It’s another early morning pickup by Samuel, our Lima travel assistant. He gets us checked into our flight to Cusco and bids us adieu. We have an uneventful flight with a 9:30 arrival in Cusco. At over 11,000 ft elevation, you can tell you are at high altitude. We hook up with Rubin and Marco, our new guide and driver for this portion of the trip.
Our first stop is at Awana Cancha, a weaving center with the goal of keeping Peru’s traditional textile arts alive. We also get to meet four members of the Cameloid family, llamas, alpacas, vicuñas, and guanacos all whose hair is used for weaving. And yes, they do spit. Apparently, it is also the start of mating season and we get to see two alpacas trying to establish dominance. Onward to the small town of Pisac where we have a great lunch at a local place and a walk around the craft market. A little touristy, but ok.
We are staying at a place deep in the Sacred Valley called Sol y Luna (Sun and Moon). It is a private place located on beautiful grounds. They even have some of the special Peruvian Dancing Horses on site. We have a lovely little ‘casita’ (small house) to stretch out. We forgo dinner as we had a great lunch in Pisac and the three meals a day on the ‘boat’ were a little too much. We stop at the bar and have a great visit with the bartender while enjoying a few custom beverages. Early to bed as we have another early pickup in the morning. I think I need a vacation from this vacation.
M
We’ve used a company that specializes in South American travel called ‘Vaya’ out of California to coordinate our travel needs. They are really on the ball. Samuel, our Lima ‘greeter’, met us in the lobby of our hotel near the airport really early (again) and walked us through the airport check-in for our flight to Cusco in the Sacred Valley. On arrival in Cusco, our new guides and driver (Rubin & Marco) gather us up and we’re off to the Valley.
After a short stop at Awana Cancha, a traditional weaving center, we’re on to the village and Incan ruins of Pisac. At some 9,800 feet the site sits along a ridge guarding the entrance to the Vilcanota River valley. Wow, the altitude is really noticeable while wandering the site (which is magnificent)!
Inca Pisac served a number of purposes. For military purposes, the site acted as a checkpoint to defend the southern entrance to the sacred valley and controlled a route which connected the Inca Empire with the border of the rain forest. The Inca constructed aqueducts and agricultural terraces on the hillsides which are still in use today. The terraces enabled the production of surplus food that would not normally be possible at such high altitudes. Food was stored in ‘colcas’ or warehouses to be distributed during times of floods or other natural disasters. There is also a huge Inca cemetery complex with an estimated 10,000 tombs. Mummies were buried with everything needed for an afterlife – food, jewels, weapons, etc.
We lunched in colonial Pisac town at the base of the ruins and wandered the street market before heading on to our lodging in Urubamba. ‘Sol y Luna’ is a set of bungalows with Peruvian décor overlooking the Urubamba Valley. It’s quite a place with a few restaurants, a stable, and walking paths on beautifully landscaped grounds.
D.
