The Sacred Valley of the Incas! It sounds like we're in a Tintin book! But in truth, we are in an unusually beautiful and interesting part of the world, and thoroughly enjoying it.
The trip from Santiago was long - our flight was delayed and we spent a solid six hours in the airport before takeoff - followed by a two hour transfer from Cusco to Yucay. I tried to take out money at the airport, and the ATM ate my debit card. We arrived late at night, Aurora and I wandered around fruitlessly trying to buy food and water with US dollars. I boiled water, but it had so much black sediment that I couldn't bring myself to drink it. Travel is hard sometimes, I thought to myself as I lay in the dark trying to breathe the thin air (we're at 2,800 metres).
But the next morning, we discovered that we're actually in a wonderland. We all visited Urubamba, the nearest town of any size, to withdraw cash. We strolled down a dirt road next to the Willkamayu River, meeting some cows, a donkey, many decent-tempered dogs, and the occasional person. We gawked at the luscious green mountains that line the valley on all sides. In town, we had a delicious vegan lunch, then went to the market and bought ground cherries, grenadillas, avocados, quinoa, chiles, and so much more.
After a week's exploration of the valley, we wish we had more time. The Maras Salt Mines were a fascinating visit to a 500-year-old evaporation system. We climbed all over the Ollantaytambo ruins, marveling at how they built such a colossal fortress atop a mountain with 1500's technology. Tova made her sisters and mom walk over an hour each way, in a drizzle, in the hopes that a giant inflatable slide was open (which it was!) Aurora discovered a fondness for chicha, a purple fermented maize drink. We learned about Quechua culture, the intricacies of quipu, and which plants stain your fingers fuchsia.
The Sacred Valley was a fantastic place to start our time in Peru - our lifestyle slowed right down, we soaked up that mountain feeling...on to Aguascalientes and Machu Picchu!
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| Sisterly connection |
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| The Temple of the Four Sisters (is what we called it) |
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| Hanging loose in an Incan ruin |
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| A mountaintop view of Urubamba |
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| Our daily walk into town |
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| The Maras Salt Mines were cool! |
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| Spot the Teitelbaums... |
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Whoahhh. Sophia is getting tall! What a journey. A helpful reminder travel is not all fun and games. Some of my lowest moments have been when water was scarce. I hope you held it together okay through that first night.
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