Las touristas muy jovenes...

...was what the lady at Saqsaywaman(aka Sexy Woman) called Lorna and Lia after she realized that we had lost our tour bus and were stuck on a moutain. "Um, nos perdimos el bus." Stares, raises eyebrow, rolls eyes and gets on the walkie. "I have two young tourists, very very young, who lost their bus," she said in Spanish. Natalie was smart enough to have stayed back for this part of the tour. After being told they could not walk down the mountian (no es seguro!), Lia and Lorna, feeling sheepish and silly, took a taxi down the hill and hightailed it back to the hostel.

Cusco is the land of roasted guinea pigs and women in traditional Peruvian garb (plus the ever bizarre fedora hat). So far, we have witnessed at least 300 dancing troupes shake it through the main square as part of a Sun Festival, which the locals say goes on throughout June. We have hiked cobblestone streets and come a little too close to many a llama (which, by the way, are led around on leashes like giant dogs - which is funny seeing as none of the dogs here are on leashes). We have, as you read before, had one busted tour, but yesterday turned out to be exactly what we had hoped for and more.
Even if it was long and exhausting, our excitment about finally seeing the infamous Machu Picchu made the long, bumpy, jolting trip worth it. We got up in the wee hours, boarding a bus, then a train, then another bus, and finally, we were there. Machu Picchu is an ancient Inca city which is carved out of the mountain and surrounded by steep, pointy, tree covered peaks. The view was absolutely breathtaking. The weather was perfect, warm and clear. Our guide on this tour was not a fan at first...but don´t worry we won him over by saving him a seat on the bus and offering him coca candy (ps, Peruvian men LOVE when we offer them candy, especially Jelly Bellys). Mario was enthusiastic and hilarious, trucking around with his yellow flag. We loved it. See our elation in the picture below:)

After the strangest trainride ever getting back to Cusco, we would like to offer a riddle based on our experiences...and whoever emails us with the correct answer wins a free beer upon our return. Make that a pitcher. A train is on the top of a hill. The station is at the bottom. The train goes down the hill and then back up a total of 15 times. The train is not broken, nor is there something on the track. THere is no other train coming the opposite way. Las Tres Profesoras reach their station 25 minutes later. How? You must explain how the train got to its destination, even though it went up and down the same hill and over and over.

With much love, we leave you here - tomorrow our travels take us to Puno. And then Southward towards Chile! We want to hear your comments and will reply in our blog, so post em and don´t be shy!

Love,

Las Tres Profesoras