Day 2 in Cuzco!

Last night the paramount goal was to find the Llama Path office, pay the final balance for our Inca Trail hike and confirm everything, and then to find another yummy dinner.  We definitely succeeded...and in the process enjoyed the views of the Plaza de Armas at night, the Blanco Christo glowing on the hilltop overlooking the city, and enjoyed one of the churches mid-mass.  We also managed to find another yummy dinner and were oh so excited to finally crash. 

Day 2 in Cusco:  19 November 2011
Goals?  Acclimate and Explore while not pushing too hard...

We finally, finally, FINALLY (after nights of working really late to finish my grad project, wrap up things at my job, and pack...and then barely sleep before our early flight out of Miami and then getting only a teensy bit more sleep before flying to Cuzco)...we got sleep last night.  Daniel and I slept later than anyone else and actually slept right up until it was time to meet everyone for breakfast (at which point we were supposed to actually be showered and everything..oops). 

Regardless - the rest of the gang headed out down to the Plaza de Armas to catch the miliatry parade while the Hals got their act together.  We met up within an hour and set out along the square and headed out to see some different churches and sites...

*****pause for pre-Inca Trail meeting with our guide Alex*****

and this whole story is going to be summed up with as many pictures as this bandwidth can handle as I pack...we just had our pre-Inca Trail briefing and we are heading out at THREE FIFTY AM tomorrow!!!  ...something about road repair work and having extra time to get to our train. 

To recap - we all had a great day - with only minor hiccups.  The sad moral of the story for Cusco is that it was a city rich with Inca tradition and amazing temples until the Conquistadors raised everything to the ground and built churches on top of the temple ruins.  :-/  (Some of the churches are very pretty though and I saw a pulpit today that absolutely epitomizes the Catholic Counter-Reformation and would be a perfect photograph to start that lecture in my AP Euro or World History classes!)

We are PSYCHED about tomorrow - Machu Picchu - HERE WE COME!!! :)

The gang outside La Catedral on the edge of the Plaza de Armas

Along the Plaza de Armas

I paid the equivalent of 35 cents to pet an alpaca!  :-)