Today was a day to enlist the machines, that is to drive. We wanted to visit the Sacred Valley, which is the area surrounding Cusco, which was the capital of the Incan Empire. We visited a number of sites that represented the past, present, and future of the Amerindians that inhabit this area. We stopped at several ancient archeological sites, including Pisac and Saqsaywaman. We had to skip several more because of the rain, which our guide Clemente pointed out is very unusual in July which is winter in the Southern Hemisphere. “The weather in the mountains is changing” is the way he put it. Global warming is another way to put it. We stopped off at a living “museum” of animals and people – the Llama, the Guanaco, the Alpaca, and the Vicuña. The Vicuña is the National Animal of Peru and appears on the coat of arms. There were a number of artisans practicing spinning, dyeing, and weaving the wool from the animals as a way of preserving the culture for the future.
We stopped off in a couple of impressive archeological sites from the classic Inca period. Had a great lunch, and ended back at our apartment at the end of our final day in Cusco. Tomorrow, on to Lima
jeff reeder 