So far Peru is awesome! We found that sleeping was difficult last night because we were really cold and also it was hard to breathe as we are still adjusting to the altitude. There were times in the night I would wake up because I was short of breath (the same happened with Alex). This is the highest altitude either of us have been so it does take some getting used to. 

Everyone here is friendly and the streets are safe to explore as we please. What a beautiful city surrounded by mountains and full of culture. Today we took a walk in the morning to the city square, Playa De Armas, and it happened to be a day of celebrations with thousands of people out and about. On our walk to the square we were approached by local women and their children to take photos with them and their baby goats (of course we gave them money as this seems to be a popular means of income in Cuzco). You can't go far without someone trying to sell you something - wether it be paintings, jewellery, clothing, and even fake raybans! We are good at politely refusing and continuing on our way. At the city square, locals were dressed in traditional ensembles and there was a parade with music and dancing and even the Peruvian military marching the streets! We were lucky to be here on such a day because apparently it doesn't happen often! We then took a group tour to a few of the important archeological sites (Corcichana also called the temple of the sun, Saqsaywaman, which is a UNESCO world heritage site and is situated at 12,000ft, Quenco, and Tambomachay). We met some pretty cool people on this tour all from the states and Canada - there was a group of university students from Oregon State, girls from Montreal, a family from texas, and then of course us representing Ontario Canada! Our tour guide was really helpful and explained everything, and helped us to understand the culture and traditions, she was great! On the bus back to town we stopped at a fur factory and they taught us how to tell the difference between baby alpaca and "maybe alpaca" fur. This is because many vendors and markets try to sell tourists unauthentic items. By this part of the tour it was just after 6 pm and was already dark so we were wanting to get back to our hotel. All together it was an informative tour and we are glad we did it. I would recommend doing a tour like this to anyone who is coming to Cuzco.

We are now back at our hotel in bed because tomorrow is an early morning. We are taking the morning train to Machu Picchu! 










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