Another hotel breakfast and then we set out for one of the museums that was closed yesterday: the regional historical museum of Cusco. It was a strange mix of things, part ancient history, part pre-Columbian, and part Spanish influence… but none got very deep. We were in and out within an hour or so.

My favorite painting was this disturbing one of a woman tandem feeding a baby and an old man. It had no explanation.

Somehow we were already hungry and stopped at the first restaurant that looked good. Nick and I each tasted local delicacies we have wanted to try. Mine was Inca Kola, the popular, seemingly radioactive soda here. I shared it with Millie and she couldn’t believe how good it was. I will happily go the rest of my life without ever having it again.

Nick was a bit more adventurous and ordered Cuy, which is local guinea pig. It was served to him fully dressed. And not in the culinary sense, it was literally wearing a hat. I am not sure if this was a just-for-tourists thing but I couldn’t stop laughing at the horrifying scene.

He did his best and ate most of it. Said it tasted fine but was difficult to eat.

We didn’t really have much on the agenda so we decided to go back to the hotel room to chill a bit. We packaged up some laundry for them to do. I booked train tickets for tomorrow. Millie wrote a very long and strange book.

Once we fully rested, we walked back out to Qorikancha, which is just a block from our hotel. This was the central meeting point for the Inca and then had a Cathedral built on it by the Spaniards. We almost didn’t make it in because Millie has developed a new and severe fear of Jesus. I get it though, what is up with the violent imagery and realistic hanging on the cross business? I had to carry her through the first room with her face buried in my neck.

We enjoyed looking at the architecture, especially the original Incan walls.

We could barely go to the church bits because there were strange mannequins hiding in every room. Even I found them creepy.

We walked to an early dinner in the plaza. Tonight’s dinner was much better than last night’s. We got our coveted balcony spot and watched as the sun went down. We ordered well and Millie actually ate. It was amazing people (and dog) watching from our little perch.

We left satisfied, and walked to a theatre near our hotel. We heard of this performance because it was included in our Boleto Turistico, so we figured we’d try it. We got in line at 6 and were let in shortly after. The small theatre reminded me of a school.

The show didn’t start until 7 and Millie somehow waited patiently in her seat for an hour. We played a game where we drew a shape on her drawing pad and she made it into something else. This drawing pad has been the most valuable item on this whole trip.

The show began. There was a band of about 9 musicians, and 10 dancers. They rotated through various traditional dances, including outfit changes. We have seen these cultural performances in so many places now and always love them. It’s fun to compare them.

My favorite part of all is catching glimpses of Millie’s sweet face taking it all in. She pays such close attention and didn’t complain of boredom for the whole hourlong show.

We left and headed back to the hotel. We did some packing so that we’re not rushing off to our train in the morning.