Blogs from Moray, Cusco, Peru, South America
January 22nd 2012
Today we hiked through the Salineras, or the salt mines of Mara. The mines were other worldly. They seemed to grow out of the mountains, like a multi-colored rectangular honey comb. We had summited a small mountain looking for them before they appeared before our feet. When we looked down, 1,500 salt pans met our gaze. Las Salineras produces the majority of the salt consumed in the Cusco region. Still, they seemed to blend in with nature so well, we had almost missed it. How could something so productive and industrial be so beautiful and worthy of tourism? The salt extraction from the mountain seemed not only effortless, but naturally beautiful as well. The rock walls connecting the pans were indistinct from the mountain itself. The only sign of input energy was a stream that seemed ... read more
September 17th 2011
Saturday (Sep. 17th) I was supposed to go on a tour today of the South Valley and its ruins, but I ended up being sick all day. It was no fun, I literally spent almost the entire day in the bathroom, and I ended up having to pay for the tour I missed anyway since I hadn't told them enough ahead of time to cancel it. Oh well. Sunday (Sep. 18th) I felt infinitely better today so I went on the tour we had planned to the Moras salt mines and the Moray ruins. They were incredible, I am so glad I got to go, and there were just four of us on the tour (Vivi, two other guys, and I) so it was basically a private tour. The Moras salt flats (also called the Salineras) ... read more
Drunken night out and crazy truck journey
Published: July 11th 2011South America » Peru » Cusco » Moray
July 11th 2011
Well it has been an interesting week since eoghan arrived. The start of the week i showed him round the town a bit. The markets are good here but you cant buy everything you want, not enough room in luggage!! We went out for dinner on Eoghan’s first day, alpaca tastes good, but the americans we were with were a bit intense!! We moved into our wee flat on Tuesday, so comfortable. On Wednesday we went out with the girls from newcastle, it was Heather’s birthday. The club was a bit dodgy from the start, with some pervert wains at the door. I got very drunk as the drinks seemed to get stronger in the club! But it was a grand night as far as I could tell! Thursday was a lazy day, mostly because of ... read more
Moray/Maras/Saineras de Maras on a mountain bike
Published: March 22nd 2010South America » Peru » Cusco » Moray
February 20th 2010
Moray/mountain biking from ollantaytambo/ Maras Carnival 20th Feb 2010 After the climb to the garrison in Ollantaytambo we took a wee walk around the town to look for somewhere to eat, On the main square surprisingly we found a tour operator open selling mountain biking tours as well as white water rafting though it was unavailable due to the high river and dangerous conditions but we decided to go ahead with the bike trip the following morning, from Ollantaytambo to Maras, down the mountain to the salt mines and then a bus connection to Cusco. We had an early start and surprisingly were not the only people doing the trip, a couple from the U.K. were our companions. We started at Moray another Incan site, this one unique as it's believed to be a nursery for ... read more
July 30th 2009
At the lovely Acupari Language School we had a field trip last Thursday to Moray and Salineras. It was great except for the snow, everyone speaking German, and the rain. Moray is this amazing Inca agricultural experiment. The Inca built terraces at different elevations in circles to achieve slight differences in climate. Then they planted different species of crops and different variations of each crop in an effort to develop better plant genetics in the foods that they were planting. It is both visually and intelectually amazing. Our stop was cut short by a downpour and I nearly fainted trying to run back to the bus at that altitude. The next stop was Salineras. It was a great sight to see. Essentially what happens there is that the river flows out from underground in an area ... read more
February 25th 2009
"..on the road again..." I can hear Willie´s twang in my head as I drive up the mountain and over tabletop fields of corn and potatoes. I am in an old car with a driver who knows all the back roads. We nearly get stuck in mud twice, but his zippy sense of direction cuts off a few kilometres I suspect. With great sadness I left Ollantaytambo and headed for the Inca site, Moray. I left the rain in the mountains for the first part of the day. We drove past Urubamba and turned right, over the river and up the mountain. Once we hit the tableland the sky was a perfect blue with cumulus clouds signaling rain sometime that day. The open sky was a nice change from the mountains; don´t get me wrong, I ... read more
February 16th 2007
Juna Aguas Calientesistä kohti Ollantaytamboa lähti 5:45 aamulla, joten herättiin puoli viiden aikoihin. Junamatka meni yllättävän kivuttomasti maisemia katsellessa (ja Katjan nukkuessa). Ollantaytamboon päästyämme juna-asema oli täynnä busseja matkalla Cuscoon. David hyppäsi sellaiseen, mutta me päätettiin käydä kattomassa Morayn inka-terasseja, joten käveltiin ensin kylän keskustaan rauhassa aamupalalle. Aamupalan jälkeen 45minuutin kollektiivi-hiace- matka Urubambaan ja sieltä kollektiivi-taxi/bussi kohti Marasin kylää. joka sijaitsi inkanähtävyyksien lähellä. Bussi ei kuitenkaan koukannut itse kylään, vaan jäätiin bussipysäkille n.5 km kylästä keskelle ei-mitään. Onneksi siellä oli kuitenkin takseja odottelemassa asiakkaita bussipysäkiltä. Siinä sitten venailtiin hetki kunnes yksi kaveri tuli ehdottamaan, että veisi meidät terasseille noin... read more
April 11th 2005
Until i spent time in the andes as an adult, i had very little of a concept of what an absolutely magnificent civilization was created by the Incas. I had studied the Incas and the predecessors in elementary and high school while i was living in Peru. Considering they were able to conquer and to assimilate peoples from Colombia to Chile - which themselves performed brain surgery, created magnificent temples, astronomical guides and calenders - the Inca EMpire must be considered one of the select great civilizations of all time Amongst the greatest, was the ability to manage an ampire larger than the USA or EU in landmass - with effective communications, government, policy, and care for the entire lifecycle - until you see it, it can not be comprehended From what I can determine, with ... read more
