On Saturday we started out to find that Sylvie was sick and would not be leading our tour. So we went and met Berta, another local Peruvian at the Chincherro ruins. She was very cute. However, her English was limited at times and we would ask her questions to which she would answer now and then revert around to yes. The Chincherro ruins were mostly converted by the Spanish and it is the view of the mountains here that really takes your breath away. They were gorgeous and you can totally see why someone would choose to build there.
At the Chincherro ruins, we visited a woman who showed us how they dye their strings to make fabrics. It was very interesting to see how everything was made from natural components. We also saw a large family of guinea pigs and many of our volunteers felt bad that they had chosen to indulge in this the night before. Vegetarian for the win!
After lunch, we went and saw the Ollantyambo ruins. They were built into the side of a mountain and overlook the cobblestone town. They were left primarily untouched by the Spanish as the Inca’s had not completed their building by the time they arrived to attack. We had gorgeous weather for touring this ruin. It was really cool to see how they created the terraces and the sun temple. Plus, some of the stones they used were huge! I can’t believe they brought them from Urabamba on the other side of the mountain. Their craftsmanship is rather incredible.
Saturday night, we stayed in Pisac so the next day we could go directly up the ruins. The hotel was lovely to be in. The night before, Elisabeth, Jenny and I stayed out dancing at Mama Africa till 2 am, we definitely did not get enough sleep for the tour lol. Totally worth it though.
The Pisac ruins were by far my favourite. We took the bus up the side of the mountain to the military area. We could see the view of the terraces going down the mountain and then on the opposite side we could see holes in the mountain which the Inca’s used as tombs. We joked that Lee might end up in those tombs because of all the photos she took and her need to get so close to the edge.
The Pisac ruins take about 3.5 hours or more to walk down. I like to think of it as Inka trail prep. We saw the ceremonial center of Intihuana and lots of lookout spots. There was this ruin that looked to me like a lost city that I swear I have in about 30 different photos.
We ended up getting to the temple area and going to the look out and reinacting a scene from Titanic for all the world to see. There were also some llama poses and a couple "lets do Miley Cyrus shots"
Definitely fun stuff. Other highlights include walking through a tunnel, looking at a lookout over the sacred valley, and climbing down numerous (sometimes precarious) steps to make it down to Pisac.
Our Lunch was definitely well deserved! After that everyone separated and tried our hand at bartering in the market. There are so many stalls and shops. I know I did not see them all. Sylvie had been telling us for the longest time to just wait to buy things till the Sacred Valley. I am glad I listened. They have some unique things and some things you can see everywhere, but you cannot beat the prices. Everyone walked away with some very nice treasures and gifts.
The last highlight if this tour is the visit to the Llama and Al Paca farm. Having a bad day? Go feed a Llama. It was so much fun. There is grass that you can feed them with and they come running. It was so funny. I was a mix between really wanting pictures and being afraid that they were going to bite or spit on me. Definitely worth it though!
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