Day Three in Peru - Ollantaytambo to Cuzco

We leave the hotel in the dark again and weave our way through the closed market stalls on the way to the train station. We are in the Expedition car this trip and so we settle in on the opposite side of the car to have a different view of the Sacred Valley as we go back up the mountain.

The trip takes about 2 1/2 hours to go half the distance we traveled getting here two days ago. Seems odd, but it is all up hill.

We arrive in Ollantaytambo around 8 and watch a group of porters unload one of the train cars full of camping equipment. This stop is on the Inca Trail, and must be close to camping spots. The packs look large and heavy, we are glad to just watch. PeruRail wouldn't hold our bags while we explored, so we cross the street and find this little gem of a hostel right on the main road to the ruins that is run by a brother and sister (El Bosque). After our broken Spanish explanation, he is happy to hold our bags for 2-3 hours while we explore the town.

We take off in the direction of the ruins stopping to admire flowers along the way and also to grab a juice. As we cross the river on a very old walking bridge, the ruins come into view. We walk through the plaza and for some reason I don't see the entrance and head down a road that all the tour buses and collectivos (shared buses that are all over Peru)are traveling on.







It takes me around the walls of the ruins and we come upon a solid concrete soccer stadium and a bull-fighting ring made of stone. Pretty cool way to get lost. I see a couple of locals walking down to their homes and point at the walls of the ruins and gesture/ask how to get in -- they send me back around to where I came from and sure enough -- there is the entrance. It is nice to get “lost” because we always find interesting things that way, like the bull-fighting ring. We go up to ask about tickets to the ruins and find out that they are only available in a package that includes 16 other sites and it is pretty pricey. We know that we are not going to use the other places and for some strange reason, you cannot purchase just the one location, so what to do? I get frustrated and go to sit down and study our itinerary and see if we will possibly go to any of the other places while in Cuzco. As I am doing this,

Mister talks with a young man named Daniel that is offering to take us to the other side of the city and up into the mountains to the "free" ruins. He is well educated about the area, so we take his offer and head into the old part of the city.

Oh my -- it is amazing. These are the original Inca walls and they are still being used today. People live in all the homes and so we get a glimpse into everyday life in Ollantaytambo. We enter one home to see the workmanship of the Incas and I am shocked to see guinea pigs running everywhere. Ugh -- we had those as pets and it's hard for me to picture that they are being raised to eat. We continue through the town and come to a very old staircase that leads us up the opposite side of the valley from the temple ruins and so we start climbing.

Dang, I had hoped to not do so many stairs today. Oh well. As we come out into the open on the side of the mountain, we are in the ruins of the townspeople from Inca times and we are also able to view the temple ruins across the way. Daniel is a great guide and gives us plenty of historic information and does it with such passion that you cannot help but like him.

We start our descent back down the mountain and Daniel delivers us into the city square and recommends a place for lunch. We say our good-byes and sit down to relax and enjoy the square while eating.

Roni is the owner, and his wife is the cook. We order cokes, a grilled chicken sandwich and a lemon panqueque, which turns out to be like a crepe. The food is good and Roni is very nice. Through pantomime he tells us we are welcome to sit as long as we like. It was a nice shaded patio, and after the climbing and early start, it was a nice siesta.









We were able to observe the town life going on right in front of us as Peruvian women walk by with their many bundles on their backs and handcarts of fresh meat are pushed through the square to the restaurant destinations.

While resting, we meet Alberto, a Swede who was there to promote his plan to switch the local farmers from coca production to coco. Removing the coca from Peru is a goal of the government and he said his plan was the best. Mister shared a Cusquena beer with him and we chatted for awhile.






We need to start heading to Cuzco, so we say our goodbyes and wander back down the street to collect our bags and find a colectivo. We find one and pile in, along with a few other people, and off we go for the 45 minute drive to Cuzco. We have the whole bench seat, so I stretch my legs and we enjoy the scenery. We go through many towns and farming areas. Oxen are being used to plow the fields and groups of workers are in other fields harvesting the potato crops.

We are dropped in a town square and Mister only has a street address for a hostel he had read about. We flag down a few taxis until we find one who knows the address. We agree on a price and we climb in. Taxis don't use meters, you say where you want to go and agree upon a price before you get in. When we arrive at the hostel, the large wooden door is locked. Mister knocks and then goes around the corner to an internet cafe to see if then can help. It is Sunday, we are told, and many places close for the day. I stay with the bags as Mister walks up the street to find another hostel. He is asked by a group of college-age kids if he needs help (more Peru helpfulness). I guess he looked pretty lost. They knew the hostel, so one of the girls called them and told us to go back and the man would be at the door. We get back to find they are booked. He makes a few calls but they are booked as well. He lets us use their internet to search for a place.

We find the Pachan Hostel in the business area of town, still walking distance to the main square and the tourist sights. Well, “business” wasn't what Mister had planned. It turned out to be a busy street with shops and a gas station right next door. The room was up a few floors, and with no windows out onto the street, the room was quiet.

We had used up our Soles, and we were worn out, so we collect our chips and snacks and bottled water and have a quick but meager meal, shower, and were asleep before 9pm (we must be old).