The Sacred Valley, Peru

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From the Inca Capital of Cuzco, we bid farewell to our friends and made the short bus ride to the village of Pisaq in The Sacred Valley of the Incas or Urubamba Valley. This is a valley in the Andes mountain which was formed along the Urubamba River, not too far from Machu Picchu. It is fed by numerous rivers which descend through adjoining valleys and gorges, and contains archaeological remains and villages. The valley was appreciated by the Incas due to its special geographical and climatic qualities. It was one of the empire's main points for the extraction of natural wealth, and one of the most important areas for maize production in Peru.

Sarah and I spent a couple of days here chilling out and hiking around the valley. The region seemed to have a serenity and tranquility about it which we appreciated. We arrived in Pisaq and stayed there overnight before moving on to nearby Ollantytambo. The photos paint a thousand words and do a better job in portraying the beauty of the place than I possibly could.

One interesting occurrence while we were there was the Peru elections. It was Ollanta Humala running against Keiko Fujimori in a bitter battle that went down to the wire.Ollanta represented the left while Keiko, daughter of of the country's disgraced ex-president, was more right-wing. Ollanta eventually ran out as the winner.

Voting is mandatory and people are even bused in from the countryside to vote. Not unlike the U.S, political tactics are dodgy in garnering votes. We found that the politicians provided free food events and would promise ‘free roofs’ or similar in their advertising campaigns.

Once the votes were made it was party time! As Sarah and I walked back from our hike, we met a bunch of the locals and hung out with them, drinking Chicha, a local fermented maize beer. Not exactly as tasty as a Northwestern craft, but when in Rome...

Next up…we’re back in Cusco to do some white-water rafting.

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Photos

Waterway
Pretty genius stuff

Comments

[connie mulcahy]

ahhhh...
loved traveling along with yas. May your life experiences continue to carry you both to all areas and peoples of the world. You are each gifts and the world neeeeeds you. Love to you both, Kevin and Connie mom and dad