Day 4 - The Sacred Valley - On the Road to Machu Picchu

The Sacred Valley and Pisac



We hopped on to the bus and drove through a major mountain pass, into the Sacred Valley around the Urubamba River. Along the way we learned the difference between Alpaca’s and Llama’s. The Alpaca is the one on the left with hair on its head, the llama is on the right.



We also passed a couple charming young ladies with a lamb and for one sole each (30 cents) we were permitted to snap this photo.



The view of the Sacred Valley is absolutely stunning! This was one of the primary bread baskets of the Inca Empire. And it abounds with Inca ruins. This must have been one fantastic place to see, when the fields were being worked and the economy was bustling with energy.



We then drove to the Pisac ruins. Terraces running up the side of the mountains, it must have been an amazing site, when the Inca’s were working much of this land. I always thought someone just piled up a bunch of stones and then threw dirt in the middle. Of course it is not that simple. After the excavation and building a rock wall, they would put a layer of small gravel, then a layer sand, larger rocks and finally dirt (sometimes imported from elsewhere in Peru). You can see how the other end of these terraces seem to meet an intersection with another mountain face.



The terraces were irrigated, often being built at the intersection of two hillsides where the terraces would collect natural runoff waters. Each terrace would drain, so it did not stay too damp. It was really quite sophisticated, unfortunately the Spaniards being Warriors and more importantly winners…cared nothing for the Inca technology. And much was lost in terms of agronomics and plant breeding knowledge. The Inca food yields were excellent.

I read this in a book afterward, so we did not get a picture, but the Pisac ruins on the hillside actually have the shape of a Giant Condor, this fits with Cusco, which was also laid out to look like a crouching Puma. So the Inca's must have been one fine set of engineers.

The Incas like most Societies, were very hierarchical. The local chief, the nobility, priest, people with knowledge about astronomy or plants all lived the good life. Their houses were better constructed, they also had access to the temple areas. The common folks were actually called Chica (CheCha), not Inca. And the lived outside a fenced area for the nobility and temples….sort of the first gated community.



Here is Lynn by one of the Temple structures. And me in my favorite hiking ensemble.



And a picture of our “Country Walker’s Group”…..not sure why everyone else has on all of those layers? And our travel guides Pavel (left), Freddy (right) and Guido our flute player. The Guides are both from the area, and have a deep knowledge of the culture, the history and current events. So I think everyone in the group appreciated their insights and knowledge. This was our first group trip....we usually like to do things on our own. But the group was great, and hopefully we have made a few new friends.



At the edge of the Pisac Temple to the Sun…you overlooked the valley below. The stone work, while not shone...was excellent quality. I will share a few more ruin pictures later from Ollantaytambo...and of course Machu Picchu. This is Lynn, Pavel and Susan.



I was curious how exhausting it might be to run to the top of a small hill, at 13,000 feet. Well what do you know....indeed it was exhausting…..too tired to run back down.



In the afternoon we visited the Pisac Market where we picked up a Peru soccer shirt for Andy, and a Cienciano one for me (Cusco Champs rock!). We also bargained with 3 tough negotiators in the market….over valuable ‘finger puppets.’ Kate’s present is a surprise. ;o)