Sacred Valley

We met up with our same tour guides from the city tour this morning for our trek into the Sacred Valley!  First stop finished off what we had missed on Friday: Tambomachay.

Tambomachay, tourists use to be able to drink the water, but no more!

Tambomachay is a set of Incan baths where the water god was worshipped and is made up of 3 terraces.  The first terrace is the best example of Incan craftsmanship and has 4 crevices which perhaps represented the 4 sections of the Incan Empire.  Across the present day road is a watchtower which our guide said was probably used for communication through a series of polished bronze mirror signals.

Next we went to the Pisac Temple of the Sun.  Built on the side of a mountain the area had areas for soldiers constructed of much lesser stones with mud as mortar.  Though I asked the guide why the Incas would skimp on defense buildings he skirted the question and instead told me that the moss currently growing on the stones would not have been there in Incan times because the rocks where covered with pueblo or clay.

Kris and I with the awesome view

On a mountain across from Pisac we could see holes where mummies had been buried.  While originally covered by rocks the Spaniards looted the tombs for the gold and textiles buried with the 1-3 bodies per tomb.  Over 2000 tombs were found open while only 3 intact sites were discovered.

Sacred Valley

Sacred Valley

We then continued our travel through the Sacred Valley driving through the little towns sprinkled between beautiful scenery.  Weaving between the parades of people carrying crosses and playing music (there is some ceremony going on today), we arrived at a breathtaking colonial building for our buffet lunch.  First course was a variety of salads and a bit of trout capachio??  Next I went to the hot section where I got rice, corn stew, beans and a soufflé.  That was sort of a bust as only the rice and corn was good but the dessert section made up for all of it.  Rachel and I split tastes of all the desserts from Passionfruit Pie, Tiramisu and Chocolate Torte to Maracumba Cake.  Then I made the unfortunate decision of getting seconds on some of my favorites (white chocolate brownies, rice pudding and Chocolate Orange Cake) which was delicious but left me uncomfortably full.

After an end of meal Mate de Coca cup of tea we took pictures with the 2 llamas and 2 vicunas in the garden and along the river.  All too soon we had to move on to our next location: Ollantataytambo.

Kim and I with the view of our hike, straight stairs!

Ollantataytambo was sold to us as a 10 minute walk and then we’d watch the sunset.  Waddling up stairs and inbetween costumed villagers we walked for about 15 minutes before looking up in surprise at a towering set of stairs leading up a mountain.  Turns out it was a 10 minute walk to the actual site, followed by a grueling stairmaster workout and some light hiking.  Luckily every step was worth it as the view from the ruins was absolutely breathtaking.

Since we didn’t get to go Paragliding Tyler and I decided to follow a winding trail up and see if we could get to the top of the mountain.  Unfortunately the trail stopped about 20 ft up from the last wall that circled part of the mountain, but from that location we could see both the village, the farms, and off towards the falling sun.  Determined not to break my neck trying to climb down a mountain when the sun actually set we headed down but stopped midway to catch an aerial view of the villagers bullfight.

Rachel joined us and we headed down to go explore the other side of the mountain.  With a change of plans (no sunset anymore), Kim and I set off for the other side where we got a better view of the village and explored a house (?) with a thatch roof.  Wandering back through the village to meet our bus we saw more of the festivities of the Senor de Choquekillka Holiday.  Children dressed in colorful costumes of wool carried masks and instruments while men performed a perplexing dance of striking each others calves with a whip.

After the long 10 hour day we got back on the bus to drive back to Cuzco where our host family fed us Arroz a la Cubana before I collapsed into bed.

Good night!

Lessons Learned:

1. It is always better to travel with people who own better cameras and are better photographers than you.
2. Sometimes tours and tour buses are the way to go, despite my proclaimed hate they really can be the easiest way to see some sites!
3. Buffets rule, from now on dessert first.  But all in moderation…