Muñapata and Zona X

 This day we got up and popped into a van with our driver Leo (also our landlord) to go to Muñapata. It was a pretty long drive, and I thought the hike to the blue pools would be significant-- maybe a couple hours there and back. Well, this was kind of a planning fail, because it was only about 10 minutes one-way. Also, I think everybody photoshopped their instagram pictures, or maybe it was just because it was cloudy out, but the blue wasn't as vivid and bright as the pictures I'd seen.  Also, it was only one tiny little pool, there were no other pools or places to explore, just the one picture that everyone takes.

This was, crazily enough, the only time we ever had to worry about rain. It was raining pretty hard when we started walking, but dried up very soon after, and then drizzled here and there again. On the plus side, there was a cool swing on the trail.

It was a cool little spot. Just, short. :)

We thought we might be able to go up and over the hills behind us to get to another cool place, but it got super steep with no trail after a while, so we had to give up the idea.

And we came back down.

Going up to where we started hiking up the hill was involved, mostly because the rock was wet and slick. But Brett found a good long pole to help everyone, and we all got up and down without accident.

Leo recommended a stop at this little overlook place with a cool hand sculpture, so we did.

Then we drove back to Cusco, but Brett had found somehow info about this place called Zone X, where there are caves and tunnels and stuff. We had been near the area before, but didn't know this place was there. He dropped us off, and we wandered on the hillside looking for this place. I was about to give up when Brett finally found it. And then it was amazing! We all kind of split into groups and started going through the little tunnels and things.

We finally came together again, and then we all wanted to show each other what we had found. Brett had us go through a part that you had to climb up a squishy spot and come out aboveground.

Then we played a game of hide-and-seek.

It was a super super fun place. We had a great time. It was definitely a place we would not have visited if we only had a shorter time in Cusco.

Then we walked home. Brett was impressed by these Incan walls.

We went to the ward Christmas party that night, which was weird because, while we showed up a half hour late, there was something else entirely going on (a music recital) and so we waited for the actual ward party to start, which was fun, but then they brought out dinner at 9:00 at night, and were going to start a dance at around 9:30 and Brett and I are like, "uhh, we're tired and are going home," because apparently we're lame, non-partying Americans.