We stopped at one of the roadside stands and our guide, Washington, bought a loaf of "chuta" bread for us to sample. Chuta is usually eaten on Sundays or is given as a "hostess gift" when visiting someone. The consistency reminded us of raisin bread, but it has chocolate in it, too, and is seasoned with raisins and sometimes chocolate chips. I liked it!
Further down the road we stopped for pictures of the mountains. Cusco's elevation is 11,150 feet and we are heading to the Sacred Valley. Out hotel tonight in Urubamba is at 9,420 feet!
We had beautiful panaramic views as we made our way to Chinchero (back to 12,150 feet) where we had our first tour stop. It is located in the Sacred Valley of the Incas. The square once held an Inca palace. Today, following the traditions of the people here, the people carried out the local market and wore typical clothing of their ancestors.
From our bus stop, we climbed a series of stairs to reach the square and church.
We lucked into a celebration of the people in the area. The men had sceptors and some carried conch shells which they blew during the procession. There were drummers, too.
The women followed behind carrying offereings in the packs.
This was part of the music and marching: https://youtu.be/2XkoLL2jcUo
They marched from the large church to this smaller chapel.
We were lucky to see this!
We continued on to visit another part of the community where we watched a silver making demonstration and had a chance to shop. We then had a traditional lunch - with the special Peruvian food, baked cuy. What is cuy? WELL, it's baked guinea pig. In the Peruvian culture, cuy is a symbol of prosperity and good luck. During special occasions and festivals, families often serve roasted or fried guinea pig as a sign of abundance and good fortune. This is the oven our meat was cooked in.
Here it the fancy presentation:
Clockwise below: chicken, corn, beans, corn tortilla, stuffed pepper, cuy, squash, and corn.
What did the cuy taste like? Well, kind of a cross between duck and rabbit. It has lots of little bones.
This is the family that cooked and served our meal.
After lunch, the women gave us a weaving demonstration. Next to the weaving area was the "cuy hotel."
Washington modeled some of the typical clothing worn by the people in this area. All of these were woven by this family.
The red dye is made from a fungus that grows on a cactus.
All the wools, whether from alpaca, llama, or sheep, are dyed with natural products.
Weaving
It was interesting and the local community makes all of the clothing they wear. We continued our journey to Ollantaytambo after saying goodbye.
Ollantaytambo is one of the most important towns in the Sacred Valley of the Incas in Cusco. It is the only place that preserves its ancient Inca urban design. It is the only Inca town that is still inhabited. Its stone streets preserve the Inca architecture combined with colonial temples and squares. Its believed it was constructed between 1438-1471AD.
The split in the walkways was part of the Inca irrigation system and still carries water today.
We visited the archeological site and it was HUGE. We split into two groups - the Condors and the Pumas. We were Condors, meaning we climbed the 400 stairs to the top of part of the sight where the Temple of the Sun is located. The Pumas walked around the ground level parts of the site. It was very croweded when we arrived!
This was looking back when we finished the walk.
Our guide, Luis, was pointing to 20 miles away where the rock was brought from to build this site!
The Temple of the Sun is the HUGE blocks of flat granite in the picture below. It was never completed.
This rose granite rocks weigh up to 120 TONS!
It was interesting and the local community makes all of the clothing they wear. We continued our journey to Ollantaytambo after saying goodbye.
Ollantaytambo is one of the most important towns in the Sacred Valley of the Incas in Cusco. It is the only place that preserves its ancient Inca urban design. It is the only Inca town that is still inhabited. Its stone streets preserve the Inca architecture combined with colonial temples and squares. Its believed it was constructed between 1438-1471AD.
The split in the walkways was part of the Inca irrigation system and still carries water today.
We visited the archeological site and it was HUGE. We split into two groups - the Condors and the Pumas. We were Condors, meaning we climbed the 400 stairs to the top of part of the sight where the Temple of the Sun is located. The Pumas walked around the ground level parts of the site. It was very croweded when we arrived!
This was looking back when we finished the walk.
Our guide, Luis, was pointing to 20 miles away where the rock was brought from to build this site!
The Temple of the Sun is the HUGE blocks of flat granite in the picture below. It was never completed.
This rose granite rocks weigh up to 120 TONS!
Looking back down to the lower level of the site.
We passed through a doorway on our way up.
We passed through a doorway on our way up.
Looking across the valley you can see two storehouses built high up the mountain. There is also a face carved into the rock. There are hikes that go up there, but we didn't have the time to do that!
While going up the hill was difficult because it was steep, coming down was worse! Most the way didn't have handrails and we were walking on stone steps, but we made it!
Children from the community
We arrived back to the town square and our bus drove us about 30 minutes to our hotel in Urubamba where we spend two nights. Our room tonight is HUGE, and pretty fancy.
We weren't too hungry so we shared a burger and fries for dinner tonight. Tomorrow morning is another EARLY wakeup - 5:00 am. It will be worth it because we head to Machu Picchu, so good night!
While going up the hill was difficult because it was steep, coming down was worse! Most the way didn't have handrails and we were walking on stone steps, but we made it!
Children from the community
We arrived back to the town square and our bus drove us about 30 minutes to our hotel in Urubamba where we spend two nights. Our room tonight is HUGE, and pretty fancy.
We weren't too hungry so we shared a burger and fries for dinner tonight. Tomorrow morning is another EARLY wakeup - 5:00 am. It will be worth it because we head to Machu Picchu, so good night!
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