Wool and it's Weavers

I awoke in the city of Cusco, once more ready for a day of adventure. We got on the bus early exactly for that reason and headed firstly to a small town outside of Cusco. There we were shown to an area where all the spinning and dying of alpaca wool is done. It was fascinating, we saw how they expertly spun the wool on spindles, making it seem simply to turn a mass of cottony wool into fine threads. From there it was dyed. This was equally as fascinating as the colours came from a number of odd and amazing places. For example the bright vibrant red comes from a parasite that feeds on the cacti in that area and when dried and crushed become the red powder used to make the dye. The next step in the process is to take the now dyed wool and turn it into the various handicrafts that can be found all over the country. Today's blip is of exactly that and is the beginnings of a table runner. It was amazing to watch their expert skills make it as they made incredibly detailed patterns by weaving wool in and out of the stretched strands.

The next stop of the day's journey was at a market a bit further on. It was quite a big one and full of plenty of handicrafts and souvenirs as well as a big fruit and veg section. Holly bought some shot glasses there to further add to her ever expanding collection.

Next we headed to the Sacred Valley. Here we saw yet more spectacular views and more inca ruins. It was quite a hot day and we spent most of it climbing up and down these ancient steps to explore the area and continue exercise in preparation for Machu Picchu.

Our last stop for the day was at a llama and alpaca farm. It was excellent as we got plenty of interaction with the animals and were able to feed them. They were mostly friendly to us, since we had the food, but if it looked like other llamas were about to get that food they started to threaten to spit!

From their it was back to Cusco and the hotel for some dinner and to pack our day packs as we start our four day trek to Machu Picchu tomorrow.

- Damian