Pisac

Ah, all thes posts are getting gloriously mixed up and out of order, but it{s a rainy day in Cusco today, so heres a little update.

I headed up to Pisac a yesterday because it was Sunday and the artisan market was on, filling a huge square with silver and mother-of-pearl jewellery and colourful woven scarves, bags, rugs and all manner of things alpaca, but also to see the Inca ruins in the hills above Pisac.
My companions for the day decided that the one of them hated rain and the other hated walking and, both of those being fairly unavoidable to the exploration of Pisac ruins, I left them to peruse the endless opportunities of the market while I hired a cab for the 20 minute drive uphill from Pisac town centre. At the top, I got myself a guide who had plenty of interesting banter about the place and filled in breathless hikes up Inca stairways by playing little tunes on his homemade flute. It was a little bit of genius.
Anyway, I think I{ll just let the pictures speak for this one for the most part. Only to add a few fun facts of the day:
The Incas made great use of everything in their environment, ie.
They used a plant that lathers in water to wash their hair and the llama wool
Meteor rock was used to carve out tunnels through the rocks
Mint from the mountain was used to make tea to help with altitude sickness and also to scent their homes.
The Incas communicated by flute from their watchtowers, the sound travelling echoeing through the hillsides for large distances. Each tune would be a code.

At the end of the tour I returned to Pisac market for fried alpaca on a skewer with a potato stuck on the end. Nom. Pisac - done.