Breakfast was again included at the hotel buffet so we had some eggs and toast in the morning before checking out of our hotel and heading to the hills above Cusco.

After stopping for some photo ops of the city of Cusco, we went on a horseback ride to see the Andean landscape and enjoy the scenery.

After the horseback adventure (during which my horse tried to bite Misty’s horse) in the Sacsayhuamán area, we stopped at a local ‘market’ where locals dye and weave beautiful products.

We learned how much effort goes into the process of making the beautiful handicrafts I’ve been seeing in Peru.

We got some cute hats and fun pics! Time for lunch!  We were scheduled for lunch at a place called Mama Mary.  I tried looking it up online to see the reviews but couldn’t find anything.  We parked the van, walked across a bridge, down a dirt road and stopped at a house.

Once we got there, I figured out why there were no reviews for this restaurant!  It was not a restaurant.  We went to someone’s house for lunch.  It was located on a dirt road with no signage. Chef Mary turned out to be the sister of our van driver.

The dining room was colorful and attractive.  We were the only guests.

After lunch, we headed to the train station to board the Inca Rail train that would take us to Aguas Calientes/Machu Picchu. Misty loved the chia cookie that we got on the train.  More on that chia cookie in the Machu Picchu post coming soon.

After an unexpected, unexplained, and lengthy delay on the train, we finally got to the town of Aguas Calientes/Pueblo Machu Picchu and to the hotel, Tierra Viva Aguas Calientes where our guide Henry was waiting for us despite the long delay.

We ordered a late dinner (club sandwich) from the hotel restaurant with a Pisco Sour to wash it down.

After dinner, we headed straight to bed so we could wake up at 3:30 a.m. for our awesome adventure to the Machu Picchu Incan ruins the next day. Living Hilo Style in Peru.