Peru (Cusco)

 On Monday morning Clara's cousin (Georgio) picked us up and took us to a portion of the local market where they sell handmade leather products.

 As I said in my previous post, I'm a cowboy.  Sam, no laughing. :)

 Part of our last lunch in Chiclayo prior to boarding a bus for Trujillo.  This is ceviche with a side of some kind of corn tortilla thing.

 Dessert - cheese covered in cane honey.  The cane honey tastes like molasses to me.  Very yummy.

 Rather than try to cram into a vehicle for another 4-hour drive to Trujillo, Miguel booked us all on a more luxurious bus ride.

 Come on, Jose.......smile!

That's better.

Today we flew from Trujillo to Cusco via Lima.

Miguel and Clara with a little Andean kid outside the airport.

There are two "Monasterio" hotels in Cusco.  We had a reservation at one of the two.  Our driver took us to the wrong "Monasterio" hotel where we had a 5-star welcome, including a yerba mate (tea) made from some kind of coca leaf.  Supposedly, foreigners drink this tea upon arrival in this city of 11,000-feet elevation in order to help with the adjustment to the altitude.  We found out later that one cup of this coca tea equals two cups of coffee.  Oops.  No wonder I adjusted so well. :)  After our warm reception we quickly realized we were in the wrong hotel and our driver came back to take us to the right one.

Miguel arranged for a guide to meet us at the hotel.  She took us to some ancient Incan ruins near Cusco.

Apparently, Clara did not get the llama's permission prior to touching it.  This photo was taken at the exact moment when the llama was turning its head around to spit right on her face and chest.  Twas funny for all but one.

Doug is smiling because he just ran up all those stairs in 4.3 seconds.

Next to the Christ statue that looks out over the city of Cusco.

I hurt my foot on the landing.  I'm too old to be playing on Incan slides.

We had dinner tonight in the town square in Cusco.  This dessert is called "lengua de suegra," which means "tongue of the mother-in-law."  What's that supposed to mean?  Mothers-in-law talk a lot?

I really want this guitar.  Amazing, handmade instrument.