When we pulled up to our hotel in Cusco I knnnnnew we were in for a treat. We walked into our room and instantly fell in love with all the brightly colored decor and high beamed ceilings. We were just a few minutes walk from the San Pedro market so we headed down before it got too late and loved walking around to all of the shops and booths filled with brightly colored flowers, souvenirs, and pigs! A man would carry in these huge skinned pigs ready for sale and just kept bringing them in one after another, Marcus and I looked at each other and said, “Only in Peru!”
The next day we headed off to our ATV tour of Moray and the Salt Flats. After some quick instruction, and scolding of not doing enough “practice” we were on our way. We completely lucked out when our entire group went one way to see a lake and we had a private tour all to ourselves. When we got to Moray, our guide gave Marcus a “bro hug” and said “Nice riding brotha! We’ll catch up to the other group later, you drive fast!” Moray was amazing to see the different temperature climates that the Inca’s grew their vegetation on. Next our guide took us to this lookout overlooking the Sacred Valley and we twisted and turned around the streets of Maras. We felt like we were in a video game as we drove through these little streets and had to stop for "cow crossings!”
We met up with our group at the Salt Flats and it was one of my favorite things I’ve ever seen. Almost 2,500 pools filled with natural salt water from the mountain. When the water evaporates each family in Maras is in charge of 30 pools and they harvest the left over salt from them. I am a salt ADDICT so I couldn’t quit drinking and trying the stuff. Marcus was dyyyying because it was so salty!
That afternoon we visited a convent in Cusco, the Incan ruins of Quenco, Tambomachay, and ended with Sacsayhuaman. At this point our guide asked us if we wanted to see another church or stay at Sacsayhuaman and we both agreed, “Stay here!” Sacsayhuaman is made of huge boulders and each block was carefully shaped and molded. The joke is that the Incans invented Tetris-Ha! And…each boulder is hundreds of tons each! I couldn’t even believe how big they were until one of us was standing beside them. As the sun was setting it was one of those magical moments where everything felt so peaceful.
The next day we hopped on a bus and train to tour the Sacred Valley. We took the bus to Pisaq where we hiked to the top of the ruins and spent some time wandering Pisaq Market. We had an amazing lunch and then visited the ruins of Ollantaytambo. An hour after getting there, it started POURING and we found a cute little cafe with wifi and drank our hearts out of our favorite Inca Kola. After a little while the rain stopped and we explored the city, ate the best ice cream and empanadas (even thought Marcus was sure the ice cream wouldn’t be good-it was fantastic!), and picked up a few paintings and souvenirs for our girls. Then we hopped on the train to Aquas Calientes, the city that stands at the base of Machu Picchu.
We met up with our group at the Salt Flats and it was one of my favorite things I’ve ever seen. Almost 2,500 pools filled with natural salt water from the mountain. When the water evaporates each family in Maras is in charge of 30 pools and they harvest the left over salt from them. I am a salt ADDICT so I couldn’t quit drinking and trying the stuff. Marcus was dyyyying because it was so salty!
That afternoon we visited a convent in Cusco, the Incan ruins of Quenco, Tambomachay, and ended with Sacsayhuaman. At this point our guide asked us if we wanted to see another church or stay at Sacsayhuaman and we both agreed, “Stay here!” Sacsayhuaman is made of huge boulders and each block was carefully shaped and molded. The joke is that the Incans invented Tetris-Ha! And…each boulder is hundreds of tons each! I couldn’t even believe how big they were until one of us was standing beside them. As the sun was setting it was one of those magical moments where everything felt so peaceful.
The next day we hopped on a bus and train to tour the Sacred Valley. We took the bus to Pisaq where we hiked to the top of the ruins and spent some time wandering Pisaq Market. We had an amazing lunch and then visited the ruins of Ollantaytambo. An hour after getting there, it started POURING and we found a cute little cafe with wifi and drank our hearts out of our favorite Inca Kola. After a little while the rain stopped and we explored the city, ate the best ice cream and empanadas (even thought Marcus was sure the ice cream wouldn’t be good-it was fantastic!), and picked up a few paintings and souvenirs for our girls. Then we hopped on the train to Aquas Calientes, the city that stands at the base of Machu Picchu.
Post a Comment