Sacred Valley

Today we headed out on a long, but enjoyable day tour of Sacred Valley, located between the towns of Pisac and Ollantaytambo,. This area was greatly treasured because of its climate, fertile land and the presence of the Urubamba (Sacred) River.

Our first stop was at a small town where we got to see the process of wool from on the alpaca or sheep, to stunning tapestries, scarves and jumpers. It was fascinating, every step of the way. The spinning, the dyeing, the weaving. I was watching he ladies weave these incredible patterns, and I still can't comprehend who they do it so quickly. They are amazing.

We visited the towering Inca citadel at Ollantaytambo. Built on a steep mountainside this grand citadel served as both a temple and fortress. We got in some training for Machu Picchu with a walk up to the top, and were rewarded with beautiful views over the village and out further into the valley. We saw more evidence of the Inca's engineering skills in the ruins of ancient aqueducts, irrigation canals, dams on the Urubamba River, imposing sets of terraces and centres of worship dedicated to Pachamama (Mother Earth).

Heading back to Cusco we stopped in at the Awana Kancha tourist centre where we got to see llamas, alpacas, vicunas and guanacos all in the one place. We got to feed and pat them, which was a lot of fun.

On the bus ride home, I think we were all a little tired (delirious) and had a few christmas carol sing alongs, led mostly by Miss Courtney Potts.