The Sacred Valley of the Incas is a fertile maize producing region of the Urubamba River valley that contains numerous Inca archeological sites, the most famous of which, Machu Picchu, we would see the next day. We would visit another two, Pisac and Ollantaytambo, on the way to catch the train to Machu Picchu.
Our driver, Javier, picked us up early in the morning as scheduled. He spoke very good English and we enjoyed asking him about Peru. The road climbed out of Cuzco. I observed his driving habits, including a frequent use of the horn to alert oncoming cars on narrow streets. We stopped at a lookout to take in views of the city in a different light than that of the early evening the day before.
The road continued over a nearly 13,000 ft pass before starting a descent toward the Sacred Valley. I caught glimpses of snow capped peaks. Our first stop was at an alpaca farm. We walked among several species of the llama family - guanacas, llamas, alpacas, and vicunas - and watched Indians in traditional costumes spin yarn into threads and weave fabrics out of them. The admission was by a voluntary donation and their gift shop was a good place to pick up some snacks.
Our next stop was at Inca ruins above the town of Pisac. This is a large site where one could spend a whole day easily. Our time was limited. We climbed up to the top of one of its areas, enjoying the views of the valley, the terraced fields below us and the higher peaks in the distance. Another part of the complex is connected via a trail that traverses a side of a mountain. I wanted to explore it and I half ran and walked to see what is behind a nearby ridge. After passing through a tunnel, I got to an overlook. I started returning back. After I was past a rugged part of the trail, I continued on a wider trail to meet Irina. It was a beautiful day with puffy clouds dotting the sky. I was still on a high from running at this elevation. As it sometimes happens, one lets his guard down and bad things happen. I took a bad step and sprained my ankle. I collapsed in pain, thinking to myself - this had not happened in 20 years, why now? It turned out better than it had seemed initially. My ankle became quite swollen and colorful over the next few days, but as long as I watched my step, I could walk virtually pain free.
From the ruins we drove down to Pisac. It is famous for its market. We spent quite a bit of time there. It was swarming with people, many of them tourists. There was also a fair number of locals shopping for potatoes, veggies, fruits, mushrooms, spices, and even meat being cut up right on the site. A big part of the market was dedicated to native arts too and a nice pendant caught our attention.
From Pisac we continued down the valley toward Ollantaytambo. At one point there was a small detour on the road. xxx commented that it had been there since a land slide some 10 years ago. Even though the infrastructure in Peru is getting better, it is a slow process another example of which we saw coupled of days later in Puerto Maldonado. We passed through the town of Urubamba before finally reaching Ollantaytambo.
The ruins at Ollantaytambo are accessible straight from the town itself. There is a small market near the ruins too. We climbed up throught the terraced fields and admired the precise stone work of the ruins. Across on the other side of the valley, ruins of Inca storehouses can be seen built high up into a mountain side. The staircase up to the ruins resembled an ant trail at times. I even overheard a Czech tourist group as they passed by. Before long, it was time to go to the train station to catch our train to Machu Picchu.
The train ride follows the Urubamba River and takes less than two hours. The views were great as one would expect from a train aptly named the Vistadome. The valley was wider initially and snow capped peaks could be seen high up above the valley. It narrowed later obstructing the views of anything but the walls of the canyon covered by a jungle. The vegetation got gradually denser as the train descended deeper and deeper into the cloud forest surrounding Machu Picchu. We were greeted upon our arrival by a staff of Hotel Presidente where we were spending the night. We walked there from the train station as it was getting darker by the minute. Incidentally, my credit card was not charged until six months later for the stay. This must be some kind of a record. We could not resist having more ceviche for dinner. I fell asleep trying to moderate my anticipation of one of the highlights of the trip.
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