Sacred Valley of the Incas

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Ollanataytambo is a massive stone fortress thought to be the only remaining example of pre-Columbian urban planning. The terraces were built on the mountainside to make farming possible. The irrigation systems are an architectural accomplishment that are still in use today. The construction of the temple it at the highest point of the town and the living spaces are at the base. The Incas also had very large and effective storage systems for their food. When the Spaniards arrived they had enough food for 7 years. The hiking stick came in very handy today indeed. The vista from the top is a just reward for the huffing and puffing (remember we are at about 9,000 feet). Moving slowly is a major key to getting to the top successfully. In the town below the locals are selling hats, walking sticks, sunscreen, and Peruvian souvenirs. Betty advises they might be selling “maybe alpaca” not “baby alpaca.

The Sol y Luna has a “pack with a purpose” program where you bring school supplies to donate to the local school children. I brought about 25 packs of flash cards and Matthew who is on site manager arranged for me to visit the school. The school is supported solely by the hotel. They started 5 years ago with 5 students and today they have 150 children ranging in age from 3 to 12. The main classrooms are located on the same property as the hotel and they have a home across the street that they currently rent for the younger children. Each child is fed a nutritious lunch and the day I visited they had spaghetti. I met with the principal and presented her with 150 smiley finger puppets.

We enjoyed an outdoor lunch with traditional Peruvian food on the grounds of Wayra ranch followed by a lively demonstration of the famous Peruvian Paso horses. Some of the other travelers had a chance to ride these beautiful high stepping, dancing horses.

We had an opportunity to visit the pottery studio of a local artist Pablo Seminario who now has his pottery exhibit permanently on display In the Chicago Museum of Art. We had the opportunity to meet him personally and he declared his next goal is to be exhibited in MOMA.



Thought to ponder: if the Incas were such good organizers and had such great knowledge of building what happened in the centuries that passed that has seen such a decline? The Spaniards may have come and stolen their gold (11 tons in gold artifacts alone as ransom for the release of Atahualpa, the 13^th and last emperor of the Incas; circa 1502-1533) but could they steal their knowledge as well? The Incas built over 50,000 miles in highways throughout the region and were masters at structure construction. The majority of the current Peruvians don't have running water, inside plumbing or electricity.

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