Staying in the Aranwa hotel we were in a great location to check out all of the valley......
The day started with a session with a local Shaman....
Interesting.......they seem to meld belief in Catholicism and the old Inca beliefs.....
After the session we set off for Ollantaytambo.... by the end of the day I could just about pronounce it!
This was very interesting...... but a long climb to the top...if one was up to it! No-one was! Half way was enough!
The mountain opposite the Inca ruins shows a face supposed to be Wiracochan ....
and to its right some Storehouses for their grain.......
On the way to lunch we passed a new concept in hiking to Machu Picchu!
Basically these are pods way up where one sleeps in glass domes under the stars!
The only problem is trying to get there....scaling the vertical wall and/or zip-lining!
For anyone interested here is how to get in contact.... Natura Vive.......
However it is apparently fully booked until 2019!!
Lunch was interesting... at Sol y Luna the only Relais and Chateau hotel in the Sacred Valley.
This was the most food we were presented with for the whole trip at any one meal..... it was essentially family style.... and they kept coming back with different choices, mainly meats!
Towards the end of the lunch they put on a horsemanship show.
At this point I left the tour...they were not visiting two places on my list of 'Do not miss'!!
So the hotel kindly arranged a taxi for me. This allowed me to practice my Spanish! The driver did not speak any English. It was fine for a short while......we essentially quickly ran out of topics I could discuss!!
First we went to the Maras salt mines......
This was a vast area overlooking the valley.....run essentially as a co-operative of local families.
I walked down to see it......without thinking about the fact I had to walk back up! At high altitude! It was at an elevation of over 11,000 ft.
Then on to Moray.....
This was essentially a research center for the Incas.... they grew crops at different levels to see which elevation gave them the best crop!
The town itself seemed off the tourist route.........
The day started with a session with a local Shaman....
After the session we set off for Ollantaytambo.... by the end of the day I could just about pronounce it!
The mountain opposite the Inca ruins shows a face supposed to be Wiracochan ....
On the way to lunch we passed a new concept in hiking to Machu Picchu!
Basically these are pods way up where one sleeps in glass domes under the stars!
However it is apparently fully booked until 2019!!
Lunch was interesting... at Sol y Luna the only Relais and Chateau hotel in the Sacred Valley.
This was the most food we were presented with for the whole trip at any one meal..... it was essentially family style.... and they kept coming back with different choices, mainly meats!
Towards the end of the lunch they put on a horsemanship show.
At this point I left the tour...they were not visiting two places on my list of 'Do not miss'!!
So the hotel kindly arranged a taxi for me. This allowed me to practice my Spanish! The driver did not speak any English. It was fine for a short while......we essentially quickly ran out of topics I could discuss!!
First we went to the Maras salt mines......
This was a vast area overlooking the valley.....run essentially as a co-operative of local families.
I walked down to see it......without thinking about the fact I had to walk back up! At high altitude! It was at an elevation of over 11,000 ft.
Then on to Moray.....
This was essentially a research center for the Incas.... they grew crops at different levels to see which elevation gave them the best crop!
The town itself seemed off the tourist route.........
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