We are staying at the Sonesta Posada del Inca Hotel - in the Urubamba valley about half way between Cusco and Machu Picchu, in the heart of the Sacred Valley. The hotel is really pretty, with lots of flowers, and giant hummingbirds, but, as often in these type of adventures, we had very little time to enjoy it -in fact not even time to take pictures.
It is a good base to discover the archaeological sites, and the rich craft and art traditions of the region.
We first went to the Ollantaytambo ruins (no, I had never heard of it either....). It is just breathtaking! Everything, from the terraced fields, going up the entire mountain,
to the awe inspiring size of the stones carefully carved individually to build the temple - without any mortar,
to the ramp that was used to drag the stones uphill just blows your mind. What an amazing feat of engineering and human labor that was - BTW, unlike the Egyptians, the Incas did not use slave labor, they worked with local communities to build these together.
The agriculture was so advanced and successful that they built granaries up on the mountain, away from the river that tends to flood during the rainy season (again, an awe inspiring feat!) which held up to 20 years worth of food! - these show the granaries- on the other side of the valley.
It was a steep climb, starting at almost 10,000 feet, but our little group made it to the top!
Going down was tougher on some people - these steps are steep! (I had poles, which made it much easier).
Here are a few more pictures of the site, including the water temple, where water has been flowing for 1000 years, and which also shows the typical trapezoid shaped door and windows- an architectural innovation that is seen in all Inca construction, and which stabilized the entrance in case of earthquake. The massive walls which tilt slightly away from the hill also serve that purpose.
From there, we went up to over 12,000 feet to the town of Chinchero and it's traditional weaving center. The demonstration of cleaning, spinning, dying and weaving wool was very interesting, and the products they made were so beautiful that we had to buy some (even though we REALLY don't need more stuff. But one needs to acknowledge such great craftsmanship).
We had an excellent lunch at a restaurant at the foot of a glacier, where we had typical local food: the causa- cold mashed potatoes stuffed with a variety of things (traditionally chicken, in our case avocado) was surprisingly good (cold stuffed mashed potatoes do not sound that exciting - but this stuff is really very good!).
And the scenery was very beautiful.
This is a really beautiful valley - with pretty little towns, fields of lupin and potatoes (which are in bloom right now), and a corn field providing some texture to the landscape.
Also - there are Alpacas and Llamas!
and the "Peruvian royal dog" - which happens to be a naked breed that is so ugly it's almost cute.
After lunch, we went to the local farmer's market, whose selection of fruits, vegetables, and a great number of different potatoes made for a colorful and interesting display- this is a very productive place - the valley is watered by the glacier, and all the terraces provide micro climates, where all types of vegetables can be grown at exactly the right altitude.
Every bag holds a different type of potato (there were many more!)
These are freeze dried potatoes - a staple of the diet here - there are freeze dried at high altitude, naturally taking advantage of the dry air in the colder season.
And this is blue corn, grown in the lower valley (potatoes are grown around 12,000 feet, while corn is grown around 9 or 10,000 feet)
We ended the day at the "Pablo Seminario workshop", a ceramic studio run by Pablo Seminario and his wife, who are using old techniques and designs to make beautiful art and pottery. Again, we did not need anything.... but again the work was so beautiful that we had to get a little vase.... We met Pablo himself and he was very charming.
By the time we got back to hotel, we were too tired to do anything but get a drink at the bar, a quick dinner at the hotel restaurant (it was good- lots of fresh local stuff). Then we had to repack, since we are off to Machu Picchu early tomorrow.
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