back in Cuzco

We were forced to slow down on the tourist schedule today due to a bit of stomach troubles I developed during the night. Carmen and I were planning to go to the Sunday market in Pisac early this morning. When the alarm clock went off at 5:30 a.m. I told Carmen to turn it off and go back to bed. I was in no shape to be on a bus for an hour. I was on a mission on the last few days to find food that had vegetables in it. The staple diet here is soup, meat, rice and fried or boiled potatoes. Being a vegetarian here is not easy. So I've been eating meat to get protein, but my digestive system has been crying out for roughage. But now I suspect those vegetables I did manage to eat, a few slices of tomato and cucumber, are the culpits of my stomach problems. Yea, yea, I know I should have known bettter. No more uncooked vegetables for this trip.

We are hanging out in Cuzco for the morning instead. I walked over to the main plaza to find, as is often the case, a parade going on. Apparently the festival of Carmen is still going on. The plaza was filled with kids in school uniforms marching in military style, arms and legs swinging straight in front of them. There were also about 30 or so little girls dressed as angels hanging out with families by the church entrance. So adorable. I stuck around for a bit but the sun was too strong and it seemed the perfect place to be hit by a pick pocket, so I didn't linger too long.

An afternoon nap and a good dose of Pepto Bismol and a lunch of dry crackers got me going again. We went out for dinner. I had a huge bowl of chicken soup which was filled with vegetables (cooked). My stomach thanked me.

Here is a pic I took while wandering around town. What tourists!