The Sacred Valley

• Harrisonhines's Profile
• About this blog
• Entry from Cusco

Trip Start Aug 03, 2006 Previous
Entry Trip End Dec 13, 2006 Next
Entry

  Cusco, Peru
Sunday, September 10, 2006

Almost didnīt make it to Cusco yesterday morning. The taxi was supposed to pick us up at 6.30am. Due to an alarm clock malfunction (i.e. Steve forgot to set it) we both awoke at 6.27am in a blind panic. But make it to the airport on time we did, just in time to be treated to a 35 minute flight from Arequipa to Cusco (much preferable to a 16 hour bus ride). The scenery we saw from the plane was the typical mountainous gorgeous terrain we have now come to expect from the Andes. Coming in to land was great, the plane weaves in between the mountains which tower above you on both sides before it makes a last minute left turn and touches down. Cracking! (Pretty easy to guess that itīs Steve writing this paragraph.)

Upon arrival, we settled into our hostel, had a bit of breakfast and went for an explore around the city. The tourist centre of Cusco is very pretty, with colonial Spanish buildings built on top of Inca runs (the scoundrels)

01 - The cathedral on the main square in Cusco

. The altitude hit Tara later on in the day (weīve recently spent a lot of time on the coast) so we headed to a bar (Los Perros) to play cards and called it a night.

This morning we headed for our day trip to the Sacred Valley. A little bit touristy for our liking, but the best way to say a few things in one day with minimal effort. We started with a stop at the market town of Pisac where Steve bought a set of pan pipes which he intends to master before Christmas (Steve: No really, I will. The pipes have each got numbers on them and Iīve got the "play-by-numbers" sheet music to learn "Hey Jude" - or rather "Hey Hude" due to an unfortunate misprint. You watch - Iīll be playing outside your local town hall with a small group of Patagonians before you know it.)

After the market we headed up the mountain to the Pisac ruins to view the impressive remains of a mysterious Inca settlement, combined with the gigantic terracing they built for agriculture. It was all very impressive, but the sheen was taken off by the fact that Steve forgot to bring the suncream on a blisteringly sunny and hot day. Tara was not impressed!

After that we had a short bus ride to Urubamba where we were treated (along with about 10 other coachloads of tourists) to an overpriced yet very tasty buffet meal

02 - The entrance to the Sacred Valley

.

Onwards then to the ruins at Ollantaytambo where we walked up yet more impressive terracing. (Steve: I love terracing, me. Canīt get enough of it. If you have a terrace in your back garden, let me know and Iīll come and photograph it. Love it.) At the top are some massive carved blocks intended to be used for what was an unfinished temple or fortress. No-one knows because the Spanish came along and ruined the party. Also notable at Ollantaytambo was the refrigeration unit built halfway up the local mountain which uses cold air currents alone to keep food from rotting, and the face carved into the same mountain is also a great sight.

Our day ended with a ride up yet more mountains to visit the ludicrously high altitude village of Chinchero. Of course there was the obligatory market, but what impressed Tara and I was that everyone (and we mean absolutely everyone) in the village was compeletely off their faces. Seriously, there were old people falling over in the street and then getting up and laughing hysterically whilst being helped along by other, even drunker people. It was an impressive sight. There was music in the main square and loads of people dancing. We thought that they might do this every Sunday evening but we were well informed that it was a once a year festival that lasts for three days

03 - Sunday market in Pisac

. Good job otherwise Chinchero would be the cirrhosis capital of the world.

Anyway, it was an entertaining day which was capped off perfectly when we were joined by a local musician for the bus home. To his credit, he managed to play three different Inca instruments in perfect time and tune whilst standing at the front of a bus winding its way down some very twisty Andean roads in the darkness. See the video in our photo album. We felt duty-bound to give him a few shekels for his trouble.

Inca Trail tomorrow!!! Woohoo!!!

DAILY FACTS

- Stayed at: Hostal Suecia II, Cusco. Nice place with good staff who take a bit of time and trouble to get things right. Excellent location. Weak electric showers, but still usable. Reccommended.

- Trip organised by: Naty's Travel. Same price as all the other agencies we checked out when looking for a day trip to The Sacred Valley, except they got us on a tour which visited the ruins at Pisac and not just the marketplace which a lot of agencies don't do. Reccommended.

- Nightlife: Los Perros. Laid-back atmosphere with great music, stylish surroundings and excellent food. Reccommended.

Post your own travel photos for friends and family More Pictures & Videos

04 - Awww!! How cute and fluffy...	05 - Inca terracing used for agriculture at Pisac	06 - The mountain overlooking Ollyantaytambo	07 - Close up of the face in the mountain
08 - More Inca terracing at Ollantaytambo	09 - Now that´s a talented one-man band!

Slideshow Print this entry Share

Previous Entry Next Entry