Hola from Ollantaytambo
Well, we´re almost to the end of our trip. What a time we´ve had. Of course, the Inca Trail was the highlight, but today we´ve spent the day in my favorite little Peruvian town, Ollantaytambo. This town is at the end of the road in the Sacred Valley and from here you take the train to Machu Picchu. The town itself is laid out on an Inca grid; a trapezoid and many of the original Inca foundations are still in place. The ruins here are some of the best in Peru. There are some amazing walls, with some of the finest Inca stonework you will find anywhere.
It was at Ollantaytambo that the Inca king, Manco, had a battle with the Conquistadors. The Spanish came here to capture Manco, but the Inca had many archers from the jungle come here and the Spanish were taken by suprise when thousands of arrows were shot at them. Not only that, but Manco flooded the valley with river water and the Spanish couldn´t ride their horses through the mud and water. So at least for a short time, the Spanish retreated and Manco had his victory.
The village itself is still very traditional, many of the inhabitants still wear the colorful clothing of their ancestors. In fact, there is a village about 18 kilometers up the valley where everyone wears the bright red weavings, kind of a poncho. They also keep up the traditions of making these weavings and they sell some to the tourists in town.
Ollantaytambo is a bustle of activity in the morning; this is the last stop for Inca Trail trekkers, where they buy their hiking poles, coca leaves, water, etc. Then it quiets down until around 6pm, when the train from Machu Picchu arrives and again there are lots of people in this little village. But an hour or so later, all of them leave and there are just a few folks that are here who stay the night.
We started our Sacred Valley visit a couple days ago in Pisac, about 50 kms from here. On Sunday, there is a huge market that is really fantastic. Most of the market is devoted to tourists; alpaca sweaters, alpaca rugs, made to order antiques, colorful bags (for all the stuff you bought that you can´t fit in your suitcase...we bought two), musical instruments (I bought something called a banduria, which looks like a mandolin but is tuned like a ukulele and has 12 strings) and all sorts of other things. The most interesting part of the market is for the locals, where they buy vegetables, meat, fish, etc. These folks don´t pay a whole lot of attention to the hundreds of tourists around, taking pictures, etc., but they are really colorful and interesting.
We actually hadn´t planned on buying anything, but ended up not only with the banduria, but with some nice slippers, an alpaca rug and a woven tablecoth. I also got a conopa, a fake Inca artifact that is a small llama with a hole in the top where you put wax. These were made as offerings in the Inca days. You can buy real Inca conopas in the market, but they are around $150 or more.
Tomorrow, we head back to Cusco and then on Thursday we head home. This has been a wonderful trip with some amazing adventures. It seems like months ago that we were in Arequipa at the beginning of our Peruvian adventure. But we are both ready to head home now and get back to our lives (and our cats). I´m sure it won´t be long until our next trip. Thank you to all who have tuned in to our blog, we hope you have enjoyed it! As soon as I get back, I will post some pictures.
It was at Ollantaytambo that the Inca king, Manco, had a battle with the Conquistadors. The Spanish came here to capture Manco, but the Inca had many archers from the jungle come here and the Spanish were taken by suprise when thousands of arrows were shot at them. Not only that, but Manco flooded the valley with river water and the Spanish couldn´t ride their horses through the mud and water. So at least for a short time, the Spanish retreated and Manco had his victory.
The village itself is still very traditional, many of the inhabitants still wear the colorful clothing of their ancestors. In fact, there is a village about 18 kilometers up the valley where everyone wears the bright red weavings, kind of a poncho. They also keep up the traditions of making these weavings and they sell some to the tourists in town.
Ollantaytambo is a bustle of activity in the morning; this is the last stop for Inca Trail trekkers, where they buy their hiking poles, coca leaves, water, etc. Then it quiets down until around 6pm, when the train from Machu Picchu arrives and again there are lots of people in this little village. But an hour or so later, all of them leave and there are just a few folks that are here who stay the night.
We started our Sacred Valley visit a couple days ago in Pisac, about 50 kms from here. On Sunday, there is a huge market that is really fantastic. Most of the market is devoted to tourists; alpaca sweaters, alpaca rugs, made to order antiques, colorful bags (for all the stuff you bought that you can´t fit in your suitcase...we bought two), musical instruments (I bought something called a banduria, which looks like a mandolin but is tuned like a ukulele and has 12 strings) and all sorts of other things. The most interesting part of the market is for the locals, where they buy vegetables, meat, fish, etc. These folks don´t pay a whole lot of attention to the hundreds of tourists around, taking pictures, etc., but they are really colorful and interesting.
We actually hadn´t planned on buying anything, but ended up not only with the banduria, but with some nice slippers, an alpaca rug and a woven tablecoth. I also got a conopa, a fake Inca artifact that is a small llama with a hole in the top where you put wax. These were made as offerings in the Inca days. You can buy real Inca conopas in the market, but they are around $150 or more.
Tomorrow, we head back to Cusco and then on Thursday we head home. This has been a wonderful trip with some amazing adventures. It seems like months ago that we were in Arequipa at the beginning of our Peruvian adventure. But we are both ready to head home now and get back to our lives (and our cats). I´m sure it won´t be long until our next trip. Thank you to all who have tuned in to our blog, we hope you have enjoyed it! As soon as I get back, I will post some pictures.
posted by Craig and Amy at 7:47 PM
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