Disclaimer: I am writing about today for the second time, because I accidently deleted the previous version, so I might have forgotten some parts...

Today, I was going to visit the Sacred Valley of the Incas which consists of Pisac, Ollantaybambo and Chinchero. I was going with Caitlin, Hassan, and Sabine. Hassan and Sabine had originally planned to go on there own without a tour guide, but we enventually found a tour for 23 Soles. I was meeting them at the Plaza at 8am. Our tour was starting at 9am.

We had a really good tour guide for the day. His name was Evert. Throughout the day, we learned that Evert spoke Quetchu, Spanish, English and French. He was also the president of all of the tour guides in Cuzco, and was very knowledgeable since he was an anthropologist and travelled the world giving talks about the History of the Incas.

Our tour began at a little market before Pisac that sold souvenirs. Evert had told us that because Pisac has become a very touristic city, prices over there were really expensive, therefore he preffered with buy things from people that really needed the money. While looking around, I noticed a little boy of around 10 years old managing a kiosk. He had hand crafted pens and wallets. I really needed a little change bag (for money), because I noticed that my money would frequently fall out of my pockets. When i asked the little kid how much, he told me 3 Soles. I wanted it for 2 Soles, there was no way the poor, underprivileged kid was going to get more than that! (joke! That was just my dark humour talking...)...in the end I got it for 2 Soles...

Our next stop was Pisac, when Evert, our tour guide was from. It was a long bus ride so Hassan had me listen to his music from his Ipod. Pisac was a very beutiful city! We did not visit much in the city because the markets (what Pisac is popular for) were closed that day. We stopped at the city's National park (one of the largest in Peru). We were going to hike for about 90 minutes (a hike that could easily take 5 hours if we had the whole day). Because our hike was shorter, Evert made sure to take us to all the most important Inca sites giving us explanations along the way. We visited the Temple of the Sun of the city (every city had a temple of the sun because it was the most important god). I was feeling really hungry by that time and was anxious for our next stop...lunch!

We stopped for lunch in this really cute restaurant/buffet right before arriving at Ollantaybambo. The buffet (which cost 20 Soles!) was incredible with a huge variety of foods. However, the most memorable item from the buffet was the apple pie. It was orgasmic!!! So good that I went for seconds, and could't stop moaning at the table...During the rest of the trip, i couldn't stop thinking about how good it was and I was craving more.

After lunch, we arrived in Ollantaybambo (the most historical city of all of the cities in the Sacred Valley). It was such a cute city that maintined its authenticity with houses and pathways made entirely of stone. What I really liked was the different open canals that carried the water throughout the city. There was a festival going on that day, too.

We climbed a mountain that was in the shape of a llama and during the summer solstice (21st June), the sun illuminates the eyes of the llama with incredible precision. I was amazed to see how accurate the Incas built each of their monuments.

Our last stop was Chinchero, and it was starting to get really dark. It was a 90 minute bus ride to Chinchero, so Hassan and I were listening to some more music. Upon our arrival in Chinchero, there were locals that prepared a presentation on how they make the "chompas" and scarves with llama wool. They also served us some Coca tea. I would have taken pictures, but my camera died. So the pictures that I will be uploading will be from Sabine.

While walking towards the next ruin in Chinchero (the religious building), There was a girl of about 10 years old that was trying to sell Hassan and I a traveller's bag. It was so funny because she was really pressuring us (and doing a good job at it). "15 Soles...no, for you, I make good price...10 Soles, for you and your friend!" I couldn't stop laughing, because even though I was not convinced, she seemed to have an effect on Hassan. Hassan finally bought the bag for 5 Soles...a bag he did not need...

Our last site was the religious Temple of the city. It was really dark by that time so we were not able to take any pictures. We finally left back to Cuzco for 6:45pm and arrived in Cuzco at 7:30pm. We decided to stay at the Plaza des Armas for supper because Patrick and Clem from last night invited us to Trivia Night at a bar called "The Real McCoys". We had supper at a nice, yet posh restaurant called "Granja Heidi". We then met up with Patrick and Clem at the bar for 8:45pm. However, we were all really tired from our long day so we ended up leaving early.

I went to bed really early because a) I had a long day and b) I was getting up early to volunteer the next day.