Chrisco in Cusco.....

Well, the last morning for now in Cusco (or is it Cuzco??....spelled both ways but only see Cusco in town). Yesterday was a free day and we took advantage of the museums and other sites. The museums lacked the content and quality of those in the states but at least there was one mummy to check out! I don´t think the paintings (many of which are religious in nature) are protected from the elements and many other objects were in the open air and subject to Mother Nature. Aside from that I really enjoyed what they did have even if I couldn´t understand a word of the explanations. Leslie, Brian and I together were able to decipher some of it but not most.
I just can´t describe in words how quaint this town is. The fact that you can turn a cobblestone corner to see actual Inca walls or find a unique shop is just one of the many aspects I like. You are surrounded by mountains and the clouds frame it all well. It has rained off an on but nothing significant. It is a bit hard to know whether to wear fleece or a jacket or a short sleeve shirt, etc. I guess that is the fun of it. I really feel safe here too and people are very friendly. You probably can´t get lost if you use the mountains or the plaza to keep your bearings. There are the usual peddlers, one young boy I think we finally got rid of yesterday. I haven´t seen him this morning. He followed us all over even after several of us nicely told him to go away. I think he was probably around 11. I finally told him he needed to leave us alone. A policeman saw us and he went after the little guy. I felt a little bad but we tried to tell him his odds would be better of actually selling a postcard if he spread out his territory and didn´t focus only on us.
Leslie and I hit a few churches and they are quite beautiful. Huge, ornate (probably at one time had real gold accents on the alter, etc.). The food has been a fun experience too. We tried chica, the local beer at one authentic restaurant for lunch. We learned that if there is a red rag hanging from a stick above a door it means that the place is a bar and serves chicha.
The hotel has a really nice, open air courtyard and we´ve spent a couple nights enjoying conversation and the local drink, piscu sour (not sure of the spelling), which is made of some type of brandy and other things. We´ve had great conversations and all of us get along really well in our group. I think we lucked out there.
No pig stories to share here but despite the lack of significant, traumatic events I have loved every minute here. The fact that I don´t know what day of the week or day of the month it is I find to be a really good thing. Now off to Ollantaytambo to see the Sacred Valley of the Incas......