Cusco

We made it to breakfast by 5:30 AM, met our tour group (44 people), and to the bus, and to the plane and to Cusco by 11 AM, all in a fog. Our tour leader, Saul, (we are divided into 3 buses) looks just like Gael Garcia Bernal (from Mozart in the Jungle - we loved it), and is excellent. We hit the highlights of Cusco (a few photos follow), then went to Chinchero where Quechua native women run a weaving community using traditional techniques to produce beautiful textiles for everything from small purses to ponchos. Now we are staying in a 5 star resort hotel in the Sacred Valley - the ultimate in Luxury ( https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/cuztl-tambo-del-inka-a-luxury-collection-resort-and-spa-valle-sagrado/?scid=bb1a189a-fec3-4d19-a255-54ba596febe2).

We did struggle some with the altitude today, made a bit more challenging by our recovery from the “tourista”, but the experiences of Cusco and Chinchero caried us through. Much more to say about the people and the culture and the history than I have energy for tonight. Even being a tourist among many as part of a large tourist group in places that are doing everything they can to cater to tourists, I still felt the awe and mystery of these places.