this year.

So I’ve been in Cusco since Thursday night, after the most entertaining bus ride of the trip. Spent Friday walking around town taking care of a few loose ends (paying for my Inka Trail Trek. Saturday I signed up for a city tour, which doesn’t really take you around the city, but actually takes you to these 3 ruins on the edge of town. A great build up to the hike I take today.

Sunday I took an all day trip to The Sacred Valley. This is a fertile valley nestled between two peaks (obviously) that is lush and and green. The Inck’s farmed there, and the present day people also grown corn and rise there. Me, I say they drop in a golf course and really make some money. As the bus wound along the mountain side roads, I could invision par 5´s and 4´s, cut into the trees, along the river, banked by the montain walls. We stopped at a ‘traditional’ market (sucker the tourists into buying stuff, therefore NOT traditional). I have been really good with markets and street venders the entire trip, mostly because I refuse to carry any extra items. Alas I finally gave in. Though I like to think I made the purchase becuase I negoiated the bargin on the year. I picked up a Charango, which is like a small 10 string guitar. He wanted 250 soles for it. I got it for 150, with a case, and a professional pan-pipe.

The Charango is made of real Armadilo, that’s how you know it’s good.

I wasn´t really thinking when i made the purchase, and got caught up in the bargining. He was giving me this sob story about how he needs money for Christmas. I wasn´t going for it. I made the purchase entirely on the price. $50 is about half of what they are in the city. But as i was saying. I wasn´t thinking. It seems Armadilo is illegal, and getting it out of Peru, and into Canada may pose a problem. I should have gone for the wooden one. I blame the tour on this. They give you 40 min to scour this hige market. I was a victim of time. I may try go back and introduce the concept of ‘exchange’ to the Peruivian people.

I depart for the Inca trail in 20 min. A 4 day hike to Machu Picchu.I am really looking forward to it. I got the same guide as this girl Tammy from Calgary that I met. He is very energetic, and charismatic. My group is only 8 people. I will not meet them till today. Seems I also have a porter included in my price. I am allowed to give him up to 8kg of stuff. Jokes on them, I don´t own that much. So, the plan I came up with is to wrap a 7kg rock in a towel, and have him carry that for 4 days.

I was crying the idea was so funny. Just like the Tobbogan story.

(The lead photo was snagged from this flickr and is used under CC)