Peru: Inca Market

I heard a lot about the Inca Market prior to my visit to Lima and it surely did not disappoint. It was hands down my favorite part of the trip (besides being with family, of course)! It was so good that I went on three separate occasions and now that I'm back home I am regretting not making a few more purchases there. Good thing my Mom can always go and send me a quality baby alpaca throw or something. :-)
The fascinating thing about the Inca Market is the sheer size of it. There are a million tiny little shops all packed together and it goes on for street block after street block. They sell all kinds of handmade things from all over Peru and I'm sure there would always be something new to discover. Oh, and you also get to bargain. That was definitely Russel's favorite part about the Inca Market. To be honest, I really think his Porteguese helped him out quite a bit on the bargaining front. My Mom and I went one time after Russel had already gone home and we didn't score quite as good deals with our mostly English/trying in Spanish combo. Or maybe he's just a better bargainer than both of us. Either way, we had a great time exploring the shops and finding good deals. I snapped a few pictures, but Russel was pretty insistent that I keep the camera in my purse most of the time. Apparently a huge DSLR camera signals that I'm a tourist and therefore kills my bargaining strategy. In retrospect, not a bad point.
Aren't the colors and textiles incredible? And most of the scarves/throws/hats are made of baby alpaca wool which is oh so soft. Looking at the pictures makes me want to go back and do some more shopping!