More shopping in Cuzco

Sourcing my throughfall gutters was less straight-forward as V. and I thought (a theme perhaps). When we arrived at the shop which allegedly sells aluminium sheets they told us they do only glass. Ten shops later we had worked out a feasible option but it's more expensive than planned...so back to the computer to check with the budget master. Same with battery chargers which need to be bought new because they have disappeared from my suitcase.
After about twenty minutes of walking from shop to shop I was well ready to pack in. Especially crossing the road here is a precarious affair. Nobody cares about traffic signals and drivers tend to accelerate as they see pedestrians crossing in front of them. This does not only apply to Gringas - I observed many locals scarper across to the other side like frightened chickens. What is worse is that each time a car manages to pass a pedestrian in transit before he/she has reached the other side it spews out huge victorious clouds of PM10s, leaving the pedestrian in breathless agony. The proud Cuzcenos don't even blink when that happens but I know they feel it, too.
In the afternoon V. and her boyfriend R. took me up to Sacsayhuaman. At some point we were stopped as we tried to venture past a little hut in which sat a pale and patient-looking man. He declared that V. and R. were free to go on, but that I, the tourist, had to pay 40 soles. R. wouldn't have any of that and so he devised a new route through dense undergrowth until we had reached our chosen destination without any further interruption. Before I was allowed to see the scenery, though, the situation was carefully checked for security guards by my hosts.




R. then proceeded to give us a very special tour through an ancient, dark and narrow tunnel trough the rocks (evidently used as an alternative loo since I don't know when ) past a gynaecological seat for Mrs Inca-to-be and an Inca-profile made of rock on to the next hillock which is the home of Christo Blanco, a huge Jesus statue overlooking the city. Up here I was shown where my barrio is, which proved useful for the taxi ride home later.
The day ended with work (and it seems I got one more sensor to work) and a chinese take-away stylishly presented by J., the master of the house.