Please forgive my inconsistency.  I want to tell you about today, not yesterday.  Today is Wednesday, November 21.  Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day.  I know what I am Thankful for...my life.  I am a lucky, lucky girl! Ignore the leeway I take there!

I have spent the day today in the small town of Ollantaytambo tucked high in the Andes mountains.  My first stop was at the local weekly fresh market.  Stepping gingerly over goat, sheep, donkey and miscellaneous poop, we watched ducklings being flung into cages while mothers and their small children picked out the live chicken that would be dinner.  Wiggling bags at the feet of the vendor contained either chickens or the Peruvian delicacy of guinea pig!  All would soon be on someone's dinner plate!

Mark, a young man on our tout commented to his wife Michella that these were truly organic vegetables as the many varieties of dried potato were mounded in sacks, and onions, greens and corn were in monumental stacks.  We saw that at the market were many mestizo women.  They are distinguished by the white top hats they wear everywhere every day.  The women are wealthy and respected because they are half Inca and half Spanish.  This was an amazing experience and so much better than the Pisac Market we spent time in yesterday.  It is a tourist focused place of stalls of woven goods and silver jewelry...this was Andean life.

Leaving the market we went to the Temple of the Sun.  Yes...I climbed all the way to the top.  I  made it and am so glad I did.  The Inca people were amazing builders and their economy was agricultural.  They relied on the timing of the seasons and so the Temple of the Sun and other marvels cleverly foretold the coming of the warm season and of the rainy season.  Climbing past the terraces and up 300 steps to the top I was able to see haw the stones and the windows were placed to catch the rays at the solstices perfectly.

Next we headed to the station in town for the Perurail train to Machu Picchu.  An hour and a half later we had passed river rapids, the new hydroelectric plant, an ancient Inca bridge and beautiful fields of corn and potatoes.  We saw hikers at the beginning of their four day trek on the Inca Trail up to Machu Picchu and arrived at the bustling little town.  Walking uphill to the Inti Inn to claim our room keys and leave our bags was a whirling mist of color and sound. 

After only a half hour to wash up we headed back downhill to the bus to the site.  30 bumpy minutes later we had reached our goal and entered the sacred grounds of one of the wonders of the world.  I am so glad that Karen convinced me to buy a walking stick.  With its aid I kept up with our group and climbed through this Incan city dating back to 1400 AD.  I went all the way up to the Guard House.  Our guide was great at explaining each of the amazing buildings and regaled us with stories of this ancient civilization.

We saw the kings burial tomb much like the idea of the pyramids where the wealthy were mummified and buried with their treasures for use in the next life. The Round Tower with had perfect alignment for the solstices, the Temple of Three Windows, and the  Astronomers House.  I am not able to load photos from this computer so much more will be added to this later.  I actually stood in the places the famed National Geographic photographers took their iconic pictures. 

I can't believe I have seen this wonder...and all the other wonders I have experienced this year and so I am Thankful.  Thankful for health, for a brain that is still interested in life and what is amazing in it, for children who encourage me to see the world and not wait on the sidelines.  I am thankful for a husband who worked hard for many years and cared for us and helped to make all this possible.  I know I am a lucky woman and I appreciate it.

I cannot believe that this year alone I have scuba dived for the first time, touched a pyramid, walked in the red sands of Petra, seen the world from the Kahlifa tower, been awestruck by the magnificence of the Taj Mahal, and waked in the footprints of the ancient Inca.

I wish you all and each a very happy holiday.  I will be celebrating with a return to Machu Picchu in the morning and then and trainride back to the Sacred Vallley and then a bus ride back to reality in the city of Cuzco.  God Bless you all.