Set my alarm for 5:45 and slept right through it till the driver called me from downstairs at 630. 5 minutes from sleep to in the van. Hello new day! Got to the airport early for and 830 flight, which as delayed till after 11. Grumble. Got off the plane in Cusco, met Norah from Netherlands, met up with Stephanie the tour guide and got to my hotel. Very nice place except for the lack of power outlets below 5ft! Had my first cup of cocoa leaf tea, which apparently everyone drinks all the time, and planned the next few days.

Stephenie and I went down to the square to find me a bite for lunch and I found a scene of gleeful chaos. Apparently, in Cusco Carnival carries over after Ash Wednesday for another week of small-c town carnival. It is a city-wide waterfight with water baloons, silly string and cans of spray foam. The theme today was boys versus girls, so gangs of kids were ambusing anyone of the opposite sex and trying to get them as wet as possible. Stephanie was hiding behind me to avoid some teenage boys. I asked a toddler if she had sprayed any of the ninos. This was a mistake. She sprayed me instead, forcing me to take cover behind a group of girls. It was a great time!

I was delivered to Jose the tour guide who led our group around the rest of the day. First was the Cathedral of the Virgin Ascendant which houses the painting of the last supper done by a native artists that has the disciples dining on a main dish of guinae pig! Next was Qorikancha, the primary Incan temple to the Sun go, which was once entirely covered in sheets of gold. Now it's a Spanish cathedral with Incan stonework foundation that is so well done it has survived 3 major earthquakes and hundreds of years.

We bused out of the city, up the mountain to Seqsayhuaman, a massive temple for the peasants where priests would sacrifice alpacas on a hilltop platform in front of a meadow where thousands of people would gather. Behind them was a massive stone structure that had religious importance, but was also an observatory and functioning calendar. Shadows cast by 18 stone corners indicated 10 days each and the corners on the end indicating solstace. The other 6 days were religious festivals.

On to Q'enqo and Tambomachay, which were places where mummies of Incan royalty were prepared and placed in burial caves, respectively. The hikes up to all these places winded me pretty good due to the elevation, but the cocoa leaf tea seemed to do it's job of fighting sickness. Met a nice couple from Austria, met a family from Michigan and talked a bit with a group of guys from Boston. We tourists are a friendly bunch!

The bus dropped me off back at the square, so I walked to the hotel to get a much needed shower and headed out to a local restaurant. The place had a buffet going and I was famished after all the hiking. I ate alpaca, trout sushi, beets that tasted exactly like sweet corn, lamb stew and many other delicious things washed down with local beer and a pisco sour (a drink with brandy, lime juice and egg whites). To top it off, there was a pan flute band playing, with dancers in native dress. I did resist thanking them for saving us from the giant guinae pigs (Southpark).

Whew! Full day! And I'm off at 8 in the morn. Time to get some (but not enough) sleep. Night all!