A view of the valley below from on top of the mountain. This is where the bus toppled over the cliff and the driver died (not our bus thankfully). 
A photo snuck surrepticiously so I didn´t have to pay.
More Inca terraces. They really are quite amazing.
Sitting in front of some temples.
The entrance to the sun dial.
A view of the temples.
If you look closely you can see some store houses and a watch tower. In the valley below is the Sacred River.
Even more Inca terraces - they are everywhere. They must have been very fit.
Local children at the Pisaq market posing for a sole.
On Tuesday after a leisurely start to the day we set off to the Inca fortress perched dramatically on the mountain above Pisac. This meant driving up a very windy, steep road to the archeological site above. In many sectors, the ruins are built right along the edge of an abyss. Elizabeth and Sophie were both not feeling too well so they stayed with the bus whilst the rest of us elected to start the walk along the terraces that would eventually lead us back down the mountain to Pisac village. Whilst they were in the car park another bus tried to squeeze between the side of the cliff and a row of parked cars. Thankfully, the driver had already dropped off his passengers, as he hit another bus and plunged down the side of the cliff, flying out the window. This stupid decision cost the 26 year old driver his life. He was dead by the time some tourists, who were doctors, reached the wreckage. Elizabeth and Sophie witnessed the whole spectacle and were understandably rather shaken up. The rest of our group heard the ambulance sirens as we were exploring the ruins but had no idea what they were for until later.
The sites we were visiting kept getting better and better. I can’t wait to go to Machu Picchu. The path we took lead us past an Incan cemetery ~ holes in the mountain where mummies were placed. Apparently a mummy can fetch a decent price on the black market so guards have to continually watch over this area to keep the grave robbers at bay. We marched past more terraces and storage rooms along the mountain and through a short tunnel carved into the rock, to the ceremonial area which consists of a sun dial, altars, water fountains and basins, and a ceremonial platform. The water features were very impressive and would have made Jamie Durie proud. Inspired by the amazing plumbing, Jon now wants to install some Incan aqueducts in our backyard!
We then headed down the mountain past many circular ruins that would have been guard posts and watch towers. The hundreds of steep steps (apparently nothing compared to the Machu Picchu Inca Trail) led us all the way back to the Pisac market where I quickly forgot about my sore legs and went shopping! Turns out the alpaca blanket I bought as a gift for someone is only about 20% alpaca and I could have got it for half the price at another stall. I hate it when that happens!
On the way back to the volunteer house we passed another accident. This time a local bus had met head on with a pregnant cow. Didn’t seem like anyone was hurt but the cow was not so fortunate. It was lying dead in the middle of the road and had made a mess of the windscreen.
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