Cusco/Sacred Valley- 11:54 PM

My alarm went off at 5:30 this morning. Because I went to bed at 9:15, it wasn't as bad as it could have been. Getting dressed in the dark wasn't fun but having all my bags packed last night made getting up and ready much easier. Our bags were outside our room ready to be picked up by 5:50.

We went to breakfast but all the hot food wasn't out yet. It was weird for us to be some of the first ones there. At 6:30, we met our group downstairs and got on the bus to take us to the airport for our Cusco flight.

I had to check in with Edgard because I didn't have a boarding pass. This goes back to the issue I had with my name being misspelled. I didn't get first class again (boo!) but at least I got an aisle seat with nobody sitting next to me.

We went through security without Judy, the teacher from our group. She apparently had her own agenda and went through security without her friends and without the tour group, even though our guide asked us to wait to go together. When we found her at the gate, we told her to go back to security to let Edgard know that she was there. She didn't seem to understand wandering off without her friends and the rest of the group was a bad idea. Being first to the gate was more important for her.

We all sat at the gate and boarded a bus to our plane. It was a bit of a bumpy flight but was only 60 mins. We even got snacks! If only I had not made a horrible decision right before we landed...

Right as we touched down, I took in a huge gulp of air knowing that the altitude might effect me once I was off the plane. That huge gulp of air made it hard for me to breathe. I immediately got a headache and my heart rate sped up. I was also a bit dizzy. After a couple minutes of taking slow breaths, I started to feel fine, just in time to get off the plane.

When we got off the plane, we were greeted by a group of dancers performing a traditional Peruvian dance. A couple of the girls in our group drank some coca tea, which is also supposed to help with altitude sickness. After getting our luggage, we boarded our bus. We ended up leaving the airport a few minutes late because Edgard's family came by to say hi to him. He apparently lives only about 20 minutes away from the airport so his family likes to visit him on tour when they can.

We started our drive through Cusco. The landscape was so interesting after leaving Cusco. It went from a city to farmland, all surrounded by snow/glacier topped mountains. Our first stop was Chinchero. It is a restaurant and handicraft market which also included multiple demonstrations. We started with lunch which included little bites of different dishes. We tried sweet bread with a green sauce and quinoa soup first. When you wanted more you said "yapa" which means "more" in Quechua, the native language. We then had pieces of corn, mini potatoes, fava beans, quinoa and sweet potatoes. We also had a plate with chicken, a corn cake, a creamy corn mixture, and if course a Peruvian speciality- guinea pig, also known as cuy. And yes, I did try it! But I didn't like it. Fun fact- cut is traditionally prepared for special celebrations including birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, and even divorces!

After lunch, we were given a digestive drink called annis. It smelled like licorice so I didn't drink it. No me gusta licorice! We then had a chance to shop. I bought a sweater and headband for about $25.

After we were all done, we got back on the bus and continued our drive down to the Sacred Valley, which is where we would be staying for 2 nights. We then went to a small Incan town called Ollantaytambo. We did a walk through the town with Edgard who told us a little about the history of the Incas. Fun Fact- the Incas only lasted from about 1430-1530.

We saw how their irrigation system works and how they constructed buildings from stones. We even went into one of the last houses still standing built by the Incans. Inside, there were a bunch of guinea pigs... We knew that they were going to end up on a plate for somebody's dinner. There was also a lady selling handicrafts inside and outside. There were some cute little ducklings wandering around, a cat sleeping on a pile of scarves and a cute little kitten that couldn't have been much older than a few weeks. I realized I have seen more animals on this trip than I probably do in a month back home.

We headed to drop of the three ladies at their hotel and then went to our hotel. We got our keys and went to our room for an hour and a half until dinner time. At 7:15, we got on the bus and headed to a restaurant where we had dinner included.

I had a beef noodle soup, grilled chicken with veggies and quinoa, and crepes with fruit and chocolate. I only are about half of everything because the dinners have been so filling.

We got back to the hotel at about 9:30. I used the internet for a while and then checked out some paintings at the shop in the hotel.

We watched some TV before heading to bed. I look forward to spending the day walking around our town of Urubamba tomorrow!