On our second day we got up and had breakfast- I felt it was somewhat awkward because breakfast is served inside the owner's house. Although TripAdvisor reviews describe the owner as warm, friendly, and like an old friend...I wasn't feeling it. But it is ok. We had a filling breakfast. We spent the day visiting some of the other sites in the Sacred Valley area. Victor, our driver, dropped us off at our hostel in Ollantaytambo, and he was shocked because we went from a $160/night place to a $35/night place! We ended the evening stopping by the market to buy some fruit for the next day's trip to Machu Picchu- it was a large open air building just off the main plaza with lots of stalls and women and children selling fruits, vegetables, and other goods.
Our first stop of the morning was to the Moray circular terraces. They look kind of like crop circles and I was amazed at how perfectly circular they are. They were built by the Incas for agricultural purposes.
Check out the steps to get down each terrace level! I was worried at first that one of us would trip and get hurt!
I love this picture- it shows my dad on the bottom, Adam in the middle, and my mom is at the very top (can you see her?).
As we drove from place to place, there were times when we would be blocked behind donkeys and horses carrying large loads of corn, etc. on their backs from the farms.
After the Moray terraces, we then traveled to the Salinas salt mines. These salt mines have been used for hundreds of years, including by the the Incas. The water brings the salt into the pans, and then the water evaporates leaving the salt behind. I wish I had bought a couple bags of salt while I was there, it was so neat!
Right next to our hostel in Ollantaytambo was the Urubamba River.
After getting settled into our rooms, we walked several blocks to the Inca ruins of Ollantaytambo. We were able to spend about an hour there walking around.
Another one of my favorite pictures.
After visiting the ruins, we stopped in the main plaza for a while just to people watch.
We had dinner at a very busy restaurant that was also inexpensive. Here is a photo of mom and dad enjoying some local Cusquena beer.
During dinner, a local Andean band came and performed.
Adam had come down with a nasty cold, so he had a huge bowl of chicken noodle soup (which I ordered the next night!)
The rest of us shared a pizza that was very good (pizza seems to be huge in Peru because it was on so many menus and in so many restaurants)
Our first stop of the morning was to the Moray circular terraces. They look kind of like crop circles and I was amazed at how perfectly circular they are. They were built by the Incas for agricultural purposes.
Check out the steps to get down each terrace level! I was worried at first that one of us would trip and get hurt!
I love this picture- it shows my dad on the bottom, Adam in the middle, and my mom is at the very top (can you see her?).
As we drove from place to place, there were times when we would be blocked behind donkeys and horses carrying large loads of corn, etc. on their backs from the farms.
After the Moray terraces, we then traveled to the Salinas salt mines. These salt mines have been used for hundreds of years, including by the the Incas. The water brings the salt into the pans, and then the water evaporates leaving the salt behind. I wish I had bought a couple bags of salt while I was there, it was so neat!
Right next to our hostel in Ollantaytambo was the Urubamba River.
After getting settled into our rooms, we walked several blocks to the Inca ruins of Ollantaytambo. We were able to spend about an hour there walking around.
Another one of my favorite pictures.
After visiting the ruins, we stopped in the main plaza for a while just to people watch.
We had dinner at a very busy restaurant that was also inexpensive. Here is a photo of mom and dad enjoying some local Cusquena beer.
During dinner, a local Andean band came and performed.
Adam had come down with a nasty cold, so he had a huge bowl of chicken noodle soup (which I ordered the next night!)
The rest of us shared a pizza that was very good (pizza seems to be huge in Peru because it was on so many menus and in so many restaurants)
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