In which I write from bed at 7:30pm

Here's the thing- my sister is a responsible blogger.  She gives you pictures.  She gives you details of where we went and what we did there.  And so, dear readers, instead I offer you totally random thoughts on the trip thus far.

Let's talk about food for a moment, shall we?  We slept 4 hours last night.  I ate a cliff bar for breakfast.  Lunch didn't happen until 1pm.  So let it be known that when lunch came to be at 1pm in Pisaq, I would have eaten anything.  After camp food and traveling food, all I really wanted in life was something that had been cooked, not rewarmed.  So, Raul takes us to a restaurant, and helps us order (after insisting that we eat light as we get acclimated to the altitude).  At this point, he says he'll be back in 20 minutes, and disappears.  Well, for the next 20 minutes, Claire and I were so hungry that we really just stared at each other, and didn't seem to realize that the food was taking forever to come out.  When Raul returned to find we hadn't eaten, he literally stormed into the kitchen and returned with out lunch 30 seconds later!  For lunch we had chicken soup and a veggie omelet with french fries.  I know what you're thinking- that doesn't sound so exciting.  The veggie omelet was good, but the soup was AMAZING!  It was gingery, and garlicky, and full of still-slightly-crisp vegetables.  I was totally floored. 

So, we finish lunch, and we head out the Pisaq market, where Raul takes us on a fine tour of local produce.  I don't remember how many varieties of potatoes and corn are grown in Peru, but it's well into the hundreds.  The potatoes come in every shape, size, and color, and you have NEVER seen corn kernels so big.  Actually, I suspect you have never seen produce so big.  Claire has pictures.  The avocados are grapefruit sized, the shallots are onion sized, and the squash would make a great home for a large cat.  Well, Raul wasn't for just looking at produce- he grabbed a knife and started peeling.  The first thing we ate I can't remember the name of.  It has a green outside, and a white, creamy inside with a few black seeds.  It tastes like candy.  It was soooo good!  The second fruit was more like a passion fruit, and that was....strange...  Then we grabbed some fresh squeezed orange juice, yum!

Well, after that we saw some amazing Inca ruins, but I'll leave that to Claire to tell you about.  Suffice it to say that we were well fortified for the trip, and we enjoyed ourselves very much.  The views were breathtaking.

This evening we are barely functional, between altitude changes and sleep deprivation, so we chose to eat at the hotel, which has a lovely little restaurant.  Claire had trout with a sweet chili sauce (trout is big away from the ocean).  I had a quinoa, veggie, egg, chicken stir fry.  Again, SO GOOD!  Now, I know what you're thinking, "Hey, Emily, that doesn't sound very Peruvian.  Actually that sounds sort of Asian."  But, you are wrong!  There is a huge chinese influence here in Peru, and much of the food is spiked with ginger and lime, giving it a lovely, fresh flavor.  Peruvian food is such an intersting fusion.  And the veggies are all organic and delicious.

The other thing I want to discuss with you is the weather.  Now, I came straight from camp in Vermont.  I figured- winter in Peru sounds like summer in Vermont to me, and I packed accordingly.  At least here in Pisaq, the weather range is actually huge.  Like, almost freezing at night, 80 at noon.  Good thing my inner Vermonter packed a few nice, warm things.  I think I will not be wearing any of the shorts I packed.  Claire and I actually ate dinner tonight while wearing out winter hats (which made us nice and cozy)!

Now, I am writing from bed.  I am very much looking forward to sleep and then a nice, leisurely breakfast before we head out for the next set of ruins.  A lovely, relaxing, intellectual, tasty, beautiful trip so far!

Buenos Noches,
Emily