Easter Sunday - Sacred Valley

Started the day by running from one church to the other to catch the Easter Sunday mass.  Beautiful calla lilies in all the churches, one church had white cloth draped over the whole alter area, and the cathedral outdid all the others with fantastic organ music and a choir. When I left the cathedral, all the different branches of the military were parading around the plaza and hung the flags.  I ran back to the hostal to meet up with the others to go to the Sacred Valley.  As I entered the hostal, a couple was leaving, both dressed in white with flowers and native American type adornments...they were heading into the Sacred Valley to get married! 

Here is info on the Sacred Valley-including a map:  http://www.andeantravelweb.com/peru/destinations/cusco/sacredvalley.html

We left Cusco going to the east and stopped in Chinchero first for the market and the ruins.  I backed out on the ruins after enjoying a demonstration on the weaving, and ended up doing some shopping at the little market there.  Most of the market was produce for the locals, but around the outside there were a lot of crafts as well. 

From Chinchero we headed to Urabamba for lunch and then on to Pisac for the market and the ruins. I did a little shopping and then headed to the ruins with Janine and her Aunt Pat.  I was so totally blown-away by the beauty of the place.  So high up and dramatic peaks and valleys to look at.  We had the late afternoon sun and it was stunning - unfortuanately, the camera did not capture the colors. 

We had a crazy fast drive back in the dark on the busy winding roads so we could make it to the bus terminal in time for the evening bus back to Arequipa for some of the gals.  Kind of scary, but I also had some confidence in the driver: I was glad we were in a nice minivan and not on a public bus!

For more pics, here is my album: http://picasaweb.google.com/margie510/SacredValleyEaster#