Cusco Day 3 - Pisac

Sunday May 22

Today after breakfast we grabbed a cab to the 'bus stop' where we would catch our ride to Pisac. Pisac is a little town at the base of a mountain that has more Inka ruins including a graveyard as well as a popular market.

The desk clerk at our pension told us that we would be in a Mercedes Sprinter Van for the trip and to look for those at the bus station. After a short ride we arrived to find nothing resembling a Mercedes but rather some old minivans. There was a guy shouting "Pisac 5 Soles" ($1.75), that seemed like our kind of deal so we jumped in. It was definitely the locals choice versus the tourists preference.

We hit the market first and the girls tried their hands at bargaining Pisac style and did not accomplish much as it seemed these vendors were use to getting their price. All their haggling did not amount to a hill of beans or in this case, a sack of potatoes.

After our market fail we made our way up the hill to see the ruins of another Inka site. Having seen Machu Picchu and Winay Wanna first in our trip it is very difficult to be overly impressed with these sites.  But they are still interesting in their own right as their construction is a function of how the site is situated and they are all unique.

The time had come, for my dinner to make the transition from pet to plate. Guinea Pigs are greasy little things that don't have a whole lot of meat. But they are a very popular dish here given their abundance. So popular in fact that when we visited the main Cusco Church the massive 20 foot high depiction of the last supper had a guinea pig featured front and center as the main course. I am not sure how kosher these furry friends are.

Patti and I zipped out for a little night stroll. The city center reminds us a lot of any European city but stray from that and into the 2nd than 3rd world you go.

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