The Sacred Valley

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4 May 2014 Saturday. Today we would visit the Sacred Valley on the way to Machu Picchu. We left Cusco after breakfast. Our group included most of our tour group from the previous day. Our first stop was a tourist trap between Cusco and Pisac. Here we saw various kinds of camelids (llamas, alpacas, vicunas, guanacos, etc), and weaving demonstrations. Then it was off to Pisac, with its famous market. Saturday is not a market day, but due to tourism, everyday has become a market day. Linda shopped. We tried some empanadas with chicken filling and Inca Cola for a late morning snack. There were many children holding baby llamas who wanted a sol per picture. It was pretty sad; especially when a child put her animal down and it could barely walk, I assume from having been in a cramped position for so long. But there could be other explanations such as it was young and learning to walk. I prefer the later explanation. In case anyone is wondering why I paid a sol to support such exploitation, we were with an Australian girl who works for the government as a child welfare advocate, and she paid sols for pictures...I know, that's not a very good excuse. But even die hard environmentalists drive a car.

Then we were off for lunch at a very nice restaurant that had a buffet. They had a great assortment of Peruvian food which we indulged ourselves. We sat at a table with Tony and Allison from England, and we got to know each other better.

Our last stop of the day, and most strenuous, was the Inca fortress in the town of Ollantaytambo. I always find it hard to say that word. This would be Linda's and my first climb up a large number of Inca steps which linked four terraces that served as great goals (yes, I can make it to the next terrace) and resting stops. Inca steps conform to the shape of the mountain, so the rise and run of each step is different, as the steeper the hill gets the larger the rise in comparison to the run. To make things worse, the run was made of uneven stones. You would think that the masters of rock cutting could made flat surfaces. The Inca construction sure doesn't meet our building codes. Not are their structures ADA compliant. But our new friends Tony and Allison, stuck with us; providing encouragement and a shoulder to hang onto as we climbed and climbed. At one point the steps got so steep that I had to crawl on all fours. I had fractured my right arm just three weeks before the trip, so was not allowed to put pressure on that arm or carry more than five pounds. This also made me very mindful of how easy it was to trip, as the accident occurred while walking my dog on a flat sidewalk...and these steps were anything but flat. We made it to the top where the view up the Sacred Valley was phenomenal. We learned that the rock came from a quarry on the other side of the valley, across the river, just like the stones for the Egyptian pyramids. Not only do most ancient civilizations have a fascination with pyramids, they all seems to make difficult tasks even more difficult. I think the Inca motto is "When given a choice to do something the easy way or the hard way, pick the hard way and the gods will be pleased that you made that extra effort." I know that's not short enough for a motto, but I picked the hard way. The Inca gods should be impressed with my dedication. Then we had to descend. We took a longer gradual route back, but at the last we had to go down steep steps. I had to sit down on each step and inch my way to the next step. I must admit that Linda made me proud that she was willing to undergo this frightening and strenuous experience. This was just practice for the next day when we would visit Machu Picchu.

Then we were dropped off at our various hotels...some three star and others four and five. Our group would be further differentiated the next morning by those who wanted an early start rather than later, and those who wanted to take the cheaper Expedition (backpacker) train rather than the more expensive Vistadome train (it turns out that both trains use the same rail cars...the only difference is what they serve for breakfast...and the price difference is not justified). We stayed at a very nice hotel in Urubamba, about a 30 minute backtrack from Ollantaytambo, with individual A-frame cottages surrounded by gardens.

We had a choice of three menus, so this was another opportunity to savor Peruvian food. This time I had the lomo saltado. We read after supper, and I finished my book. We also Skyped our kids. Our three year old grandson didn't want to interrupt his TV shows to talk to us, so Linda told him that we had a present to show him...an alpaca...not the real kind of course. We asked him what it was, and he said "chicken." We tried to explain what an alpaca was. The next evening he asked "Grannie, can I please see my chicken?"

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Comments

[aspiringnomad]

Even die hard environmentalists drive a car.
Logical fallacy: false analogy. Still made me laugh!

[D MJ Binkley]

Ollabtaytambo
As we climbed to the top I kept hoping the view would be worth it and it was. All the great stuff to look at is always up a few hundred steps. Your A frame sounded nice. I enjoyed the Peruvian food although I'm not eating the guinea pig again.

[bvchef]

Steps Steps Steps
Bob and Linda, I am proud of you for going up and down all of those steps. They are not easy to navigate, as you both know, and seem to go on much longer than it looks from the ground. Great blog and great pictures. I am looking forward to following the rest of this trip.