Sacred Valley

Yesterday was a full day of touring the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Departing early in the morning by bus, we drove past steep valley walls that had been terraced in the time of the Incas in order to grow many varieties of potatoes as well as fruits and corn. Many of the areas are still used today. After the tour stopped for a while at a market (in which I learned about various Incan instruments), we proceeded on to the Pisac ruins, an impressive Incan establishment for the upper class. Also, on the hike up to the highest point of the site (it was built on a hill), we were able to see holes in the other side of a small valley in which Incan mummies were placed in a fetal position. It is amazing the quality with which the Incans built. Many modern-day adobe houses in the Sacred Valley have collapsed after less than 10 years due to the weather, but Incan sites that are at least 700 years old still stand as they did when they were built.

After enjoying the gorgeous view (with the snow covered tips of Andes showing from behind the surrounding hills), we proceeded on to Pisac Market with the tour. One of the oldest markets in South America, it is frequented by tourists (who come to buy gifts) and locals (who come to buy household items, foods, roasted guinea pig, and many types of potatoes. We enjoyed this outdoor market by observing the locals in their traditional dress and selling various items. We bought some unusual potatoes to give to our host family.

Next was Urubamba, a town that is small and not particularly unusual, except for the beautiful valley in which it sits. That is were we had lunch. We found that cows' feet are not something to seek in the future.

We then moved on to Ollantaytambo, a pretty town built on top of Inca ruins. The most impressive part was climbing the 240 stairs up the currently unused Incan terraces (I nearly fell off of one) to an Incan fortress that was never completed due to the arrival of the Spanish. The rocks that make up part of the astronomical center are so large and well carved that it is hard to believe that they were put in place without modern technology. The view from the top of the hill was even more unbelievable. The sides of the valley bore interesting rock formations and more Inca buildings. Once again, we were able to see small bit of the Andes. It was amazing.

Finally, we went to Chinchero, a small mountain town in which we watched native women and girls in traditional dress clean, spin, dye, and weave alpaca wool. It was very quaint feeling.

Once again, 'twas a busy day, but today was less so. This morning, we took our placement test for our Spanish school. Afterwards, we went on a tour of the city (entirely in Spanish) with the other students at the school. Following lunch, we returned to the school for a student orientation, which informed us about the city and Peruvian customs. We then returned to our host family.

Our host family owns a tour company and they are preparing to have a group of runners run part of the Inca trail. Walking, this takes about four days. They will try to run it in one day. We helped the family shop for some of the food that they will require on the trail. Considering how much food was purchased, they will probably eat a lot.