Day 17: Chinchero, Moray, and Salineras

John and Carmen, my driver and guide, picked me up from my hotel and drove me all the way to Chinchero. Chinchero is know for its textiles and the women who use spindles to spin alpaca, sheep, or other animal fibers into yarn. As we got out of the taxi, I was welcomed by the whole group of women artisans and a man playing a drum. They invited me to dance and walk into their shop.

In the shop, a young woman adorned me with a hat and poncho, the most touristy thing you could think of! 🤣 Another woman proceeded to explain to me about how they use “Inca Shampoo,” a vine that they grate to form a biodegradable soap. Once she showed me how she washes the fur, she explained what natural plants and insects are used to dye the yarn. Cochineal is an insect from the cactus that they use to give the textiles a red color. Using natural substances, such as “alumbre” or alum, she changed the pH of the cochineal to make it a more orangey color. She put it on as lipstick on her lips afterward. Next, she showed me her weaving loom and how they use camelid bones in the weaving process. After a whole educational experience, she invited me to dance a local, folkloric dance. I ended up falling for the typical sales trap of buying two llama sweaters for my children, I guess our Christmas photo will involve a Peruvian theme this year! 🤷🏻‍♀️😅

As I departed the Chinchero textile center, I went across the street and met the owners’ Guinea pigs and llamas. The llama was very friendly and allowed me to hug her and take pictures with her. There was a cute baby llama too.😚

Next, we proceeded to Moray or what they call the Inca Laboratory. There are a bunch of agricultural terraces in circular form that were used to experiment with various plant types. The cooler tolerant plants were closer to the center while the higher heat tolerant plants were found in the outer concentric circles. The Incas used a layering system to provide proper drainage to their plants, some of the layers included fertilized top soil, smaller gravel, larger gravel, and sand.

Our last stop was the Salineras de Maras. The salt wells are individually owned by co-op in the local community. Each owner takes care of his little salt well. The water flows in and out of each of the clay wells that are only 5-10 cm deep. At a distance, we could see men using a wooden scraper tool to make little mounds of salt to let the water evaporate from it before it could be harvested. The newer wells are lighter in color while the darker brown wells mean they have already harvested the salt and need to wait a period of time to refill the well with more of this natural saltwater. The wells are opened and closed by a supervisor or manager with a little canal system and they use a rock to close the well and deviate the water to other well.

We had lunch at Don Angelo’s, a local buffet restaurant with tons of typical Peruvian dishes, such as cuy, causa, and ceviche. The musicians were very talented and played a nice range of music including salsa.

Back in Ollantaytambo, I walked around the neighborhood some more on the free trails. I also FaceTimed with the family and showed them the small Incan town and the giant cuy costume at La Casa de Los Cuyes. I even showed them my hotel room!Read more