On the Road to Ollantaytambo

 

November 16, 2013

We loaded up in a van and headed to the sacred valley -- specifically Ollantaytambo our home for that night.  Once we climbed above Cusco, the road to Ollantaytambo was largely a high plateau studded with farms, framed with mountains as seen in the roadside shot.  

 

 

 Our first stop was Chinchero, the home of many of our Tinquay teachers. In fact we wandered into an area where we saw a familiar sight -- women sitting weaving just as we saw at Tinquay.  I loved the area near this shop with stone walkways and traditional style houses.

 

After more driving, we stopped at a small market where we got our first view of the sacred valley.

We still had a ways to go though and one more stop where we learned about the production and got a taste of chicha, corn beer (very low alcohol content).  We also met the resident's guinea pig stock (common in the Peruvian diet).   They also raised chickens and other more familiar food stock. 

 

 

 

Continuing our journey, we passed through Urubamba -- also the name of the river we followed from then on and arrived in Ollantaytambo in early afternoon.  

 

We first checked into our hotel.  You can see the horrible conditions we had to endure in the picture of the garden below our balcony where avocados and flowers flourished and also the view from our window.  

 

We all enjoyed our perfect afternoon walking, eating, taking pictures in the plaza and along the road to our hotel.  Ann and I had coffee on our way to the plaza then explored the ancient Inca walkways just off the plaza.  The main roads are modern, but the town has maintained the adjoining walkways linking other businesses and homes.

 

We got a particular chuckle from the sign we saw on one plaza shop.  Had to take a picture to share.

 

That night was filled with thunder, lightening, rain, and the sounds of the passing trains.  Oh yes, they passed literally steps outside the hotel door.  That made it easy to make our 5am train the next day!We even had time for eggs and fruit for breakfast.