20240611 Celebrity Galapagos and Machu Picchu trip, Day #13 - The Sacred Valley, Peru

Celebrity Xpedition Galapagos and Machu Picchu trip - The Sacred Valley of the Incas - if they were such good engineers, why didn't they invent an escalator?

Like most mornings, we started the day with breakfast. Today was different as the hotel had a musician playing during breakfast. A local musician played the harp, then switched to what resembled a pan flute and a small drum, and finally a large recorder carved from a plant but it sounded more like a flute. Then, he went back to the harp. It was quite entertaining and a terrific addition to a nice breakfast.

Our first activity today was at the hotel. Our local guide, Kol, gave a short lecture on Peru, its culture, history, and geography. The thing that stuck out for both of us is the fact that there are currently 19,903 archeological sites in Peru. It is astounding. The history here, especially the pyramids in Caral, the seat of civilization, dates back more than 5,000 years. That predates the pyramids in Egypt by a century or more. After our Peru education, we were off to visit Sitio Arqueológico De Ollantaytambo or Ollantaytambo Sanctuary ruins.

As we walked in, our guide pointed to what we thought was a burial site up on a hill.

That wavy part in the center was the site

These terraced gardens and sun temple were built in the 15th century but never completed due to civil war in Peru.

Those terraces held flowers and aromatic herbs

Me, contemplating how much my knee was going to hurt when this was done (a lot)

This was a pre-Inca structure built into the hill

If you look closely, you can see a structure on the hill across the way

It is where the Incas stored seeds, some food, and weapons

This part of the hill is said to resemble a face, but not a Peruvian face - perhaps Vikings?

In the upper areas near the temple, the construction was so exact that nothing was used to join the rocks other than perfect cuts

The pieces sticking out were thought to be part of a solar timekeeping system - a sundial of sorts

An example of a perfectly cut stone with a ridge where two stones would join from opposite sides

At the top - the Temple of the Sun

These massive stones were mined some distance away up another mountain, then manually dragged down and back up using multiple people and a bed of gravel, sand, and running water to allow the stones to slide

You can even see expansion joints engineered between the stones

Precise fits

Part of the ramp where the huge slabs were dragged up

While we were at the top, there was a structure that continued higher. I decided to sit this part out but Arlona ventured on.

Pat and Arlona proving they made the extra climb

You can barely make out Pat's husband, Colin, and me, way down there

Back at the bottom, Arlona checked out some structures on the side.

Alpacas grazing in the distance

This sure looked like a bull ring - Peruvians still participate in bullfighting

After our climb, we walked through a craft market on the way to the bus.

Hmm...that name and logo seem familiar

It was time for lunch. We headed to a local place called Wayra Ranch.

This place also used images to indicate the appropriate restroom to use. But this one had an added one.

Women

Men

What we assumed was a handicapped bathroom

The food was served family style and just kept coming. Salad, potatoes, fish, beef, chicken, pork, other side dishes, and then this lovely dessert selection.

After dinner, we were treated to a horse and dance show.

It was a nice lunch in a beautiful setting.

Our final stop for the day was at the studio of a local pottery artist, Pablo Seminario. We toured his workshop and saw some of his techniques.

Birds he keeps on the property

The artist, himself

With that, we returned to the hotel. We wandered the property a bit before returning to the room. It really is a beautiful place. I was working on photos when I realized I had been staring at the same photo for several minutes. 250+ stairs, 9400 feet, all I know is that I was exhausted. That led to a brief nap - something I rarely do. A little writing and then dinner before returning to our room to pack bags.

Tomorrow is a very long day. We have to have bags out at 7:15 and be on the bus at 7:40. Our bags will be delivered to the hotel in Cusco. We will drive to the Ollantaytambo train station and take a Vistadome train to Machu Picchu tomorrow morning. We will spend time touring Machu Picchu before boarding the luxury Hiram Bingham train for the three to four-hour ride to Cusco. We will be given dinner and drinks on the train, but we won't make it to Cusco until 10 PM or so. There is no WiFi on the train so that means I'll be putting together tomorrow's blog well into the wee hours, assuming I can stay awake at 11,100 feet after a long day. It should be a highlight of this portion of the trip so we're looking forward to it, even if it will wear us out.