Day 8- Streets of Cusco

Max was thrilled to sleep in today. We got a delicious start with apple pancakes and fresh squeezed orange juice. 

Today we walked the streets of Cusco, hitting up all the tourist sites. On our way to the textile museum we stumbled upon San Pedro Market. Max was in sensory overload. 

One of the bread makers at the market gave Max a sample. Usually Max likes to share, but it must have been really good because he gobbled up the whole piece without dropping a crumb. 

After the market we made our way to Qorikancha, the Incan ruins at the base of the Santo Domingo church. It's believed that ruins were once covered in gold, and home to life-sized solid gold statues of corn and alpacas that were used in agricultural rituals. When the Spanish arrived all of the precious metal were taken, leaving only the stone wall. 

Not sure that Max enjoyed the history lesson but he loved the park at the base. He found two young Peruvian boys to play with. The three of them ran around happily chasing pigeons and each other. 

Then we went to the textile museum where I had a lesson in weaving. 

I have a whole new appreciation for the amount of work that goes into hand-woven fabrics. That being said, I think I'll stick to knitting! 

On the way home we came across an Incan Museum, Max wasn't too interested in the artifacts until we came to the mummies! The Incans would treat their mummies as if they were still alive. Servants carried them around in pots (like the one beside the mummy), brought them out into the sunlight each day, offered them food and drink, and took them to visit people and places the think they would have liked to go when they were living. Not sure that I'd like to be on the receiving end of a mummy drop-in. 

It was a long day in the carrier for Max, but he was a trooper! 

We celebrated being back with a Dance-Party in the hotel room. He is showing off his new favourite dance move, the rapid-fire foot stomp. 

When we went down for dinner, we found a Max-sized chair in the courtyard. He was very amused and spent all of supper time popping in and out of the chair with joyful squeals. 

Tomorrow we will head up to the ruins over-looking the city. Apparently there are a lot of children around there for Max to play with and lots of wide-open space.