Walk Like an Incan

Last Sunday, after a full and wonderfully festive week in the very beautiful (at times) Cusco, we hopped on a bus (okay, it wasn't as nonchalant as that: Pablo planned very well for us to take an ecologically friendly tour through a very highly rated tour company), and we headed to the Sacred Valley. The Sacred Valley is an area near Cusco that houses cities with various Inca ruins and still maintains many traditional cultural activities. We mainly visited three cities: Pisac, Ollantaytambo, and Chinchero.

Let me begin this, though, by articulating the...erm...squabble that Alex and I had with the tourist officers. Okay, so having a student ID is supposed to get you half off the price of 140 soles, right? That means it will only cost students 70 soles for the trip. So, Alex and I make our way to the ticket-buying counter, we present our student IDs, and start digging out 70 soles. The woman behind the desk then informs us that our student IDs don't count. Say what? Apparently because ETSU does not issue a new ID EVERY SINGLE YEAR (with the date on it) it means that our IDs are not valid for the student ID discount. So, I proceeded to read the back of our ID cards (in English, Spanish, and Spanglish) over and over, stressing the part about "this ID is not valid unless this person is currently a student," etc. Finally, another woman came over to argue with us solely in English. I politely (well, as politely as my offended self could) gave her our cards, and asked her to read it. Out loud. I wasn't taking no for an answer. Half an hour later, with lots of sorries on the part of the officers, Alex and I trudged back to the bus, out of 140 soles each. Seriously. This ruined a good 45 minutes of the trip for me. Alex, however, while upset by the situation, was entirely amused by my display. So that out of the way, let's move on.

The first site was Pisac, which has lots of agricultural terracing and a winding path through a small village at the very top of a mountain. If you are brave enough (as in you are prepared to sweat a little, breathe a lot, and strain your legs), you can make it all the way to the top of the mountain to the highest located little thatched-roof house at the top. It's quite a breathtaking view from there. This village was apparently host to several hundred Incan farmers during the Incan reign, and provided a good deal of the food that all Incas consumed.

Afterward, we drove an hour through the countryside (mountainside?), examining various cultural traditions of house building and decorating, agricultural terracing, and the basic lifestyles of the peoples who made their homes here. It was quite rustic and beautiful. It reminded me a lot of rural India, with traditional music filtering out of adobe windows, brightly colored clothes hung out on lines, small farms with cows, sheep, dogs, and alpacas wandering about, and little storefronts with brightly painted signs beaming from here and there. Also, an interesting thing about Peru is that political advertisements are painted on the sides of houses. I'm not sure who does this or how it works, but every other house has the name of  a political candidate from the past election (which took place on June 5) in brightly colored letters on a stark white background. Even out here, in this very rural setting, the houses were awash with political advertising. It made for some interesting scenery.

Anyway, an hour later we stopped at La Jacaranda buffet, where we had cinnamon and clove tea and ate a lunch that mainly consisted of tomatoes, cucumbers, and frijoles (not that there wasn't other food, but the majority of it had lamb, pollo, or carne, so you know...off limits for us). After another long drive and tour of various rural villages we arrived at Ollantaytambo about another hour later.

Ollantaytambo is a medium sized city built on the original Inca foundation. Most of the houses still have walls made by the Incas! This place is AMAZING. Grain storage facilities were built on the sides of cliffs (quite literally) and we got a glimpse of where the Incas discovered the imagery for their primary god. Here is where the Earth temple is located--but only halfway built, because during its construction the Incas had to stop in order to fight the Spanish. Anyway, after a daunting climb of who knows how many stairs straight up the side of this mountain (which is even higher than Cusco!), we arrived at the top of a very beautiful architectural site. Below we could see the farms that we had just spent an hour driving through, stretching across the valley below as far as you would be inclined to look. In the city below the local people were beginning a cultural festival, and we could hear the music and see them in their brightly colored, traditional outfits. Ollantaytambo is, by far, one of the most beautiful places I've seen.

However, Chinchero was quite an amazing site as well. Unlike the previous two cities, Chinchero did not require walking straight up the side of a cliff. Rather, it was a leisurely walk through a small town, out onto a plateau. The only word that I could think to describe this place is: tranquil. The mountains surrounded us, the sun was falling, shadows drifted lazily across the valley as clouds passed overhead. Children played with their puppies, women sat weaving, the men had gathered to celebrate Father's Day with some local beers...it was so perfect. On the ground were tiny, shriveled potatoes (which I at first mistook for Alpaca droppings). Our guide explained to us that this was the seed saving technique of Andean peoples. During the winter in the Andes the nights and mornings are very cold, which makes the potatoes freeze and literally turn to ice. In the warmer afternoons the potatoes melt. This process, during the winter, causes the potatoes to dry from the inside out, preserving their reproductive abilities and ensuring a plentiful potato harvest for the next year. Pretty incredible, no?  Chinchero is also host to the oldest remaining church in Peru, which still has the original frescoes painted in the early 1600s. It was kind of creepy, but also quite intriguing. The most notable thing about Chinchero, though, is its textiles. The people of Chinchero still wear traditional clothing, always, and maintain traditional weaving and dying techniques. We actually got to see how these clothes were made, from the wool of the Alpaca, to the process that makes it into thread, to how to dye the thread a variety of different colors (black, red purple, yellow, etc.). Afterward, we were enticed by the local market with various sellers promising good prices, only for us. Alex and I did manage to buy some high quality chompas for a little bit of a deal. Thinking about Chinchero now leaves such a peaceful taste in my mouth. It was such a wonderful place.

Afterwards, we headed back to Cusco, passing by Salkantay and seeing the outline of Veronica (yes!) in the distance. I can't really remember what we did afterward--I was entirely exhausted, but the day was quite amazing.