After completing the Inka Trail, we met up with Will’s mom and daughter. They had gotten to Machu Picchu via the train. We all spent the night in Aguas Caliente. It was great to be able to shower and get into some clean clothes. Aguas Caliente is the town down the hill from Machu Picchu. It’s more of a party town, so we opted to change our train tickets and leave early the next morning.
On the way to the hike, we had driven through what looked like a really cute little town, Ollantaytambo, which was the last stop for us on the train. Getting to this town early in the day turned out to be the right decision for us. They have a great plaza area and ruins that were in walking distance. And of course, they had a little market where you can buy all the usual tourist items.
We enjoyed the ruins and found a fun little bar. There is also a place that has a few houses you can tour that were setup to show how people lived during the time of the Inkas. Our hostel was great. The proprietor made us a togo breakfast as we were leaving early the next morning for our tour of the Sacred Valley.
Isaac, was our driver. He only spoke Spanish, but Will and his mom were able to translate. So, even though Isaac was not a guide, he did provide a lot of insight on the places that we went.
We started at the Moray circles. Really not much to look at, but interesting as it is believed the Inkas used this place to study how various plants do at different elevations.
On to the town of Maras. A colonial town originally settled by the Spanish over 500 years ago. There was also a church built nearby. The Tiobamba church was built in hopes that there would be another settlement. This did not transpire and it really is a huge church in the middle of nowhere. The church is used now for weddings and other festivals, but masses are not held here on a regular basis.
The salt mines are also part of the town of Maras. They are famous for their pink salt. The company works as a cooperative and locals can purchase an evaporative pond to farm. The pond is fed by an underground spring containing mineral rich water during the rainy season. During the dry season the water inlet is closed and the water evaporates to leave the salt. The salt is collected, further dried, and processed for sale.
It was then time for lunch and Isaac told us he knew of a place for us to try guinea pig. Guinea pig or cuy is a popular delicacy in Peru, so, we had to give it a try. Isaac said that only the bones from my roasted guinea pig should be left, but I wasn’t sure if that included the head. Anyway, there was a lot more than bones left on my plate, however the meat was enjoyable. It is a sweet meat, probably similar in some ways to rabbit.
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On to Pisac to see more ruins and check out another market where I found some Alpaca yarn.
I enjoyed looking in your suitcase.