Day 9 - Peru - Aguas Callientas

Breakfast was at 6 am, we left at 6:30, then were at the train station in Ollanytaytambo just after 7 am. We were supposed to leave at 7:35 but the train was delayed by an hour, sigh.

The train cars were very nice and we had assigned seats. I didn't stay in mine much as I was busy taking photos of the views along the way.

The vegetation changed during the 90 minute ride and you could see we were entering the jungle zone. The mountains are quite dramatic, and it was strange to see small farms near the river that we followed.

When we arrived in Aguas Calientas, we went to get tickets for an afternoon visit to Machu Picchu. Only so many are available per day and we were in luck. They aren't cheap but we wanted to be able to see the place more than just once.

We stopped at a restaurant before we boarded the bus. Surprisingly, there are a lot of pizza places here and ours was cooked in a wood fired oven - very delicious.

The ride up was extremely cool. It's about a half hour ride and you climb and climb. Once in a while, you get great views of the river and valley below. When a bus meets another one on a particularly narrow section, one of them has to back up. There are switchbacks and the road is bumpy - great fun!

We got there about 1 pm and there were no line ups. There is a spot to stamp your own passport with a cool Machu Picchu stamp. Somehow I was elected to be the tour guide so I thought it best to climb first while we had energy then it would be downhill the rest of the way.

Haha! It was a gruelling walk up and we needed more than a few rest stops. Machu Picchu is magnificent from on high and I shot more photos than I needed to.

We went around the site very slowly which suited me fine. It was quite hot but thankfully there was a breeze. We stopped a lot, me to take pictures, while the other two I travelled with rested.

At one point I spotted some llamas (or were they alpaca?). As I rounded a corner, a mother llama was nursing her little one! So very cool to see that. There were several llama wandering throughout the site and it made for some iconic pictures.

As it turned out, the afternoon was a great time to go and by the time we left, the place was almost empty. It's an amazing place.

I wore sandals as my runners were too far away and I did just fine. It's the knees that were screaming. Also my insect repellent was back at the hotel. Some others lent me some but it didn't prevent me getting many, many itchy bites on my legs. I couldn't stop scratching til I put some Benadryl on my bites.

We were only there for about 3 and a half hours but it felt like much longer. Our hotel is very nice, but it's a long walk from the bus, uphill of course.

I wanted a little something from this place and found some cat placements as well as a gorgeous stone pendant. The Main Street is about 65 - 70% restaurants, most of which exist to sell pizza to tourists. We walked all the way down to the square. Unfortunately we had to walk all the way back up again.

We were too exhausted and not very hungry, so we stayed at the hotel for a bite instead of going out with the group.

I can't tell you how tired I am 😴

Day 8 - Peru - Sacred Valley: Pisac, Weaving Coop, Planterra lunch, Ollantaytambo

We left our hotel at 7:30 am. On our way out of the city we had a look at a natural viewpoint of  of Cusco situated at a height of 11,811 feet. On top of the mountain there is a statue called Cristo Blanco (Spanish for "white Christ"). We could also see the fortified complex of Saksaywaman, where I had hoped to visit yesterday.

Today's main destination - the Sacred Valley.

Our first stop was at the remains of Pisac. We have a new guide today, James, who told us these places are not 'ruins' because they have not been destroyed.

We could see the terraced land way before we climbed (with the bus, haha!) to the parking area. It was a madhouse up there, with many large busses, and vans. There was one lane left and vehicles had to back up to get back down the hill.

The valley and surrounding mountains are absolutely gorgeous! The area has been inhabited since the 10th or 11th century. The terraces were used for agricultural purposes and at the top is a fort. In another direction are cave tombs, ransacked by grave robbers centuries ago.

The sun kept changing and illuminating various parts of the landscape and I took way too many photos!

Next, we drove to a GAdventures women's weaving cooperative where we got to feed the llamas and alpacas. Llamas are bigger and more of a work animal. The alpaca are smaller and prized for their wool.

While the guide from the coop was talking, she was also turning the raw wool into yarn with her hands. She talked in Quechua and James translated for us. She talked about the meaning of the various designs and what they meant.

We went over to learn how the wool was dyed. All natural plants are used in the process and by combining the various dyes, they can make over 20 different colour-fast shades. The wool is boiled in the dye in metal pots over an outdoor wood stove.

We saw the traditional way of weaving as well as the way it is done now. Then we had some time to view the various handicrafts for sale around the square. I found a lovely table runner, some hot mats, and a red, black and white toque that will match my winter jacket quite nicely!

The valley is beautiful all along the way and I took so many photos today, I not only needed to change batteries but also memory cards.

Lunch was at another GAdventures sponsored business - a restaurant run by women. There were so very many interesting courses - buns, soup, salad, quinoa and ? I don't recall the names of everything but I have probably 10 different photos of the meal!

NOT our lunch!!!

 

We had time for a much-needed nap on the bus before arriving at the Ollantaytambo remains. People have lived here since the 13th century. When I saw the height of the climb I thought, "No way". But I took it bit by bit, stopping to rest and catch my breath and I did it!

At the top, I was rewarded with some stunning views as well as a closer look at the Fort and the Temple of the Sun. The stonework was expertly done by the Incas and it is the site for the greatest Incan victory over the Spaniards. However the Spaniards gained control of it again in 1537.

At the bottom, there was a section of aqueducts where the water has been channeled from the river.

These girls sang for us

We stayed til closing time (5 pm), then drove about 30 minutes to our hotel, the Villa Urumbamba. The grounds are beautiful, the rooms are basic.

I ordered chicken soup for supper and had them bring it to my room. It's another early morning and we cannot take our big suitcases on the train tomorrow so I must repack, bringing only the essentials.