Trip to Ollantaytambo

On Sunday morning, we left Cusco on a collectivo, a taxi for a group of people. We were going to take a bus, but this proved to be a good choice. In our collectivo were Juan Manuel, his mother Terecia, a lady from Japan, and some guy who lay in the back. He got off in Chinchero. Juan Manuel and his mom were going to Ollantaytambo to Juan Manuel's soccer game. It would have been fun to go see him play, but since we were only going to be in Ollantaytambo for the day, we had lots we wanted to see. Terecia was very nice and told us lots about the things we saw on our journey. The only problem was that she spoke only Spanish and I understood about 1/4 of what she said. I enjoyed the trip and it was fun meeting Juan Manuel.

This is a view of the Sacred Valley. It was beautiful and I could have taken tons of pictures, but our little taxi was going fast. We did stop once and I got to take this picture. It's pretty obvious why the Incas made this their home.







This lady carrying a bundle of sticks made for an interesting picture. Everywhere you went you could see people who still lived much the same way they did hundreds of years ago.

















Sunday afternoon on the plaza---
life is good!










Our hostel in Ollantaytambo---"Ollantay" to the locals--- was quite scenic--- $15 a night and we had hot water in the sink and the best hot shower of the whole trip! The Andes mountains loom in the background. In the courtyard you can barely make out a stand with a game somewhat like washers. Some of the residents were playing as we headed out for a hike up the mountain overlooking the town.

Cusco

This is a picture of the entrance to our hostel in Cusco. There was no heat in the place as far as I could tell. As you look through the doors, you can see a hallway which leads to some steps up to a lobby/breakfast area. It was cute and quaint. The lobby area was open to the sky and there was a tarp which could be pulled over when it rained. The rooms, probably 10 or so, opened off the lobby, down little nooks and crannies. Our room was down some steps from the lobby. At night it was pretty cold in our room, but our beds had 6 wool blankets on them, so we were cozy, once we were under the covers.










This is a view of our room---pretty cute and cozy. There were three beds and we had our own bathroom. There was no hot water in the sink--typical, and the shower had an electric heater in the shower head. That was interesting. I will post a picture later. Our windows opened onto the street and if you remember the street was quite steep, so we had a nice view. There was a restaurant below us and on Friday and Saturday night, it was party central. Those were the two nights that neither of us was feeling very well, so rather than go join the party, we just laid in bed and tried to sleep and ignore the noise.

There was a street protest and I took a picture (duh). A woman who was on the street by me asked me where I was from. Her English was pretty good--- so I was able to ask her what the protest was for. She said these people were angry with the president---Alan Garcia---because they had lost their jobs and were middle to older age and felt they would not be able to find another job. She was very nice to talk to. She told me she had worked on a cruise ship off the coast of Florida, but she was from Cusco. In the background you can see a giant mural which depicts the history of Peru.

This more modern structure had a fountain on the opposite side. It was in a park south of the main square. I don't know all the things represented, but you can see the puma, which is how Cusco was laid out by the Inca Pachacuti.

I felt right at home with a billboard advertising feminine hygiene products :-). What was even better was that the advertisement said "Discover the wonder of the world" and then showed a picture of Machu Picchu. Oh, my.....

Happy Birthday, Grant--- 1 quarter century old!

Pondering the present, the past, and the future....


Today Grant turns 25--- a milestone in life.... I know it seems as though life perhaps is going slowly for him, but this is just a blink in time. I still remember the day he was born, all the accomplishments of his youth and adulthood. Twenty-five is for many the beginning of life as an adult---a change from the freedom of youth. Today, many people his age are still deciding what path to take with their lives. In the times of my grandparents, life and responsibility was well underway---25 then could actually have been for many middle age.
Happy birthday, Grant!!! I love you, Mom

Q'enko

Q'enko, another Inca ruin above Cusco, is about 1/2 mile from Sacsayhuaman. The hike was fairly easy, fairly flat along a road that was not very busy. But, I was feeling the effects of the altitude that day and it seemed a lot farther than 1/2 mile.

In this picture you can see the carved out remains of a large ceremonial chair. Q'enko is a small ruin believed to have been the site of ceremonial rituals of fertility and solstices.

This picture shows a large table believed to have been used for sacrifices.

Q'enko is primarily a series of carved stones which were used for tables, chairs, and other ceremonial uses. They sit atop a hill underneath which are caves and tunnels---at least that's what the guide book said. Grant and walked the perimeter of the ruin and couldn't find any way to get under the ruin. There were no guides at the site---in fact we saw only two other people the whole time we were there.

The site of Q'enko was beautiful, peaceful, and relaxing. Even Grant welcomed the chance to sit and relax.

We were there on a Monday which was probably part of the reason there weren't many people. We also happened to be visiting the ruins in the off season.

This day, December 5, also happened to be my mother's birthday. She would have been 92.

This is the view Grant saw as he sat at Q'enko. You can see Cusco below. Cusco sits at an altitude of 11,000 feet. I don't know the altitude of Q'enko and Sacsayhuaman, but you can see that they are considerably higher. I would have loved to have had a GPS on this trip.

This picture also shows the remains of another structure, perhaps something for storage.

Here Grant is heading up the hill away from Q'enko. You can see the wall of Q'enko on the right and on the left is a grove of trees that I was enthralled with. I haven't been able to identify them. The bark looked like the bark of a cedar tree, the leaves were long, thin, and smooth. The "nuts" were small with a point on each end and on the ground they were opened across the middle and had a star design on the inside.

There are two more ruins above Cusco. The next one is about a mile from Q'enko and the last another 1/2 mile or so from it. When we left our hostel that morning, we had planned to visit all 4 ruins. It didn't seem like a bad hike---two miles each way. Two miles at home are nothing, but two miles at 11,000 + feet was something else. We decided to return to Cusco after visiting Q'enko. We were hungry, thirsty, and feeling the effects of the altitude. I worried that Grant would be disappointed and feel he had missed out because he was with an "old" woman, but I think he was ready to return also.