We arrived in Cusco around 4:30 AM where we were met by two vans that whisked us away to the Hotel Koyllur in the San Blas section of the city. Twin sisters and their mother run the hotel which is a very nice, under-rated, 2-star establishment. They provided us with a continental breakfast and everyone was able to get into a room for a couple of hours of sleep.

We reassembled at 8:30 and walked down the hill to catch the bus to the Valle Sagrado. Cusco is 1000' lower than lake Titicaca so we felt giddy with the extra air. Jay stayed back at the hotel. The all-day tour began by a short stop at a market near Pisac. I bought several Alpaca sweaters and an Inca calendar tapestry. We then proceeded to tour the Pisac ruins. Our tour guide, Pilar, knew her stuff but was abrupt, quickly earning the monicker of “tour-nazi”. Just as Bob had predicted earlier in the trip, the students compared her to Rosse Mary. If I were a guide, I would shudder at the thought of having to compete with Rosse.

The ruins are at the summit of the ridge high above the Río Vilcanota (Willacamayu) valley which is the sacred valley. The classic Inca fitted stone block architecture is truly impressive at any scale. We walked all through the site which is constructed of mostly diorite and some sandstone blocks.

Next, we went into the town of Pisac and its market. I found a beautiful specimen of quartz crystals on sphalerite which I bought for under $4.00! I also bought another sweater for Stephanie and a t-shirt for me.

We stopped at a nice buffet-style restaurant in the country side for lunch. They had a good Andean band playing. In the afternoon, we went to the spectacular ruins at Ollantaytambo. Along the way we continued to be astounded by the magnitude of the Inca terraces, developed on the steep mountainsides. The terraces are now mostly dormant.

Ollantaytambo has a series of steep terraces that are somewhat reminiscent of one side of an Aztec pyramid. A face in the opposite wall of the canyon is supposed to be Wiracocha. The Sun coming around the mountain was used as a solar calendar from the Temple of the Sun. Some enormous ashlar granite blocks were quarried high on the slope opposite the temple. I bought a good book about the ruins of the area. We spent more than an hour at the site, finishing at the Inca ceremonial fountain.

From Ollantaytambo, we head to Chinchero but the rapidly setting sun, long drive, and the long winding road that climbs to the site at more than 3700 m made it obvious that we would be too late to see the ruins. Will and I stayed at the parking lot to take fotos of the sunset while the others visited a colonial church in the town.

We descended the mountain and returned to Cusco in the dark. We walked from the drop-off point to the hotel, arriving at 7:45. I asked Maryle, one of the twins, to make us a reservation at the Pachapapa restaurant just up the hill on the square for 8:30. Eighteen of us ate there, enjoying the courtyard ambiance, excellent service, and wonderful food. They also have a good dark beer that is made in Cusco .

Will received news that his best friend was killed in a train accident. He was despondent. I checked on Jay before turning in. He was looking more like himself but was still very tired. I encouraged him to rest and try to go with us tomorrow.