Our South America Adventure - Day 4 Another Day in the Sacred Valley

Today we woke up a little early in order to get an early start. We thought we were prepared for the day, but we were hit with a surprise right after breakfast we were leaving our large luggage here at the hotel in Ollantaytambo and only taking a couple of small bags to Aguas Calientes. We ran back to our room and reconfigured our luggage so that everything we needed for the next day would fit into our backpacks and a small toiletry bag. 

Our first stop of the day was the Archeological site. We were supposed to visit the day before but it was crowded so Luis improvised and said we should visit today. That was a great call. We were first to arrive and the only people there during most of our visit. 

Like most Inca sites this one was built into the side of a mountain. As we climbed the stairs leading to the ruins we saw many familiar sites - terracing and Inca walls. We also had great views of Ollantaytambo below. 

The most important site part of this site is the ruins of a temple to the sun. The Incas worship centered around nature - sun, moon, stars, animals, water, creator, Pachamama (Mother Earth), and more. As with most religions they built symbolism into the structure and architecture of their places of worship. 

Our next stop was Moray. Moray is an Incan Agricultural laboratory. The Incan people were prolific farmers and cultivated many varieties of potatoes, quinoa, and corn. They identified varieties that performed best at certain altitudes and under certain conditions. At Moray, they experimented with different types of seeds and fertilizers. Here there are elaborate terraces, often in circular patterns. They were pretty striking. 

An interesting hotel we saw on the way to Moray. Luis told us we should stay here next time we visit Peru. 

A viewpoint overlooking the valley on the way to Moray. 

Then we headed to the Salt Mines of Maras, Peru. The salt mines are fed by a natural salty spring. The families who live in this area direct the spring water into hundreds of salt ponds on the side of the mountain. The ponds are allowed to dry, leaving the salt. It is quite the operation. We had an opportunity to taste the salt and it was quite good - we bought some to bring home with us. 

Our final stop of the day was the Colonial church in Chinchero. As with many of the old Spanish churches, this one is built on Incan ruins. The Spanish really did try to replace Incan culture and religion with Christianity and nowhere is that more evident than the location of the churches. In this area, there are ruins of an extensive Incan palace complex. Most of what remains are the walls. As I have mentioned before, Incan walls are instantly recognizable. 

An Inca wall

We headed back to Ollantaytambo for a quick lunch. We ate empanadas and chicken before catching the train to Aguas Calientes. We were originally scheduled to take the 7pm train so we would have more time around Ollantaytambo, but Luis suggested we move up our tickets to the 3:30pm train. As usual, he was right. Not only did this allow us to have a relaxing evening in Aguas Calientes, but we also got to see the amazing views from the train as we cut through the Andes. The scenery in these mountain passes is unreal. 

The train from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes takes a little less than 2 hours. We arrived and checked into our hotel. This is a tourist town it consists mostly of souvenir shops, hotels, and restaurants. We withdrew a few extra sols to ensure we had enough cash for our time in Peru and then found a place to eat dinner. Alison had some type of beef dish and I ordered Cuy (Guinea pig). This is considered a delicacy in Peru and I have been talking about trying this pretty much since we started planning our trip. It was pretty tasty. Trigger warning for anyone who doesn’t want to see a picture of a fried Guinea Pig, you may wish to proceed no further. 

We headed back to the hotel and got to bed a little early. We have an early morning tomorrow to see Machu Picchu.