Disclaimer: I am writing about today for the second time, because I accidently deleted the previous version, so I might have forgotten some parts... Today, I was going to visit the Sacred Valley of the Incas which consists of Pisac, Ollantaybambo and Chinchero. I was going with Caitlin, Hassan, and Sabine. Hassan and Sabine had originally planned to go on there own without a tour guide, but we enventually found a tour for 23 Soles. I was meeting them at the Plaz...

Today, I had planned to cook for everyone in the house. I was cooking my famous gnocchi dish with an entree of fresh homemade bruschetta (because the tomatoes here are so good!), and as a dessert, my famous apples poached in a sweet red wine sauce over ice cream. I had to go with Maritza to the grocery strore in order to buy all of the ingredients. The grocery store over her is called "Mega". We had to take a bus there. Upon our arrivel, it was unclear...

I had a really great morning today...I got to sleep in!!! For the first time since my arrival in Cuzco! I got up at around 10am, and decided to update my blog, since my mother called me, scolding me for not updating it sooner... I was planning to go to El Molino today. El Molino is a flea market for the locals (not many tourists go there), but we were told that it was an excellent place to bargain and get the best deals in Cuzco. Caitlin and I had planned to go,...

Today, I got up at 7:15. Everyone was already up. Caitlin and I were going to our project again today. Upon getting to Maximo Nivel, I talked to Heidi about the amazing project I had to propose about the Palace of Pachacuti. She thought it would be a great idea and thought that we should all meet next week. When Caitlin and I arrived to our project, all of the kids recognized us right away. I waived at a few of them. My favorites were Ruth Kelly, Yesmenia, Melan...

We all got up today at 6:15am because we were going to visit the old ruins of the palace of Pachacuti. Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui was the ninth King (1438-1471/1472) of the Kingdom of Cuzco. In Quechua, Pachakutiq means "He who remakes the world". During his reign, Cuzco grew from a hamlet into an empire that could compete with, and eventually overtake, the Chimu. He began an era of conquest that, within three generations, expanded the Inca dominion from t...