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Published: November 20th 2014
Market at Urubamba
Potatoes. Potatoes. More potatoes. Did I mention that Peru has nearly 4000 different types of potatoes?We had a full day today. The day started at 8:00 am with a weaving demonstration. The woman that led the demonstration was hilarious, if you just understood a smidge of Spanish. It was actually interesting how they weave the cloth by hand, using natural dyes and even natural soap (a tuber that grows in the Andes).
At 9:00 AM we were on the road to our first stop, Urubamba. We stopped by the market to see how the locals go “grocery” shopping. The market had a wonderful assortment of meat, dried beans and grains, medicinal herbs, and produce. The smell was surprisingly nice, given the fact that there was every type of meat just there in the open air. That is a little gross, given American sensibilities, but I was assured that the climate of the area didn’t require immediate refrigeration of their meat. I purchased a few little bananas for snacks and then we were back on the road to Ollantaytambo.
Ollantaytambo was very interesting. It is the most preserved of Incan villages and you could see how families lived in that time. The homes were one room with the cooking area on
Home in Ollantaytambo
The skulls are ancestors of the family that formerly lived in this home. They now live next door and use this home for selling souvenirs. one side of the room and the sleeping area on the other. The construction was so meticulous that it awes the mind that they did not have metal tools to carve the stone. The stones fit perfectly together for the foundation and then the upper half was made of clay.
I was able to climb the ruins of the unfinished temple. I could definitely still feel the effects of the elevation and had to take occasional breaks on the way up. The Inca (or Quechua since the Inca were just the royalty) were genius at agriculture. They built terraces on the sides of the mountains that had perfect drainage for their maize and quinoa. This is good since they have an abundance of rain during the rainy season. There is also a constant flow of water provided via the Urubamba river which is runoff from the glaciers.
The unfinished temple of the sun was the sight of the final battle where the Inca defeated the Spanish. Unfortunately, (or fortunately, depending on your perspective - I don’t judge) the Spanish did conquer the Inca. However, you can see how the Inca would have an advantage
Ruins at Ollantaytambo
These are the ruins that I climbed. It's hard to tell from this picture but the ruins are quite a hike up. in this town. It was a brilliant fight that I recommend reading about if you like history.
After Ollantaytambo, we headed over to the Pisac Market. This used to be one of the biggest artesania (artisan) markets in South America but it still has a nice variety of stalls. The vendors are pleasant and most speak at least enough English to make a deal. They are willing to bargain but the prices are reasonable. I purchased a nice Alpaca pashmina and some jewelry. Beware of the ultra cute kids that wander around looking for you to buy a picture with them or a whistle. I applaud their education as I think some of the kids spoke better English than some kids in America and they knew quite a bit more about US geography and politics. The two boys I spoke to were 8 and 9 years old.
Then back to Yucay for the evening. I went to Ananau Restaurante for dinner (Ananau essentially means “yummy” in Quechua). I had an amazing gnocchi dish made with local potatoes in a cream sauce flavored with local herbs, tasting much like dill. It is really the only
View from Ollantaytambo
You can faintly see the profile of the face of a god that has been carved out of the mountain. restaurant in town but they don’t take advantage of that fact. It was a very lovely restaurant. One thing to note about walking through the streets of Yucay in the evening. The air is scented with this wonderful spicy floral scent, likely due to the fact that this is late spring in Peru. It smells magical. The streets of Yucay are quiet in the evening and I felt quite safe walking from the hotel to the restaurant.
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