Ollanta, Ollantaytambo y Maras (Salineras y Moray)
Today we explored Ollanta and the ruins, Ollantataymbo. We were really early to bed last night, given that we had little sleep the night before. I woke at 6:30 or so, and Barb a little later. It felt good to not rush around! We had breakfast at the hotel, desperately needing to find some good coffee (without success!) The instant stuff at the other hotel wasn’t what we had in mind! We called our driver from yesterday, Wilbert, to schedule for him to take us on our excursion tomorrow. He wouldn’t quote us a price until he picks us up, though Barb told him he’d better not charge too much! We confirmed the ride for today at the restaurant then went off to explore the ruins.
Thank goodness for my new camera and memory card with well over a thousand pics, as I made a good dent today!! The hike up the ruins was magnificent, though it did occur to me that the steep climb up the uneven but picturesque stairs wouldn’t be quite so fun on the way down. Yeah, my fear of heights is a wonderful thing! But I threw caution to the wind, aspiring to the amazing views that we did see! It was simply magnificent! The ruins were in the side of the mountain.. a fortress from long ago that was taken by the Spaniards.
We saw some very long, flat stones that appeared to have been altars, and cutouts in the walls that appeared to be windows, however they didn’t go all the way through. (We found out later from our guide in MP, that these were used as shelves for holding decorations!) We met a wonderful couple from Germany, one from Switzerland as well. Barb does a wonderful job going in and out of different languages. Thankfully, I can understand enough of Spanish to get the gist of what people are saying, though I really have a hard time speaking in the languages.
The views were simply amazing, as Ollanta is in a valley surrounded by very high mountains. There are fields all around that are a patchwork of beautiful colors, and a very cute town. We could see our hotel from the top, as well as several other small villages. There was also a little grazing area with two bulls. One I got up pretty close to for a picture, then realized they were not fenced in. I decided to not push my luck, but Jason, you know I had a momentary thought of you while looking at the bull!!! (vamos a Palomba!!!)
We took a path around part of the mountain and found another way down from the top of the ruins. No, I didn´t go down on my butt, though I´m very glad that Barb did me the courtesy of not filming my graceful descent.
We found a coffee shop and ahhh... (sound of angels singing) had a wonderful latte that hit the spot. We’re exploring Ollanta a little bit, will grab lunch, hopefully at a local place and not a touristy one! Then we will find our driver for the second part of our adventure. Hasta luego....
Maras y Moray
Walked around Ollanta a bit more, and got lunch at a quaint local place. We got what we thought was a crepe, but it was actually a very thin pancake.. bananas and chocolate. Yum! What better lunch. When we went to find the bathroom, we went through a true jumgle.. trees, and lots of vegetation in the middle of this house, and a little animal kingdom of parrots, cats and dogs. The woman there was drying maize on a mat as well.
Quick bathroom observation-they don’t want you to flush paper here, and have little trashcans by the toilet (I’m assuming they have a septic-like system). Very few toilets actually have seats, and it’s a good practice to carry tissue paper with you just in case the opportunity is required!! Oh, and antibacterial gel, as some of the sinks don’t run with water or have soap either!! Better than Paris with the 2x2 bathroom with a hole and foot pedals though, but definitely not for the faint of heart!!
Anyways, back to Ollanta. We walked down a side alley to check things out, followed by a quite friendly dog. After all of Barb´s admonishments that I was NOT allowed to pet any animals here, I actually caught her petting this dog! She claimed he looked ok, but I dunno.. The alleyway is apparently where the locals live. It was marked by small doors, cobblestone streets, lots of dogs. Everyone was incredibly friendly, as they have been throughout the trip, and not one local passes without saying “buenos dias!” “Buenos tardes” etc. They are such friendly people here. The kids seem to have a great time playing and life seems good.
We met up with our driver and headed out. On the way we saw a bus coming very fast down the narrow streets, and a car was coming the other way! The bus blared the horn and the car backed up quickly, and off they went! It was pretty funny. People drive very fast for the roads.. windy, narrow, potholed.. pretty well paved for the most part though. The other observation is the amount of honking! People honk to say hello, at people in the street.. without slowing.. and on the side of the street to warn them not to enter it.
The drive through the mountains was gorgeous and we noticed lots of terraces carved in the side of the mountains. Miguel told us they are potato farms. The drive to Salineras, the salt mine, was very steep. Miguel pulled over to the edge .. the road was very narrow.. for us to take pictures. We almost had a heart attack, but decided to take advantage of the opportunity! The salt is mined by a co op of women, and they sell some of their items on the way in. We each bought some salt, and I bought these dried maize which were quite yummy. Almost like unpopped popcorn, but not as hard as that. The salt mines were simply gorgeous.. just gridwork squares of white over an expansive landscape. It looked like snow and was just gorgeous. I’ll let the pictures describe this, but it was our favorite thing so far. The pathway through the field was only a little wider than a balance beam, maybe two feet at the most in parts though mostly a foot wide. We saw the water source and dipped a finger.. it was the most salty thing I had EVER tasted! As a salt-a-holic, I still thought it was way too salty! They fill the squares of water which evaporates, and in three weeks it’s mostly hard. They mine it every three weeks.. the top layer goes to the animals, middle to the locals and bottom to the tourists. It was just beautiful and amazing. The workers collect the salt barefoot so as not to contaminate it.
Then we were on to Moray, through fields of hops and grains. There were a lot of schoolchildren walking down a long rocky dirt road on the way, trying to hitch a ride. When we didn’t pick them up, one thumped the car! There was livestock crossing the road several times, and we drove right up alongside a large bull as well! Moray was interesting. We looked down on the large concentric circles, which was used for agriculture in the Inca times. They used it to test growing abilities of different plants. There was a little market and Barb spoke with a couple of the women there. Both had young children with them who were just gorgeous! The children here and beautiful as are the people! While I know enough Spanish to get by (I can somewhat understand basic Spanish, and can get my needs across) it’s been wonderful being with someone who’s fluent. It’s enabled me to meet some wonderful people and get to know them a little—tough to do if you can’t speak the language!
Being here makes me appreciate all that we have in the US, but there’ s a charm and raw beauty all around. The landscape is just amazing, and the people are simply wonderful. More speak English than I´d expect, though not many do. We drove back listening to what sounded like the Peruvian equivalent of Cat Stevens on the radio. Several times again stopped by people walking donkeys, cows and sheep.
We ate dinner at a beautiful place in Ollanta and watched the dozens of busses go by from the train station through town, leaving from Aguas Calientes/Macchu Piccu, to Cusco. Of course, being the pied piper of animals, a cat seeked me out and was rubbing up on my legs trying to tempt me to feed him. It was actually spotted, which was interesting. Barb leaned over to pet it, and got busted by the waiter who tossed it out. Just as well I guess! We had a wonderful dinner with a pasta, and andean ravioli- alpaca with a red creamy sauce that was incredible. We decided to get a ride back to the hotel.. not sure I’ve mentioned the three wheeled carts that drove all around, but it was a fun way to go back!!!
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