It into perfect, but I was easily conversing with the stall keepers. One man, Pol, actually had a solid 10 minute conversation with me. He taught me words in Quechua and I learned a but about the culture from him. That was probably one of my most favorite parts of the day.

After a full day of wandering around, Lauren, Vicki, and I grabbed a couple of empanadas and called it a night. Tomorrow we leave at 5:45 in the morning for Machu Picchu! There aren't any pictures now because I'm doing all this from my phone. After I return from my trip however, I'll add the pictures back into this post. Chau!

P.S. Apologies for any bad grammar or punctuation for the next month here. I'm on my phone (not tryna get my laptop stolen somewhere) so typing a little rough. However, the stories are all true!