We ended up getting a guide who spoke some English, so we could understand what we were seeing. Pretty much everyone else in our group that day (except for one Australia lady) spoke spanish, so our guide, Ruben, said everything in both languages. Poor guy. :)
The drive in the bus was a little crazy. They definitely don't have many traffic laws (or at least, not enforced ones) in Peru, and we almost got in several accidents. The only "law" that seemed to be in place was "The biggest vehicle gets the right-of-way!"
Our first stop was Pisaq. Pisaq was made of some temple ruins, a cemetery in the mountain, and some terraces for farming. It was beautiful but the hike up made us lose our breath again! The Incans farmed on terraces and grew different crops based on the level - the temperature between terraces changed quite a bit.
Pisaq with farming terraces in front
See the holes in the mountain? Cemetery!
For lunch we stopped in a small town called Urubamba. We went to a tourist buffet, which really scared me and I hardly ate anything, because all my research had said, DO NOT EAT AT BUFFETS. And trust me, this one was slightly sketchy. Luckily they love coca cola there, so we at least had one of those (hold the ice). Oh, and I went to the bathroom there and accidentally flushed the toilet paper. I practically ran from the bathroom because I was afraid it would flood or something!!!
After lunch we went to another Incan ruin site, called Ollantaytambo. It is also in the mountains and was a very steep hike up. This ruins was mostly farming terraces with a few small temples. In the mountain across from us you could see a prison ruins and castle-type structure, but we didn't hike up that one (MUCH further up).
Our guide, Ruben, with the other mountain (and prison) in the background
Brad, the mummy
Our final stop this day was Cinchero, a little village with a Spanish church built right on top of what used to be an Incan temple. I guess it was pretty common when the spanish conquered the Incas that they destroyed their buildings and temples and built their own in its place. The church was huge but we weren't allowed to take pictures inside.
Getting a lesson in using natural dyes
Spanish church
The bus!
Along the way that day, we passed many small mountain villages. Most of them were quite dusty with red dust from the mountain rock/clay. Most of their homes were made out of the same material, mixed with straw or hay. A lot of houses had tin roofs held down with rocks/bricks. Some didn't have windows, and instead had tin or fabric over the windows. A ton of these mountain villagers painted political slogans on their fences/houses, which I assume they paint over for each election. I was surprised how many animals are kept everywhere, so close to the houses (pigs, cows, chickens, sheep). Everything just seemed to be covered with red dust, even the people.
Although most of the people wear modern clothes, the women still carry toddlers/children/materials in multi-colored striped fabric draped over their back, which was neat to see. Sort of a traditional element.
We also saw TONS of little "shops" like this, especially in Cusco and parts of the Sacred Valley. Obviously these areas depend a lot on tourists (besides farming/raising livestock).
The next day, June 26, is when we were supposed to leave for Puno and Lake Titicaca (the highest navigable lake), but tons of violent protests were going on in the area, so the buses were running. We tried to go to Arequipa and see Colca Canyon instead, but the route is similar, so buses weren't going their either. So we ended up staying in Cusco longer, and so this day we went and saw a few more sights in the Sacred Valley. This is also the only day where I felt slightly sick with an upset stomach. Still managed to see the sights!
First we went to Moray, which is a site of Incan terraces made in a circular design. It's crazy to see these perfect circles! It's also really far down/up from the bottom terrace to the top terrace, and the Incans used "flying steps" to climb from terrace to terrace. The flying steps are NOT meant for people with a fear of heights, like me, but I tried a few of them.
Flying steps
The mountains out here were more black in color, versus the red seen closer to Cusco.
Next we went to Salinas Maras (the salt mines). It was AMAZING! Very off the beaten path, so it took a long time and many dirt/gravel roads to get there, but so worth it. It's an Incan design/technique still being used today where the people collect salt water running from within the mountain by running it into little pools. When the pools are full they block it off and the salt water dries up, then people can harvest the salt. The salt pools run down the mountain, and you can walk on this tiny path at the edge to see the different pools. I made it about halfway out before the path got too close to the ledge for me. Brad went further out. But there were no safety precautions in place! No handrails or anything...
View of the salt mines from way above on the mountain
Up close and personal!
The water flowing from within the mountain
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