The Weekend Part 2: Um, Has Anyone Seen My Wallet?

Sunday morning the roommates and I met up with a few other teachers and headed to Pisac, another Incan ruin site in the Sacred Valley. Pisac is a market town on Sunday mornings, but I was a bit spoiled by Otavalo in Ecuador, so I can't say I was that impressed by the market. I can't say the same for the ruins. I think it might be my favorite spot on the planet. I don't even think I know enough words to describe it. Every time we turned a corner, we just kept saying things like "wow," "amazing," and "awesome." I was expecting a few terraces, but there were a lot more than a few. It was absolutely huge. Terraces all the way up the mountain, with ruins of houses in clusters all over the peaks, and a religious sector of temples and a sacrificial rock for llamas. We spent a few hours up there. Before we left, we made friends with Pedro, a young boy selling his handmade bracelets and belts. I'm not quite sure how people make a living by selling things for the equivalent of 30 cents, but they're all over the place. I didn't buy anything from Pedro, but I did offer him a cookie from my lunch. I know I contributed to the rotting of his teeth, but I think the smile on his face when he heard galleta was well worth it. We had an awesome hike down the mountain with great views of the largest Incan cemetery. They're actually buried in the side of the cliff. How they got up there, much less made it up there with a dead body and some tools, I have no idea. As we approached the town, a torrential downpour started, but we learned our lesson Saturday and whipped out the rain gear.

The weekend was great until the very end. We took a crowded bus back to Cusco, and it wasn't until I was in the taxi on the way home and had to pay the driver that I realized my wallet was gone. (I also realized my Spanish is best in a crisis situation when I was able to explain the situation to the driver and tell him I would get money from the house and be right out. Don't ask me how.) And I thought I was doing so well with the karma points. (I'll explain my beliefs on karma and travel at a later time.) I had it on the bus since I paid for my ride, then put it back in my bag. Somehow, it must have been lifted while it was in my zippered bag, which was sitting on my lap. There is a very talented thief out there somewhere. Luckily, the damage is minimal. While I lost a bit of cash and my ability to get cash, I was able to cancel everything immediately, and I get paid on Friday. Besides the inconvenience of having another card sent to Peru, I'm fine. Now I just have to start racking up more karma points...