The last 2 days...

The title of this post could be taken in two different ways. Way #1, I am posting pictures of the last two days, or way #2, I am very sad to be leaving such a beautiful place in just 2 more days. If you thought of way #1, your right, and if you thought of way #2, you are also right.

The last two days have been amazing. We have been touring around Cusco, seeing all that there is to see, with the exception of Machu Picchu. But with the photos you are about to encounter, you will understand my phrase..."WHO NEEDS MACHU PICCHU?" Although it would have been amazing to see, I am quite contented with the sights and ruins that we did see. Everything was beautiful, and the weather was unbeatable. Seriously. We couldn't have asked for better. We made quite a few stops. We visited Qorikancha, which is an ancient Inkan temple that the Spanish built over. It still has remnents of Inkan walls and rooms. It was very interesting, but our tour guide got a little long winded and I got distracted.Then we visited Saqsayhuaman, which is pronounced much like "sexy woman" The natives, and tourists all call it that because the rocks have many angles and curves. We smiled each time our guide said it, which was close to 1000.

These are sliding rocks. A few of us climbed to the top and then slid down.

Each stop had a bit of hiking to do. So we only did these two on the first day, but it was a lot to see. Saqsayhuaman had a couple parts to it so that took us a good 3 or 4 hours to see. When we arrived to our hotel, the power was out. They said it had been out since 6 am. We didn't know what to do as it was only 7 pm, and there was no power, no water, no anything. All we had was one tiny candle in our room. So we went and combined in Lynley and Kristi's rooms and partied it up until the power finally came back on about an hour later. Today we went to the Inkan ruins at Pisac, which was very cool. You can still see rooms and fountains that are original. It was quite a hike to get to, but well worth it. It was really cool to see. Then we made our way to Ollantaytambo. Here we saw the Inkan god, Wiraqocha, carved into the mountain side. The Inkans thought that if they carved his face into the wall he would watch over them and protect them.

Yes, we did climb all these stairs...and a whole lot more too!!

The sights we saw were amazing. I loved every minute of it. There are so many beautiful things to see and do. The hiking is incredible, once you learn how to breathe at 13,000 feet. Your heart starts beating quite fast, especially going up hill. But it is totally worth it. All I can think to say is Beautiful.And this kiss is for Dan, the best man in the world! Love you babe!