Ollantaytambo

Today we toured the Sacred Valley of the Incas. First we went to Awanacancha where they farm Llama, alpacas and related cameloids. They dye and weave the animal hair and create a variety of intricate tapestries. Ken purchased a scarf made of baby alpaca wool and we also bought a small tapestry for the wall. Prices were expensive, so we had to stop ourselves there!
Next we stopped to take a picture of the beautiful valley. On our way to the next stop, our van was stopped by inspectors who were unhappy that our driver (Cero) was missing a maintenance log of his vehicle. Our tour guide was angry since we had already been cleared by inspectors on the way up and she made sure these inspectors knew it! She is feisty! After 10 minutes or so, they let us go on our way.
We drove to the Pisac archeological site, an old Incan city, much of which has been rebuilt since the Spanish invasion and destruction in the late 1400s. Many Incan cities were built on top of mountains to avoid jungal tribes and to keep watch over the entire area and avoid invasion.
Next we had a short stop at the Pisac market - a craft market with many vendors. We were impressed by both the overall quality of the items as well as the lack of nagging by the vendors. We found a couple of items for Addey (so easy to shop for!)
We had a late lunch at Wayra restaurant at the Sol y Luna cafe where we had an included buffet style Peruvian feast. It was fantastic (minus the cow's heart that we were only told about after we ate a bite)! For the record, the flavor wasn't bad but the consistancy was strange.
We were dropped off at our hotel and then walked up to the small town square. We covered the whole thing in about 1/2 an hour and walked back to the hotel.
We played some cards and had a sampling of Peruvian chocolate for dinner - my kind of dinner! 😊. Too full from lunch for anything more! Tomorrow, horse back riding...Read more