Bus Ride To Ollantaytambo

The hotel had a breakfast buffet with a good selection of both local, unique dishes and the usual breakfast fare. Janie was once again charged for a Coke Zero, which caused an issue because the credit card reader was not working and we had left all of our other money in the room which was two flights down and all the way at the end of the hotel. J. R. told the waitress to give him the check and he would go to the front desk and get them to run the card but eventually a manager said not to bother. He went to the front desk anyway to put a card on file and the staff member there did not understand the concept.

Diego gathered the group in one of the hotel meeting rooms and together with another tour guide, Kohlmeyer, gave us an overview of the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu to prepare us for the next two days. After that, it was time to board the buses for a short ride to Ollantaytambo Fortress. Diego showed us the market day activities underway in town where vendors come from all over. We passed the Perurail train lines we would take the next day to Machu Picchu.

On the bus ride, Diego explained the fortress had been built with large rocks that had to be hauled from a quarry over six kilometers away using water channels. The fortress had been built during the expansion of the Inca empire by Pachacutec. It was used as a refuge for Manco Inca during the Spanish invasion. Pizarro attacked in 1536 but was rebuffed by the Inca but returned in 1540 with a larger force and overran the fortress.

Climbing Ollantaytambo

Upon arrival at the entrance to the fortress, we were aggressively greeted by street vendors trying to sell us all types of supposedly local jewelry and art, all of which appeared to be identical to what the others were selling. Diego said most of this jewelry was made overseas. We made it through the street market to the entrance for a bathroom stop. Apparently the women's room was less than clean so some of the group wanted to go back to more 'acceptable' toilets but the rest of us joined Kohlmeyer for our hike.

The fortress is at 9,160 feet above sea level and Janie was not pleased to see the stairs and the hike involved. She had been preparing for Machu Picchu and didn't realize we had two long stair climbs two days in a row. We made quite a few stops along the way up and at each one, at least one member of our excursion group thought about turning back, but we all pressed on.

On our way up the fortress, Kohlmeyer showed us the large rocks and the incredible architecture of the Inca. The rocks were perfectly polished and cut to fit exactly together without the use of any mortar. He pointed out the structures on the mountains across from the fortress including the storehouses which were built there because the mountain winds would keep the food cool. Kohlmeyer also showed us what the Inca believed to be the 140 meter high image of Wiracochan in the mountain, made from protruding rock and indentations that formed the eyes and mouth. During the summer solstice, the sunlight passes directly over eye of the carved face.

At the Top of Ollantaytambo

Eventually we reached the Templo del Sol (Temple of the Sun), which consists of six rectangular stone blocks, the largest of which is over four meters high and two meters wide. The construction has a plaza in which a large block with perfect edges is located, and which, at the same time, are oriented towards the cardinal points. The streets are divided into straight lines through which the water flowed through channels.

Fountains

We made our way back down from the top of the fortess, which was just as difficult as the climb to the top and made our way to one of the fountains. The Inca designed an aqueduct system, which is fully operational. Each fountain was carved out of rock with its own characteristics and designs.

Skylodge

After climbing down the mountain, we passed quickly through the market. J. R. bought Janie a PowerAde at a small shop and we sat and waited for the rest of the group and found ourselves surrounded by the hawkers again. The buses arrived and we boarded for our drive to lunch. Along the way, Diego stopped to show us Skylodge, where guests can sleep inside a transparent hanging pod after climbing 400 meters. To get down, guests ride a zip line. We all decided to stick with our nice hotel in the Sacred Valley.

Lunch at Wayra Ranch

Our next stop was Wayra Ranch for lunch. We were seated at long benches near an open field and the food was delivered to us family style. The food was very good with empanadas, several different types of meats, including chicken, pork and beef. The lack of vegetarian options was a concern for Caren as they brought out all of the food on a plate with meat and when she told them she didn't eat meat, they told her it was beef. Finally they brought her a clean plate with just vegetarian dishes on it.

We started with fresh salad and local Peruvian potatoes and corn along with tamales. The grilled beef skewers were very good as was the grilled local fish but by the time the grilled chicken and pork were delivered, we were already pretty full. We did save some room for the Peruvian donuts, which were very good.

Paso Horse Demonstration

After lunch, we turned around to watch the Peruvian Paso horse demonstration. Some of the other guests from another tour were unhappy that our group had the best seats near the terrace and some even tried to stand in front of us, but we shooed them away. The Paso horses symbolize a centuries-old tradition of Peru. Their flowing gait and graceful motion accompanied by the local dancers was a nice show and a relaxing respite after our day of climbing.

Seminario Ceramics

We boarded our bus for the short ride back to town, where our next stop was Seminario Ceramics. Pablo Seminario worked as an architect in Lima until the late 1970s when he moved to Cusco and met Merilu and they started a small ceramic art studio. He began with architectural works but then moved on to larger art pieces, some of which are shown in the Smithsonian as well as the Field Museum in Chicago. We were shown the process of creating the ceramics and then met Sr. Seminario himself and he showed us some of his latest work. We picked up a plate to display when we get home at his shop. Then we boarded the buses for a very short ride to the hotel.

Back at the Hotel

Janie took a nap as she was feeling the altitude. Caren and Jean had told us they had eaten in the bar the night before so J. R. decided to head there for dinner and ran into the Scottish ladies in the bar. Janie came down shortly after and we ordered a cheese plate and a pizza and had that along with a beer and some wine and good conversation. We were both up through the night monitoring our Ring cameras to see how the house was fairing from Hurricane Ian. J. R. had been able to reach out to a neighbor via Nextdoor and he had come by and pushed all of our lanai furniture against the house, which was very nice of him. Another neighbor had collected our pathway lights so they would not become missiles. The house appeared to have survived okay from the camera view but only time would tell how the inside turned out.