Day 25

We were supposed to leave Ollantaytambo today, but we didnt see any ruins from up close yet. Our plan was to look at the big ruins in town, but our hosts were going on a hike to ruins somewhere else, and asked if we wanted to join them. It sounded great, so we decided to go. We took a short bus ride first, and then we started climbing a mountain. The road was tiny and steep. Eike had no problems, but nina didn't get so much air. We stopped a few times, but we kept going. It is weird. You get out of breath really quickly with this air, but when you take a break, it also doesn't take so much time to get your breath back. When we were at 3600 meters, we finally reached the ruins, and the view was spectacular. We could explore the whole area. It was amazing. No tourists around, just us and one local who took care about this ancient place! We spent there one and a half hours. Ate some chocla and drank some coffee we took. We took also coca leaves with us, to chew and offer them to the spirits of this holy place. The way down went a lot easier, also for nina. We did not take the bus back, but walked next to the river, past beatiful mountains, and more ruins. The ruins are really everywhere around. There must have been so many people living here in the inca times. Masters of architecture, incredible. After 15,5 km we arrived at the town again, ate somethin, and went back to the hotel. No dogs were following us, but it started to rain. The rest of the evening we stayed in the hotel, relaxed, and had bread with cheese and tomato for dinner.Read more