The Sacred Valley

I'm trying to upload pictures. I'm still in Cusco and right now it's rainy and I'm freezing. Tomorrow morning I leave at 5am for the Salkantay Trek, a fun 4 night 5 day adventure with a sleeping bag, water bottle and bug repellent. After much medling I finally decided to suck it up and go for it. It's also cool cause I can get out of Cusco (aka tourist city) which I've already had enough of. Yesterday I went to the Sacred Valley with Murium and Alex, two German folks. The bus we got on didn't have enough seats and being the smallest (ya smallest!) I got to sit on a little stool in the middle of the aisle. It was a bit ridiculous. Our guide carried a rainbow striped flag around all day, it is known locally as the flag of Cusco. The pictures arent working so you'll just have to wait to see them. We hiked some ruins and walked through some markets. 'No gracias' is my best spanish saying, although I am improving and can understand much more than I could a week ago! The children in Peru are all adorable, and love getting pictures taken...many of them are dressed in traditional clothing and expect payment of 1 sole per picture (1USD=3 soles). It's the price you pay for being a tourist I guess. I've enjoyed some local cusine at the market and the teas here are wonderful. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I can't post agian for about a week, and hopefully will survive my trek to tell the tale!