Thursday 28th April:
Nothing is ever quite how you imagine it. I imagined the Sacred Valley to be remote, largely deserted, with snow, rock and icy terrain, but no it's green and full of attractive little towns. The valley is deep with the mountains soaring up either side in spectacular fashion.
After a stop in the market town of Pisac we drive on for another hour and a half to Ollantaytambo. Lorna can't resist looking at jewellery and considers a bracelet for her mother, but nothing fits the bill, and she struggles to pull away. I buy a nice leather belt, but sadly when we get back to the hotel, it doesn't quite circumvent my waist, another marvellous purchase.
Ollantaytambo is the major Inca ruin in the valley, and was the only site where the Inca's defeated the Spanish Conquistadors, and where Manco Inca holed up until fleeing to the jungle stronghold of Vilcabamba. It was Vilcabamba in fact that Hiram Bingham was searching for in 1912 when her discovered the citadel of Macchu Pichu.
Mario, our guide, and I scale the terraced ruins and wonder at the size of the rocks and the precision with which they were hewn to create the temple at the top. The quarry from which the rocks originated could be seen six kilometres away on the other side of the valley. Apparently in a reconstruction some way back, a historical group established how many people it would take to move these giant rocks, fifteen for every ton of rock.
At the top of the ruin is a 60 ton rock, so simple maths suggests it would have required nearly 1,000 men to drag it across the valley and up to this location. Mario also explained that in the Inca culture work was the currency with which to feed and cloth oneself and one's family.
Whilst at the top, we can also see the station where we will catch the train for Aguas Calientas the day after tomorrow, so we have a good two hour drive, before a one and a half hour train journey.
And so onto the included lunch, and Lorna's heart sinks as we pull into a restaurant alongside a dozen other minibuses and a coach. Yes it's a buffet and a folk group, just like last night, but a little better. We pass on the guinea pig having heard people complain about how many little bones there are to get through before savouring what little meat there is in a guinea pig.
We return to Cusco admiring the scenery while our guide sleeps in the front of the van. I take a stroll around the centre later and book for a restaurant that we choose not to frequent, and instead eat at the Inka Grill on the main Plaza, an excellent meal with charming service, a good end to the day.
Nothing is ever quite how you imagine it. I imagined the Sacred Valley to be remote, largely deserted, with snow, rock and icy terrain, but no it's green and full of attractive little towns. The valley is deep with the mountains soaring up either side in spectacular fashion.
After a stop in the market town of Pisac we drive on for another hour and a half to Ollantaytambo. Lorna can't resist looking at jewellery and considers a bracelet for her mother, but nothing fits the bill, and she struggles to pull away. I buy a nice leather belt, but sadly when we get back to the hotel, it doesn't quite circumvent my waist, another marvellous purchase.
Ollantaytambo is the major Inca ruin in the valley, and was the only site where the Inca's defeated the Spanish Conquistadors, and where Manco Inca holed up until fleeing to the jungle stronghold of Vilcabamba. It was Vilcabamba in fact that Hiram Bingham was searching for in 1912 when her discovered the citadel of Macchu Pichu.
Mario, our guide, and I scale the terraced ruins and wonder at the size of the rocks and the precision with which they were hewn to create the temple at the top. The quarry from which the rocks originated could be seen six kilometres away on the other side of the valley. Apparently in a reconstruction some way back, a historical group established how many people it would take to move these giant rocks, fifteen for every ton of rock.
At the top of the ruin is a 60 ton rock, so simple maths suggests it would have required nearly 1,000 men to drag it across the valley and up to this location. Mario also explained that in the Inca culture work was the currency with which to feed and cloth oneself and one's family.
Whilst at the top, we can also see the station where we will catch the train for Aguas Calientas the day after tomorrow, so we have a good two hour drive, before a one and a half hour train journey.
And so onto the included lunch, and Lorna's heart sinks as we pull into a restaurant alongside a dozen other minibuses and a coach. Yes it's a buffet and a folk group, just like last night, but a little better. We pass on the guinea pig having heard people complain about how many little bones there are to get through before savouring what little meat there is in a guinea pig.
We return to Cusco admiring the scenery while our guide sleeps in the front of the van. I take a stroll around the centre later and book for a restaurant that we choose not to frequent, and instead eat at the Inka Grill on the main Plaza, an excellent meal with charming service, a good end to the day.
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