we meet llamas

not Lorenzo but real and fuzzy ones-

on the way between Cuzco and Pisac there is a place where you can learn about llama "farming" in the Andes and see the different varieties of "wool" producing animals they raise here.  They have vicuna, llama, alpaca - the softest of the handicrafts we saw was the baby alpaca.  The place is sort of an open air museum with weaving and dying demonstrations and a shop along with herds of the animals they raise to shear and then spin "wool" from.

before shearing above and below after shearing- LOL- they look so naked...

the producers - above and below the product- LOL

they also had on display some of the varieties of corn and potatoes grown here and we stopped into a bakery where options included cuy (guinea pig) for lunch - having tried it in 1999 I didn't feel the need to indulge again- LOL

from the Sacred Valley we headed back to Cuzco (stopping along the way for a photo of us at a scenic overlook) and checked into our marvelous hotel where our room was fabulous - among the best beds I have ever slept in!

 the view from our room-

Later we had dinner at a place overlooking the plaza in Cuzco and after a wonderful meal of pisco sours in various "flavors" and ceviche of various kinds we walked home and went to bed - up early tomorrow for our big train trip into Machu Picchu.

 

that finishes our first day on the trip.... obviously lots more to come- stay tuned...

flying down to rio

LOL- well - at least to Lima... LOL- no actually the first flight only got us to Miami....

we stopped over night (arriving around 7:30 PM) and grabbed a bite to eat with brother Larry to check and see how he and Luke's family were doing after Luke's death.  I was quite taken by the mermaid paintings in the ladies room - LOL

and since it was the last day of the stone crab season we had to have some- we headed back to the hotel and crashed after having rushed to get out of town after the LCBC dinner at our house two nights earlier...

then the next day we headed to the airport for an afternoon flight to Lima on the way to Cuzco - the TACA flight was uneventful and we arrived on time- got through passport control and found our "minder" to get us to the overnight hotel- flights into and out of Cuzco are somewhat weather dependent as it is located at 11,500 feet and therefore must be approached by plane before the heat of the day arrives...

we had dinner in the hotel restaurant - a local soup and some ceviche were perfect for the nearly ten o'clock meal.

the next day we were up early for a 7 AM departure - back to the airport for the flight which was delayed more than an hour for no apparent reason and none given in Spanish or English by the crew... on time flights were going to be virtually non-existent during the entirety of the trip... I guess it is all Hispanic time- LOL like the party invitations in Miami which differ by an hour or more with their start times for Anglos and Latinos...LOL