August 11, 2013

• Sacred Valley

    Well, I am back in Cuzco after a whirlwind tour of the Sacred Valley, or Valle Sagrada.  It has been a couple of strenuous days.  I finally bought my tourist ticket, which enables you to visit about 15 different sites.  It is 130 soles (about 50 dollars) but after this weekend, I think I will say it is worth it.  I didn’t go on a tour, but did my own tour. Friday evening, I spent the night in Pisac in preparation for the next day’s journey through the Sacred Valley.  The Inca’s believed that the path of the Willcamayu River (Now called Urubamba) mirrored the Milky Way in the sky, and it was lifegiving in the crops that could be produced in the valley.  It is about 500 meters lower than Cuzco, so a bit more conducive climate to crops there. 

   The Inca ruins at Pisac are up on the mountain, and to save money, and for exercise, I decided to climb up the 1300 feet or so to the top. The path was a bit steep and rocky, but it was the same path that people have traveled for time immemorial to work the fields up on the terraces, and to go to their sacred sites.  I can honestly say that I never was scared hiking the Grand Canyon, since we always had a pretty wide path, usually 4-6 feet wide.   Maybe I have gotten older, but as I kept moving up, I started getting a bit panicky, and thinking I would come to a place where I couldn’t go anymore..  At times, I was on a 2 foot or less wide path with a 1000 foot dropoff.  I started hugging the side of the mountain more than ever.  But I persevered, and finally reached the top in about an hour. I had started out early before the park actually opened, so there was no one else in sight to give moral support.  To me, it seemed like a hundred foot dropoff didn’t bother me, but the higher ones did, and that didn’t make sense, since either one would be deadly.   But really, the ruins were worth it after getting to the top!  I don’t understand the Incas.  Number 1, if you want to build a really impressive something with huge heavy stones, why pick the top of the mountain?  I suspect most of those stones came up the same path I took? Scary to think about. And then the amazing terraces.  They would build a 10-15 foot high terrace, and then on top, the field was only 15 feet wide–hardly worth the extra land, but they do that even now.    Anyway, I explored to my hearts content, and then decided that I would rather take a taxi down, and not brave the path once more, even if it was 20 soles.  However, on the way down, it only cost 2 soles–go figure.

      After a great breakfast with a talkative family back in Pisac, (coffee, and an egg sandwich–I was starved), I left for the next place with ruins, Ollantaytumbo.  That involved taking public transportation down the Sacred Valley.  The farm land along the river is very fertile, with huge mountains on both sides, sometime narrowing the valley just to a few hundred feet.  Also, great views of many snow-capped Andes peaks.  I realized that I was looking at the South side of the peaks, and they had multiple glaciers, and lots of snow, but I guess this is their winter.  At Ollantaytumbo, there were some very nice smooth, huge stones, with what appeared to be some that were never put into place, but very nicely carved.  I really enjoyed those ruins.  Then, on the opposite mountain face there were some other ruins, way up the mountain again, that my previous trouble had not taught me a lesson.  Once again, I became well acquainted with the mountainside, as I inched up as close to it as possible.  This time, there was no taxi down, so I came down as cautiously as possible, and made it all the way to the bottom safely.

    The next ruins at Chinchero were much less imposing and not as scary, so it all worked out very well.  I ate a great meal at a restaurant there, around 3 pm.  I had Lomo Saltado, which is a very popular Peruvian dish.  Peppers, beef, with french fried potatoes along with rice up underneath all of that stuff.  It sounds like it would be soggy, but actually, it is quite good.  By that time, I was ready to head home, as it was starting to get dark.. All in all, a very good day, and well worth my money, and I enjoyed the fact that there I could go at my own pace, and not be dependent on a tour group.  I have documented some of it, so I will see if I can load these pictures…

  Here is the path as it started out–not to bad I admit.  It was later I had the trouble

                                                                                        One of the rocks at Ollantaytumbo, not yet fitted in. It was lovely pink granite, and they had already had some of the rocks fitted in place.  These rocks came from a quarry across the river, more than a mile away, and they were at least 300 or so feet above the town.  Notice the size of the person there, which makes you realize how big the rocks they were working with!! How in the world may you ask, and maybe more so, why?

                                                                                       Church at Chinchero–what a magnificent structure inside, ornately decorated, in a small town in Peru.  Notice the Inca walls in front of the church.

                                                                                      The town of Otallantaytumbo from the ledge high on the other side                                                                                                                                                                 Here is a detail of some of the Inca walls–notice how all the stones fit together without any mortar whatsoever  

   

  This is a typical street in Chinchero, with the trough down the middle to take away rainwater.  Again, this town dates from years ago–not a recent construction

                                                                                                                                                                              Bridge that was part of the path up to the ruins to Pisac. Although creaky, it did it’s job well

   

  And here is a closeup of the terraces that I had to ascend getting up to the top of Pisac.  Aren’t you glad that they didn’t tell you that you are working in the top field today.  That would have meant a climb of more than 1000 feet up to work in the morning. The picture doesn’t do justice to the steepness!

                                                                                          t                                                                                          Two examples of some of the stonework at the top of the fortress of Pisac.  They did not have those stones there.  They all had to be brought in, again put together 600 years ago with no mortar..how about that, you masons?

   

  Here are some of the snow-capped Andes mountains in the background in the sacred Valley.

   

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