Cusco & The Sacred Valley of the Inca's

Hello from Cusco, where we have been since Monday afternoon. Arriving here (3326m) from sea level in Lima we have both felt a little short of breath and I've had a fairly persistent headache which I've put down to the altitude. That aside, we're having a lovely time is this beautiful town. On Monday afternoon we did a little exploring of the centre of the town and yesterday was spent organising some logistics for our trek to Machu Picchu and our onward travel to Puno. After much deliberation we have decided to travel by train to Puno rather than bus. Although the bus is quite a bit faster, we are both a bit sick of bus travel and are keen to take advantage of the few opportunities to travel by train that are on offer in South America. That decision made we then had to decide whether to travel 'Backpacker Class' (I'll leave that up to your imagination) or 'First Class', there is no in between. The price difference is about 80% and we know we really should have gone for the cheaper option but we threw caution to the wind and splashed out, lured by the glass roofed viewing cabin, lunch, afternoon tea and white linen table cloths...not sure we have the correct attire for this trip on Peru's 'Orient Express'! We have an extra day in Cusco after our trek (to recover and because the train only leaves on certain days) and will be on our way by rail to Puno on 23rd January.

Back to the present then. While paying the balance of our trek fee at our tour company, Peru Treks, we enquired about the best way to visit the Sacred Valley. We really wanted to visit on Wednesday (today) as that way we would avoid the large tour groups which visit on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Not enjoying following someone holding a flag or jostling our way to the front of a good view point in order to catch a picture (which inevitably includes someone else catching snap of the very same thing), we wanted to hire a guide and driver and visit the valley alone. Peru Treks organised the whole day for us at a reasonable price with a taxi and English speaking guide. We were collected from our hostel at 8am this morning and have had a wonderful day exploring the Inca ruins of Pisac, Ollaytaytambo and Chinchero along with local markets and a llama/alpaca breeding site to boot!

The llama/alpaca site is run by locals and designed to explain the differences between the animals and demonstrate how alpaca wool is dyed and woven into the intricate wall hangings and shawls that stock the shops and market stalls of Cusco and the surrounding towns. The time and skill involved in this weaving process is quite phenomenal and the most intricate hangings can take many months to complete. Natural dyes are created using plants, herbs and even parasites of cacti plants and are then mixed with lemon juice to produce numerous colours and shades. The wool is dyed over an oven for up to four hours per batch and then hung to dry. The women of the Andean highlands pass the skills of weaving on to their daughters and spend hours at a time strapped to their weaving looms threading the wool into detailed patterns representing various aspects of their culture and Pachamama (Mother Earth). The results are beautiful and so unmistakably Andean.

After perusing the rather expensive gallery and shop at the site, we moved on to our first Inca fortress perched dramatically above Pisac (the market town of the same name). Arriving early and on a quiet day we were afforded an unspoiled view of the whole site which was spectacular. The ruins are well preserved and we stood awe inspired at the skill and sophistication that this ancient civilisation employed in their creating it. The irrigation system (still working successfully even if unemployed today) puts that of modern Peru to shame and the accurate (even perfect) brickwork and stone carving was almost unfathomable. The Inca citadel at Pisac is famous for it's extensive agricultural terracing which is still very much in place (though not used) and makes for quite a sight whether looking up at it from the road or down on it from the ceremonial centre of the site (complete with its circular Inithuantana or temple of the sun - seen in the picture above).

After an hour or so walking around the site, we headed in to the market town of Pisac for a lunch of empanadas (think Peruvian pasties) which were delicious and a stroll around the handicrafts market where I bought a necklace (which represents the Inca calender) and we haggled hard on a soft alpaca blanket which we now have to try to post home...hmm!

The day continued with a drive along the lush valley of the Urubamba river and visits to the Inca fortress at Ollantaytambo (where the whole town is set amongst the cobbled Inca streets and has been continuously inhabited since the 13th century) and Chinchero (known to the Inca's as the birthplace of the rainbow) which beautifully combines Inca ruins with a magnificent colonial church set at the highest point of the village.

All in all this has been a fantastic day topped off with a tasting of the local brew - Chica (fermented corn beer) served plain or with a strawberry flavour and a game of 'Sapo'. Feeling a little more acclimatised, I'm now looking forward to leaving for the trek to Machu Picchu on Friday and will take the opportunity to visit the musems and galleries of the town of Cusco tomorrow along with stocking up on snacks and an all encompassing plastic waterproof poncho necessary for trekking during the rainy season in the Andes.