Its all downhill from here!

We hit our highest altitude yesterday - 14,000 feet, on our way from Lake Titicaca to Cusco. When we left Lake T we hit the jackpot, as our driver had got a tip that the road blockade was going to be lifted, we were one of the first buses out and we were so lucky, it saved us 2 hours.  Driving thru the Andes was spectacular, lots of small farming villages every few km, crossing the Urumbamba River. We stopped in Pukara, a small village with a very interesting museum.  Inside were stone carvings found in the area, dating back 1500 years. The one of the god eating the baby was particularly interesting.  Another stop was at an Incan temple.  People travelling along the Incan hiway would have used it as a stopover and to worship and sell their goods. Only one of the temple walls is still standing, but it was the centre wall with massive carvings.  There were 13 stone huts for the "chosen women" - 12 - 14 year old girls that would be offered up to the gods.
Family - you will love this--while we were passing a couple in a narrow pathway, the fellow saw Sharons Canada tshirt, and said "yeah Canada". so we asked him where in Canada he was from, and he said he was from the Netherlands and he loved  Canada because we had liberated them. I couldnt resist so I said " and my dad was one of those Canadians".  He came over and gave me a big hug.  I had a Canada pin in my pocket, so I gave it to him - he got very emotional and gave me another hug - very special moment.
We arrived in Cusco last night at dinner time, and our hotel, once again is spectacular. It is a very old building, looks like a castle on the inside, huge courtyard with fountains, and stone arches.  We had dinner in a hall with a huge table, and there was a violinist playing, it was magical.
The buildings in Cusco are very interesting, alot of the foundations are original Incan foundations, and then they have built on top of them.  The people are not allowed to tear down anything that was built by the Incans.
Today we saw a lot of the Incan ruins, most just discovered in the last 50-60 years, some after the 1950 earthquake.
We went to Saqsayhuaman - pronounced sexy woman.  The government has made this site a national park to protect it, some of the locals were stealing rocks from the walls to use on their own homes. Most believe this was a fortress and because of the huge plaza area, was used for rituals and ceremonies. Some of the pottery that has been found here suggests it dates back over a millenium. We saw the burial preparation site - it was underground but those Incans were so smart, they knew how to place holes in the rocks in just right places and they would place white material to reflect the light to where they were working.
I have to sign off now, my time is up and I am on a Mac for the fist time - keyboard takes some getting used to.
We are off to Machu Picchu tomorrow, will try to post pics when i can.
Girls, I hear there is snow, the snowshovel is hanging on the side of the gal garage .
Love to all, stay tuned......