Exploring the Incans

One day closer to hiking the Inca trail! Last night I slept great and woke up fairly early. Right as I was getting ready for bed, the rain came hard which probably helped me sleep. This morning I had our standard breakfast with lots of coffee. I had a few things planned for today, so I made sure to get an early start. After breakfast, I brought my dirty clothes to a laundry place just 20 seconds from my hostel.

From there, I knew today might be my last day to go souvenir shopping. I know of a great area with lots of traditional Peruvian stuff. I roamed around the streets looking at different shops and got most of my shopping done. At one shop, I even got another free llama and a free pan pipe pin (of which I gave to adventure bear). After I bought stuff from that lady, she gave me a hug which was like giving a hug to a kid (most Peruvians are shorter than 5 feet, and love hugs). I did some more exploring in parts of Cusco I haven't been to yet. 

(Most famous stone in Cusco)

Along the streets are people dressed in the old traditional outfits and mostly carrying lambs. I got pictures of one girl and she took one of me holding her lamb. Later, I ran into 2 other ladies that I got pictures of. 

After I finished my exploring and shopping, I brought my stuff back to the hostel. About this time, the sun started to get really hot, around 83 degrees. I used my Shemmagh to keep the sun off my neck. With some time to kill, I went to lunch and had another glass of coca tea then went to market to get some snacks for the hike. 

Around 2, I went to the fountain in the plaza and met Sonya. We went to the Incan Museum and spent a couple hours there. It was full of artefacts from pre-Incan through Incan period. It was really cool. 

After we finished there, we headed back to Mercado de San Pedro. We walked around there and checked things out. We had both already eaten, but wanted to try the local foods. We stopped at a juice stand where they make custom juice. I ordered a mango, orange, passion fruit juice which was really good. We roamed around more and tried a few other local foods. 

The market was getting ready to close so we headed back to the plaza. There, we parted ways and I headed back to my hostel. I was able to video chat with my brother, sister, and grandma. We talked a bit then I headed out to pick up my laundry. With all my clothes back at the hostel, I was able to start packing for tomorrow. I got my backpack packed and ready to go, after my shower (last shower until after the hike). 

As I was packing, I found a surprise in my backpack: a package of shower wipes. I have no clue where they came from and know they weren't in there when I got here. But I know they will be vital while hiking for 4 days. 

I'm currently sitting next to the fire again. I'm going to head out and find something to eat. After that, I'll head straight to bed to be ready for the hike! This will be my last post until I get back from Machu Picchu. I'm not sure yet if I'll post on Saturday or Sunday. It will depend on when time we get back. You'll definitely hear from me when I get back!