Out of the Jurisdiction: Cuzco to the Sacred Valley of the Incas

Lonely Planet says that if you visit only one place in Cuzco, make it Qorikancha, the Incan ruins on which the colonial church and convent of Santo Domingo was built.  Some Inca stone walls survive.  

Without modern engineering or tools, the Incas fit big, heavy, complicated stones together, 
without mortar, in perfect alignment. 

The convent was built around a simple courtyard, with an ornate tower looming above.

From here we can see both the Inca 15th century stonework and the Spanish colonial church begun a century later.  There will be more time for Cuzco in a few days.  Now, on to the Sacred Valley.

A beautiful spot on the bus ride from Cuzco down into the Sacred Valley of the Incas.

The town of Teray seen from an overlook on the descent into the Secret Valley of the Incas.

A yucca was blooming on the mountainside below us.  You can see hummingbirds if you look close.

In the market town of Pisaq, it is boring if no tourists buy your handicrafts.

If these smiles look posed and artificial, it is because they are.  In the Pisaq market,
children dress up, hold baby animals and beg to have their photos taken.  

Hey, they needed the coins more than I did.

I am away again until mid-March.