We began the day with a visit to the local corn beer bar. We learned how to make corn beer and we sampled both the plain and the strawberry flavoured. Of course the strawberry was my favourite. As we walked a round this local bar we saw the Guinea Pig barn. Everyone raises a few Guinea pigs for that special dinner, weddings graduations…. In the market there is always at least one vendor selling grass to fatten the little buggers. Our guide tells us the trick is not to name them.
After drinking we played the local coin toss game. A small table with a drawer has a metal frog with an open mouth anchored in the centre, around that are several other holes for the coins to fall into. The coin is about the size of a quarter and the weight of a
Silver dollar. At ten in the morning, after a glass of strawberry beer this game can be very entertaining.
Next stop, Inca Railroad, the train up to Machu Picchu, the ancient Inca village. Their was a light rain and the clouds were hanging very low. I have been very concerned about this part of the trip because of the altitude sickness and my asthma. We walked for about three hours, up and down stone stairs of varying widths. Our guide, Edgar
Is very knowledgeable, he is a trained guide which requires a four year degree, he has a Phd, and is a consultant for National Geographic. Among the amazing things he shared with us new theory on the orientation of Machu Picchu. The mountain structure is between four mountains, one in each of the cardinal directions and the river from the sacred valley runs by all the mountains.
The method of building required no mortar. The walls, doors and windows are all trapezoidal. Many of the rocks were from the top of the mountain. They were cut and hauled down to form the large terraces,
When we returned to the hotel we celebrated Pisco day. We learned to make Pisco sours, the national drink.
I may have mentioned this already, sorry, the national population is three women for every man. This is further complicated by the number of gay men.
ANCORA IMPARO 
Finally have time to catch up on your travels. Once again, very impressive, Linda.
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