For the next two days, everything will pretty much be about the Incas and for today anyway, critters. Now as a point of clarification for people like myself, who thought that Incas were a nation of people, in actual fact, there were only 14-17 Incas in the whole of history. The only Inca was the King and history isn’t clear about the actual number. The people they ruled were called something else - can’t remember.
Anyway, we left Cusco this morning and headed over the Andes and through the woods and towards the Valle Sagrada - Sacred Valley. On the way we made a stop to get up close and personal with Peru’s camels - alpacas, llamas and vicunas. We were given some greens to feed them and we had to guard against having hands interpreted as food.
Vicuna are rare and a little shier so they stayed up in the hills.
Alpacas are Peru’s favourites because they have soft hair and are tasty to boot. There were llamas on display as well, including a 7 day old.
This site also offered a weaving demonstration, with little ladies in traditional garb and hats representing their villages. Some pieces take three months for completion, because not only do they hand spin the yarn, but they work with a classic loom, using a variety or Alpaca yarns died from natural products.
There was also a display of potatoes and corn - Peru has around 2000 varieties of potato. Here our guide Johann was giving us the potato talk.
No sooner do we leave this display and we get slowed down by alpacas on the road.
Soon we were entering the Valle Sagrada. We stopped for a photo on the way down.
Next stop was Pisaq(c) - spelled both ways. We noticed a good specimen of the bulls and cross that tops everyone’s roofs in this valley as a sign of good luck.
Here, we got a demo in silver jewelry making and got up close and personal with guinea pigs. Yes, the guinea pig is indeed a delicacy, not yet sampled by this crew. So we saw them roasting, both in a restaurant and by the side of the road and we saw them in their cages praying that they weren’t big enough or tasty enough.
From Pisaq, we continued down the valley along the Urubamba River which is actually the headwaters of the Amazon. We saw many typical homes and many fields full of corn drying after being picked last month.
Our ultimate destination for the day was Ollantaytambo - try saying that rapidly five times in a row. This was the home to an unfinished Inca temple, unfinished because the Spanish and Pizarro arrived. They considered the Incas to be pagan and therefore their culture must be obliterated and they did their best, all in the name of the Catholic Church. Don’t get me started. Our first sight in Ollantaytambo was a man walking his pig down one of their narrow streets.
The temple itself was pretty impressive and a hell of a climb. Dawn passed on that experience along with an Australian couple in our tour group. I thought I’d race a young fellow we met yesterday to the top. I beat him to the first stage, only to discover that racing 30 year olds in thin air was not particularly bright. Needless to say, I didn’t win the next stage and in fact took numerous huff and puff stops to make it to the next stage. Anyway, the views were fabulous and I’ll let the photos say the rest.
While at the top of the temple we saw the train heading up the valley to tomorrow’s destination, Machu Picchu.
Finally it was time for lunch and we had an excellent buffet at a fabulous restaurant in Urubamba that had lots of side attractions, like alpacas and colourful birds.
Finally it was hotel drop off time. Everyone in our tour had a different hotel in a different location in the Valle Sagrada. Fortunately, we were the first drop off. We were a little interested in our entry to the hotel, down a cow path, literally - had to avoid the patties. But up the path came a porter from the hotel, Inkallpa Valle Sagrada. Any concern we might have had quickly dissolved when we caught our first sight of the hotel. Wow! The hotel was actually a series of divided 8 plexes surrounded by gorgeous gardens. The place was a little remote for the younger crowd, but had it’s own bar - encores of the Pisca Sour - and restaurant. Perfect for us!
Enough for today. Got to save my strength for the big one tomorrow.
Vicuna are rare and a little shier so they stayed up in the hills.
Alpacas are Peru’s favourites because they have soft hair and are tasty to boot. There were llamas on display as well, including a 7 day old.
This site also offered a weaving demonstration, with little ladies in traditional garb and hats representing their villages. Some pieces take three months for completion, because not only do they hand spin the yarn, but they work with a classic loom, using a variety or Alpaca yarns died from natural products.
There was also a display of potatoes and corn - Peru has around 2000 varieties of potato. Here our guide Johann was giving us the potato talk.
No sooner do we leave this display and we get slowed down by alpacas on the road.
Soon we were entering the Valle Sagrada. We stopped for a photo on the way down.
Next stop was Pisaq(c) - spelled both ways. We noticed a good specimen of the bulls and cross that tops everyone’s roofs in this valley as a sign of good luck.
Here, we got a demo in silver jewelry making and got up close and personal with guinea pigs. Yes, the guinea pig is indeed a delicacy, not yet sampled by this crew. So we saw them roasting, both in a restaurant and by the side of the road and we saw them in their cages praying that they weren’t big enough or tasty enough.
From Pisaq, we continued down the valley along the Urubamba River which is actually the headwaters of the Amazon. We saw many typical homes and many fields full of corn drying after being picked last month.
Our ultimate destination for the day was Ollantaytambo - try saying that rapidly five times in a row. This was the home to an unfinished Inca temple, unfinished because the Spanish and Pizarro arrived. They considered the Incas to be pagan and therefore their culture must be obliterated and they did their best, all in the name of the Catholic Church. Don’t get me started. Our first sight in Ollantaytambo was a man walking his pig down one of their narrow streets.
The temple itself was pretty impressive and a hell of a climb. Dawn passed on that experience along with an Australian couple in our tour group. I thought I’d race a young fellow we met yesterday to the top. I beat him to the first stage, only to discover that racing 30 year olds in thin air was not particularly bright. Needless to say, I didn’t win the next stage and in fact took numerous huff and puff stops to make it to the next stage. Anyway, the views were fabulous and I’ll let the photos say the rest.
While at the top of the temple we saw the train heading up the valley to tomorrow’s destination, Machu Picchu.
Finally it was time for lunch and we had an excellent buffet at a fabulous restaurant in Urubamba that had lots of side attractions, like alpacas and colourful birds.
Finally it was hotel drop off time. Everyone in our tour had a different hotel in a different location in the Valle Sagrada. Fortunately, we were the first drop off. We were a little interested in our entry to the hotel, down a cow path, literally - had to avoid the patties. But up the path came a porter from the hotel, Inkallpa Valle Sagrada. Any concern we might have had quickly dissolved when we caught our first sight of the hotel. Wow! The hotel was actually a series of divided 8 plexes surrounded by gorgeous gardens. The place was a little remote for the younger crowd, but had it’s own bar - encores of the Pisca Sour - and restaurant. Perfect for us!
Enough for today. Got to save my strength for the big one tomorrow.
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