Pisac

Sunday I took a combi then a bus to Pisac  at the other end of the Sacred Valley. There is a huge handicraft market there.On the bus I met a cute college girl from Baizil,Maria Teresa. She is a volunteer English teacher at a rural school outside of Ollantaytambo. We got off the bus and went our seperate ways but then met a few minutes later at the market. She wants to go see the ruins outside of town but doesn´t know where they are. I consult my guidebook and find they are several kilometers out of town. I hadn´t planned on going there but the prospect of spending more time with a cute girl is enough to convince me.We split a cab which takes us up the mountain to the ruins. It consists of a large area of terraces with some ruins perched precariosly atop a ridge. The place is crawling with tourists and we join them in clamoring about the ruins. After about an hour we return to the entrance only to find our cab is not there.He was supposed to meet us in an hour. We walk around confused, wondering what to do next when Cluadio, our driver, returns. He was back in town eating lunch. We go back to town where she needs to pee and I need to eat. I went to a nice restaurant overlooking the market. It was full of American tourists. I order alpaca steak with elderberry sauce and a bowl of creme of pumpkin soup. A half hour later the soup arrives. After another long wait the alpaca arrives. It is delicious, kind of like a lean version of a NY strip. The whole operation takes 1 1/2 hours and eats the rest of my afternoon. I make a half hearted attempt to find Maria Teresa then return to catch the bus back. Its my day to dry out so on return to my hotel I sit out front and watch all the tourists walk by. There are far more women than men on the tourist trail, mostly in groups of 2-4.