Thursday, May 4, 2017

Andean Adventure - Wednesday, April 18, 2017 - Day Five -Ollantaytambo, and Pisac, Sacred Valley, Peru

We met our group at 8:00 a.m. and it's Wednesday so off we went to Ollantaytambo, an Incan ruin. This was the last stand in the Incan defense against the Spanish conquistadors. We had a beautiful day, the gods were smiling on us. Yesterday we saw amazing views of the Sacred Valley and today's were equally spectacular. The first steps were steep and I feared I hadn't done nearly enough work on the stair stepper before coming. It got easier as we went on and Ron had no problem. I think we are adjusting to the altitude by staying hydrated, drinking coca tea,  chewing coca leaves, and smelling Agua de Florida given to us to sniff by our tour guide. We made it to the Temple of the Son and walked down the steeper way. We went back to the hotel only for 10 minutes to pick up someone with altitude sickness who didn't make the trip this morning. We got a boxed lunch and continued on to Pisac/Pisaq another Incan ruin which defended the south side of the Sacred Valley. The views and terraces continued to amaze. We left Pisac and went to a chincheria, a place were they make corn beer. From there we got an explanation on silver jewelry making and got a chance to do some shopping at the market. We got back to the hotel at 5:00. We decided against an optional tour tonight as we wanted to get a good night's sleep to be rested for tomorrow's trip to Machu Picchu and then a bus trip to Cuzco. I know I won't get to blog tomorrow. It's a bit hard sometimes with the long days and the remoteness of the areas in which we are staying.

Views of Ollantaytambo


How about those steps!

Love the llamas!

Oh no, Can I make it?

The view from the top - yes we made it!

Ancient structures

No Mortor

Temple of the Sun!

Taking the hard way down

Used for food storage - natural refrigeration

The Old Incan Wall

An altar for good luck in a home

Natural Beauty


Our Visit to the Chicheria


Only one Sol - anyone game for some corn beer?

Ron was dominating the game!


Views of Pisac




The Incans love their terraces



Enjoying the history and beauty of Peru

Ron connecting with a Peruvian - He gave her part of his lunch


The Pisac Market

Shopping anyone?

All kinds of goods

Back in the lobby of our hotel



No comments:

Post a Comment