Ollantaytambo

Ollantaytambo (fun name!) was our first stop after lunch in Yucay. The town is built on original Inca foundations and is considered to be the best remaining example of Inca town planning. Ollantaytambo is divided into "canchas" (blocks). Each cancha has a huge stone doorway as its one entrance. The doorway leads into a central courtyard, which is surrounded by houses. Gordon - God bless him - opted to climb the steep terrace leading up to the Inca temple area. The steep terracing helped to provide excellent defenses (it obviously kept me away!). He took the photo you see from atop the terrace. Meanwhile, I was wandering around finding some fascinating things in the town. You can get a ride around the rocky, uneven streets in a sort of expanded motorcycle (see photo). I actually saw fancy versions of these things at a Honda dealership in Lima! A great idea. I also stumbled upon a family of ducks hanging out in the town, but they were unlike any ducks I had ever seen at home.

Lunch in Yucay

We stopped in Yucay for lunch, and I just loved this little town! Its name means "bewitchment" (maybe I felt some connection to Salem!). It was so peaceful, with two large, grassy plazas nestled below the Andes and along the Urubamba River. Just standing in one spot you could look around and see the mountains that had been home to the Incans, and the influence of the Spanish in in the town's architecture; for example, the church of Santiago de Apostol you see in the photo. You could just feel and imagine all the different types of people who had come through this town - and who are still coming through as visitors! I took a walk after lunch and had a little "power siesta" on a bench under the tree in the photo - still recovering from my hike to the Pisac ruins!

The Pisac Ruins

Continuing on through the Sacred Valley, we arrived at the Pisac ruins, whose citadel controlled a route connecting the Inca Empire with Paucartambo. Here we got our first glimpse of the Incas' impressive terrace work (for farming), along with the amazing stonework for which they are famous. There are still unexcavated portions of this site at the highest points. Speaking of high, getting to the Pisac ruins was an adventure in and of itself. Our guide let us know that it would be over an hour of some difficult hiking and climbing, and that some of us "might end up coming back to the bus." A little daunting, but off we went! The photo to the left does not even really capture just how long and difficult it was. We were very proud of ourselves for making it - and very exhausted. Those Incas must have been in great shape! :)

El Valle Sagrado

The next day we started our day tour of The Sacred Valley of the Incas. I've let the photo above stand alone because it captures the beauty and fertility of this area, which is what made it so sacred to the Incas. The valley was a veritable treasure in the high Andes and was also a route to the jungle, allowing access to the fruits and plants of the lowlands. It is still a rich agricultural region today. You can also see the incredible luck we had with the perfect weather!

First Night in Cusco

Our first evening in Cusco, we settled in at our hotel in the city center. Mom and Gordon had the view in the photo from their window. We headed off to a wonderful dinner at a restaurant with musicians and dancers.

Highlights were the playing of "El Condor Pasa" and an incredible vocal performance of the Cuban song "Paloma." The dinner was a buffet of traditional dishes, including ceviche (seafood marinated in lime juice and cilantro), trout, alpaca meat, and various corn and potato dishes. The Incans developed 1,000 kinds of potatoes in Peru, and now there are over 3,000 kinds. There are nearly as many kinds of corn. I tried to think of how many kinds of potatoes I could name and came up with three: big ones, little ones, and red ones. I am in awe of the Incas.

Got oxygen?

Mom, Gordon, and I flew from Lima to Cusco on May 3 to begin our journey to the Incan ruins. Cusco sits high in the Andes at 11,000 feet; our "Mile High" city of Denver is only 5,280 feet, as a point of comparison. The photo above shows our approach to Cusco and the incredible view of the mountain range. The recommended drink to avoid altitude sickness is "mate de coca," which is a hot tea made with coca leaves. Coca is the plant used - in large quantities - to make cocaine. However, Peruvians are very quick to point out that coca is not bad; it is people who abuse it and make drugs like cocaine. Coca has been used there for ages for medicinal purposes. We all did very well with the altitude, although the shortness of breath was quite noticeable when climbing or walking fast. Not to worry, though, because if you find yourself feeling short of oxygen, there's "OxiShot" (see left photo). This oxygen station greeted us in Cusco's airport, and we thought it was a riot. I did speak to one man on our tour who arrived at his hotel and needed oxygen; they keep it on hand.

Lima, Peru

"A Little Chile" is going to turn now to "A Little Peru," as my Mom and Gordon came to visit for a week, and we began our travels in Lima. Lima is yet another wonderful South American city, founded by Francisco Pizarro in 1535. The city tour took us to Plaza San Martin, named in honor of General José de San Martín, who proclaimed Peruvian independence from Spain in that spot on July 28, 1821. However, the most impressive plaza I've seen so far was Lima's Plaza de Armas, where we saw the daily changing of the guard in the front of Catedral de Lima (see left photo). During early Spanish colonial times, Lima was the continent’s richest, most important town. I think the grandeur of the city's main plaza seems to indicate this. The yellow church you see above is part of the Monasterio de San Francisco, where we were able to visit the library, which contains antique texts dating back to the conquistadores, and also the catacombs/crypts, which I found to be a little creepy! There were thousands of people buried under this area, and archaeologists have recovered their skulls and bones, which are on display. Many were Incans whom the Spanish converted to Catholicism. When school children come to visit, they apparently have to make sure none of the little ones try to exit with a bone. No need to worry about my doing that! :)