Sightseeing in The Sacred Valley

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Last night/this morning we had to pack enough stuff to take us through the next two days because we can only take a very small amount of luggage with us on Wednesday when we catch the train from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes.

After breakfast we headed back upstairs to clean our teeth and pack our toilet bags. We literally set foot in the room when I was struck with a mild bout of TD. OMG, I have to be cooped up on a bus most of the day not knowing when the next toilet stop will be! Bernie had a similar problem the day we set off to visit Santa Fe Island in the Galápagos - although there was a toilet on the boat, unlike the bus which has no such amenity. He took a Travelan tablet and dissolved a couple of Imodium tabs on his tongue and made it through the day without incident. I decided on the same course of action and downed a Travelan tab and two Imodium before we headed back downstairs to meet the rest of the group and Gina in the foyer.

With my prescription sunglasses repaired I had packed my US$7.00 pair of emergency sunglasses in the luggage that I was leaving behind at the Novatel Hotel. As we were being briefed by Gina in the foyer that bag came down with all the other bags on a luggage trolley and was pushed off somewhere to be stored until Thursday. OK, off we go to meet up with Gregorio at the bus. As we were about to step outside I pulled my sunglasses out to put them on ... you know where this is going don't you? ... only to find that the pesky screw had popped out again and my sunglasses were cactus. Bugger, altogether too much fuss to hold everyone up while I tried to retrieve my emergency sunglasses from the hotel's storage area. I'll just have to tough it out, sans sunglasses!

The first site that we visited today in the Urubamba Valley (the Sacred Valley of the Inca's) was the Incan ruins at Pisaq. We were lucky to be able to visit this site as it only reopened today after an accident two weeks ago. Unfortunately, after heavy rain, there was a rock slide which very tragically resulted in the death of a young girl. With this recent incident and the safety of the group in mind, Breytzi only took us a short way into the site to a point overlooking most of the ruins. Here she pointed out the different parts of the settlement and explained the different use/purpose of each. After this brief overview Breytzi concluded our visit because she thought that it might still be too dangerous for us to explore the site further.

After visiting the ruins we were dropped off at the Pisaq market. Our first stop was a jewellery store where we were able to use their facilities. Thank goodness, it was our longest break yet without a comfort stop. Fortunately, thanks to pharmaceuticals, I wasn't the group member most in need of a toilet by this stage. We had another group member who was feeling rather desperate by the time we arrived in Pisaq though.

We were allowed 45 minutes of free time to explore the craft market. I think this market may have been spoilt by tourism because, in the main, it consisted of what I would call tourist tatt rather than anything that I would consider truly authentic. There were a few older women weaving traditional Peruvian trims. I asked one of these women for permission to photograph her and gave her the obligatory solis in return. At other stalls there were women crocheting edging around what appeared to be mass produced sections of Andean-styled cloth. I bought a placemat from one so that I could ask her if I could photograph her crocheting the edging. Just when we thought we were done at the market I spied a wide-brimmed felt hat that I thought might be a good replacement for the sun hat that I bought with me. That hat got wet on the Galápagos and there hasn't been an opportunity to dry it properly so it smells a bit musty! Although there was a lovely purple hat I decided to buy a black one because, if I don't wear the hat when I get back home, I reckon I can convert it to a tri-corn hat for Cooks' Cottage!

Our next destination was the ruins at Ollantaytambo. On our way between Pisaq and Ollantaytambo we were stopped by the police carrying out a random compliance check. All tourist busses are required to have a safety check every six months. Apparently, the owner of the bus being driven by Gegorio was overdue to have the bus checked so a fine had to be paid on the spot before we could continue on our way. Hopefully, the owner will reimburse Gregorio.

The royal estate at Ollantaytambo was built for the Inca Patchacuti on a steep hillside which was extensively terraced to allow for crops to be raised. The site also required a steep staircase to provide access to the Inca's residence and the priest's religious buildings situated at the top of the hill. Breytzi interpreted the site for us at the lowest level of the ruins and then gave everyone the option of accompanying her to the top, exploring the ruins at ground level further or going out into the market to shop or have a coffee. Naturally we accepted the challenge to clamber to the highest point of the site!

On the way to our next stop at Moray we drove through the town of Lamay which is famous for serving Guinea pig on a stick. Hmmn, they're so proud of the fact that there were actually women out on the street holding a barbecued Guinea pig skewer in each hand trying to attract (?) customers. Ugh, I know that I ate Rudolph in Lapland, but at least reindeer/deer/venison is squared away in my mind as a livestock animal rather than being very definitely a pet.

From the market we were taken to the Moray archaeological site with its special elliptical irrigation terraces. I knew very little about this site before being taken to it so when we walked to the rim and looked down onto the terraces it was a real WOW! moment. The Incans understood that the positioning of these terraces resulted in a range of temperatures being experienced between the lowest and highest terraces. This enabled them to experiment with crop plantation and understand the best altitude(s) to plant their various crops. Basically the agricultural research centre of its day.

Our final stop for the day was at the salt ponds of Maras. This amazing site dates to pre-Incan times and involves the evaporation of salty water from a local subterranean stream. The highly salty water emerges at a spring, a natural outlet of the underground stream. The flow is directed into an intricate system of tiny channels constructed so that the water runs gradually down onto the several hundred ancient terraced ponds.

As water evaporates from the sun-warmed ponds, the water becomes supersaturated and salt precipitates as various size crystals onto the inner surfaces of a pond's earthen walls and on the pond's earthen floor. When this occurs the water flow is stopped and the pond is allowed to go dry. Within a few days the dry salt can be harvested by carefully scraping it from the sides and bottom of the ponds. The salt is then packaged and sold.

After a very full day of sightseeing we were driven to the Casa Andina Resort at Ollantaytambo. We really enjoyed spending another night in beautiful, resort-styled accommodation. With the resort being located a bit out of town we didn't have much choice but to eat at the resort's restaurant. With the lack of choice available to us we found it a bit strange that this was not one of the meals included in our tour package.



Steps 11,357 (7.97km)

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