Peru day 10

It is starting to become obvious that our time in Peru is coming to an end.  Our group morning meeting times are getting later and later each day and our activities become less and less frequent too.  Our only organized activity today is to tour The Stones of Sacsayhuaman (it sounds like sexy woman when pronounced) . . . and every time the guide said it the youngest boy of the group would giggle.  One phrase we have heard often is "go when you can not when you need" . . . so before entering we take a restroom break.  One of the males came out laughing about a sign above the toilet in the men's restroom . . .

. . . apparently they do not like creative ways to use the toilet and it is funny!  So inside we go to explore Sacsayhuaman also known as 'Sexy Woman' . . .

And of course these guys call this place home and didn't even seem to notice us . . .

I know it is hard to tell just how large the boulder below is but this is the biggest carved boulder of the first wall and is estimated to weigh between 70-100 tons and each wall has 10 faces; sounds like a math lesson in the making.  Oh and this big boulder was brought here from a quarry that is 3 km away; can you imagine moving that thing?  It is hard to tell but I bet it is about 25-30 feet tall.

. . . and one more thing there is no mortar between the stones!  Some say the stones are so tightly arranged that it would be hard to slide a sheet of paper between the stones.  We hiked to the top with some beautiful views of downtown Cusco . . .

. . . and the Junior Adventurers practiced their best yoga poses . . .

. . . and then back on the bus where we were dropped off in the center of Cusco to enjoy the rest of the day on our own.

While I do enjoy the free time, I also enjoy the busy schedule and would have loved to had something organized for the afternoon!  As we arrived there was a parade . . .

We decided to go eat lunch at a place some other families ate last night called Incanto.  I had yellow potato gnocchi with a fresh tomato sauce, and Colin had pizza.  Can you tell we have had enough Peruvian food?  The local food in Peru is good but the change is nice too.  While the pizza and gnocchi were good, it was no where near as good as the food we had last night!  After we ate, we wandered around a bit and headed back to the hotel to take a nap . . . well, I took a nap and Colin played games.  I left him in the hotel room while I ran out to buy the rest of my 'White Llama' gift for tonight.  I arrived back at the hotel in time to change for dinner and head down stairs with gifts in tow.  Colin was so excited!  The kids managed to sit all together and the adults enjoyed our meal too.  It was show time and ready for our 'White Llama' gift exchange.  We played with some rules . . . could only be stolen 3 times; could not take back an item if already had it; went in reverse number order so number 1 went last.  Bummer because I was number 17.  The best part was the guide would open the item first and then give a little chat about the item without giving it away.  I think this made the game so much more fun as it sure did build up the anticipation and usually had us laughing.  It was about the story he told and seeing the big reveal . . . time to get our 'White Llama' gift exchange started . . .

I got two crappy magnets . . . I mean they weren't that bad but . . .

Colin got a stuffed cuy (guinea pig) with fork and knife taped to it . . .

. . . it was hilarious and everyone was laughing.  It was probably the most creative gift of the night.  It was quickly stolen and the second pick he got an Inca warrior pendant made out of llama bone . . .

Why the shower cap?  This gift gets the award for best wrapping!  It was wrapped in the hotel shower cap and tucked back into the small box!  We all had so much fun with the creative gifts.  Tomorrow we head back to Lima which means the trip will soon end.  I am not ready to return home.