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The idea of going
to Yucay today was so that we could all gradually
get acclimatised to the altitude. Lima is at sea
level, and Cuzco at 10,900ft (3,330m) which can
cause some problems. So one night at Yucay should
have eased any difficulties...
The phone wakeup call was at 03:30 – groan! We were
all on the coach by 04:30 and taken to Lima airport
for the 06:30 Aero Continente Boeing 727 flight
to Cuzco. Bruce is delighted to fly once again on
what he calls "a classic airliner" and
I am less pleased to fly in a plane which I call
"old". The flight was pretty spectacular
as we flew over the Andes, but the landing was very,
very exciting – the plane flew up a mountain valley
to its head and at the last moment swung through
180o and dived steeply onto the runway
and came to a very abrupt halt.
We were met at the airport by the Travel Collection
Rep. Julian, who had a broad smile and pleasant
way. He chatted about the area but was not as pedagogical
as Margarita.
As we walked towards our coach, a man took our photographs.
Presumably he found us photogenic - we couldn't
think why else he would take photos of a coach-load
of tourists.
Having been warned about the sun at this altitude,
we all converged on the street traders by the coach
and bought some very silly hats (see below)... |
As
we left the Cuzco valley, we stopped
to see Puca Pucara (" Red Fort")
– an Inca construction on the brow of
a hill. |
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We then continued down the the
Urubamba Valley – known as the Sacred Valley- which
is stunningly beautiful. |
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...with silly hats referred
to above... |
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Julian had warned us when we
arrived that we should be careful opening containers
at this altitude: they were likely to squirt, especially
bottles of gassy drinks. On the coach Geoff forgot
this, and when he decided to put on some sun cream,
he generously shared most of the bottle with those
sitting near him... |
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We
stopped at a viewpoint above the market
town of Pisac. Someone else forgot
their sun cream, and the driver had
to climb on the roof of the coach
to get to their bag. |
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We
descended into Pisac and went to the
market: it is both a true local market
as well as one for tourists. The former
has all kinds of sweet corn in a variety
of colours, fruit and vegetables.
There is also some unidentifiable
meat... |
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Thirsty, Bruce got out a bottle
of fizzy water. Geoff said, "Be careful with
that..." , but too late, and Bruce stood soaked
to the skin as the bottle explodes even more dramatically
that Geoff's sun cream. |
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were taken to a bakery and encouraged
to try the local delicacy of bread stuffed
with tomato and cheese – very nice. |
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In
a corner of the bakery is a pen with
guinea pigs, being fattened up for
market.... |
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We got back onto the coach
and were taken to our hotel for the night. But there
was just time see our rooms and have some lunch
(an excellent hot buffet with stuffed lime green
peppers) and we are off again. |
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We
called in to a local house where chicha
- maize beer - is made and sold. Julian
showed how it's made but only a few
tried it: I am one of them and found
it a unique experience (I hope!). |
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Les samples the
local home brew |
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In
the yard of the building, some men
were drinking the chica and playing
supos - you have to thow a brass counter
into the mouth of a brass frog. Winners
get a free chicha, ensuring that continued
success is not guaranteed. |
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We continued on
to Ollantaytambo village. Inca built
originally, all houses have stone block
bases and water running down the middle
or side for water or drainage. |
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Up to the fort
itself which protected the whole valley.
It was our first close view of Inca
architecture: it is amazing, and we
can see how huge stone blocks are
placed together with no gaps. We walked
up the steep steps to the top of the
fort: even at this lower altitude
we felt more breathless than we would
at home (we all agree...) We were
amazed at the Inca's stamina - some
of the terraces go high into the mountains:
how did they work up there? |
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We
finally returned to our hotel for the
night - the Posada del Inca, Yucay -
a former monastery, and are greeted
again with a welcoming Pisco Sour. We
are also treated to an hour of entertainment
by an excellent Peruvian folk band:
we even bought their CD. Here
is a sample of their music.
We had supper: I had roast alpaca steak
and wheat risotto – excellent. Bruce
had breaded local river trout and yucca
– also very good. We are in bed and
fast asleep by 9:00pm! |
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