The Sacred Valley

We had a free day to spend exploring Cusco and the area, so D, C, H, L and I went on a city tour - though it was more of a Sacred Valley tour! Our first stop was at a zoo that takes in injured and abused animals. Because of how they have been treated, the animals would not survive if they were released into the wild. It was sad to see some of the things done to the animals (eg. the feet of a bear were cut off), but it was nice to be able to see the animals close up. My favourite part of that experience was when we were allowed into the condor cage and they started feeding them - I didn't realize how big they were until two of them swooped down close to our feet to collect their chicken carcases. We continued down the road, then up a narrow, steep, winding dirt road (with a VERY deep drop-off) up to the Planaterra weaving project. GAP runs this project - supplying alpaca wool to the women who then dye, spin, and weave the wool into items for tourists to buy. The items were very nice and I bought a scarf, but all of us had seen so much of this type of thing before, that we wouldn't have minded skipping it.

We finally entered the valley and made a quick stop in the market at Pisac. They had more arts and crafts, as well as a few t-shirts and instruments. I picked up a pan-flute - I've always thought that they sound really cool. (Now I just need to learn to play it!) We drove up from the town of Pisac to the Incan ruins on the hill behind the town. Hundreds of years ago, this is where the bodies of the nobility were prepared for burial, and they are buried in the caves in the cliff behind it. We walked part way to the lower ruins before going back to the van and driving to the upper ruins. Our guide didn't want to tire us out, but we insisted on exploring the ruins and trying to find our way to the top. I think he was happy about this - he seemed to enjoy racing through them, trying to lead us up! It felt like we were in an Indian Jones movie! Somewhere along the way, we lost D and L (they must have stopped to take pictures), but we were able to see them from the top and met up with them after we made our way back down. We all had snacks with us, so decided to skip lunch so that we could see a bit more of the valley. The next stop was Ollantaytambo which was FULL of tour groups! Unfortunately, the sun was setting behind the ruins so it was hard to get decent pictures of it. It was neat to see how they built their walls - none of the stones are rectangular, they all have curved edges yet fit together perfectly! We still had a bit of light left, so convinced the guide to take us to Chincero - ruins of another temple. These ruins were mostly destroyed by the Spanish who built a church on them. The Incas believed that humans came to existence out of a rock on the site - there's a large red patch on the rock that looks a bit like a, well, hmm, ...., you know, ...., so it isn't that hard to see where they might have got that idea from. We got back to Cusco well past dark, but looking out at the night sky was impressive - so many stars were out! It helps to be up high with no humidity!

After supper, it was time to pack for the Inca Trail. We were given duffel bags to put our things in - the trick is, it isn't allowed to weigh more than 6 kg! That isn't much stuff! The sleeping bag, pad (which I rented) and duffel back together weighed 2.5 kg, so after adding all the medications that I brought from Canada (just in case!), there wasn't room for much else. It took a few trips to the hotel lobby to weigh the duffel before I got it right - I was actually underweight the first time so could add a bit more.