Inca Ruins and Potatoes

Arriving in Cuzco, Peru after a loooong days travel, we unloaded our bags at our hotel and headed out for a walk before dinner.

(P:- for me that consisted of my first ever trying Alpaca – finally found a good point about long legged furry Alpaca! Have never worked out why people like an animal that spits at you! Grotty things! However they do taste good and will be no doubt on the menu again.) After dinner it was showers and bed, although neither of us had a good nights sleep with jet lag kicking in and being at high altitude. (3399 metres).

(P:- First Paragraph and Judith has neglected to mention that the food in the Latam Airline lounge in Santiago, Chile, is about the best lounge food we have come across. I guess I best keep proof reading to see what else has been forgotten!)

12-03-25

This morning our tour starts with a 7am pickup, although this turned out to be a little later as the old city area where we are, had a strike and no traffic was allowed to enter, therefore our guide had to walk several blocks to collect us and then walk back to the bus. Our tour today is taking us to The Sacred Valley. Beautiful views over Cuzco in the valley as we climb out of the city area and then down into the Sacred Valley with the Sacred River running through it. The mountainsides are steeply terraced with ancient ruins dotted along the crests of the mountains. Small farms cram along the river banks with corn, potatoes, beans and other crops. Average farms size is 2 acres.

Our first stop is at Pisac Archeological site. These ruins are located at the eastern end of the Sacred Valley at an altitude of 3300 metres. Some of these ruins date back to the 1200’s. From here we get great views looking down over the terraces and up to the urban area of the ruins. Also seen here are ceremonial baths, the largest Inca cemetery in South America, (holes dug into the cliff face. 3000 people buried here). Here we were told how the terraces were constructed with four layers. The bottom layer rock, second layer gravel, third layer sand and the top layer fertile soil.

From here we head back into the town of Pisac to the market place where we are shown how to tell silver from platinum or other similar metals and where the jewellery is all handmade. Then onto the Alpaca store to learn the differences between Alpaca, Baby Alpaca, Vicuña and synthetic fibres. After looking around the store we wander through the market area and back to the bus.

Winding our way through extremely narrow streets where the bus had to do multiple point turns to get around the corners, we eventually head out of town again and back in to the hills to view some more interesting terracing. This time the terraces were in concentric circles. From here we continued on to our lunch stop where we enjoyed a buffet lunch of some traditional native foods. A variety of potato dishes, chicken, beef and pork all with local flavourings.

Ollyantaytambo is our next and final stop. This town sits at the northern end of the Sacred Valley and is believed to be the stronghold for the Inca leaders of the times. We enter the fortress and start to climb the many stairs to the temple area at the top, not an easy feat at this altitude and with a time limit to be back at our meeting point. Looking across the valley from the terraces we can see the granaries, where corn and grains were stored. These were built high on the hills with no doors and the windows low to the ground to take advantage of air ventilation. This is again an amazing place with so much to see.

Late afternoon we were delivered to the San Augustin de la Recoleta Monastery which is our accommodation for the next two nights. This is a gorgeous old building with beautiful gardens and fountains and the room isn’t bad either. A basic dinner at the restaurant here and an early night brings our day to an end.

(P:- Every one has warned us about high altitude and its side effects! Had about as many tips as to prevent it as I have had about driving on the R.H Side of the road! Evidently a key symptom of altitude sickness is a huge headache- Well I think that won’t work with me as I have had a non stop huge headache for 13 years! Next symptom becoming illogical – Well Not much use asking Judith to monitor me becoming illogical as she will claim I am anyway! Best to carry on regardless I think. So far no issues apart from they only put a miserable amount of oxygen in the air so I am half as fast doing things!)

13-03-25 Thursday

Today Philip is excited as we are on a private tour to the Parque de la Papa (Potato Park). This is a potato research facility within the heart of this area and as Philip has worked with Potatoes all his life it was an obvious choice to stop here. The information says:-

“Discover the breathtaking beauty and cultural richness of the Potato Park, where nature and tradition converge to create a truly unforgettable experience.”

Immerse yourself in the wonder of the Andean landscape as you navigate through our vast tapestry of pristine wilderness and farmland. From towering mountains to verdant valleys, each corner of the Potato Park offers a new adventure waiting to be uncovered.

Connect with the vibrant traditions of the Quechua people, who have thrived in these lands for centuries. Experience the warmth of Andean hospitality as you engage in cultural exchanges, traditional ceremonies, and hands-on experiences that will deepen your understanding of indigenous lifeways.”

We more than experienced this today. The views were amazing, the people friendly the towns picturesque. We experienced tasty food, a hike in the Andes at 4200 metres to a tiny farm with majestic mountains in the background, local crafts and the local Seed Bank for the area. Our guides Ernesto and Nellie (who went to school in Quello Quello, one of the towns we stopped at) were both great and although Nellie couldn’t speak English, Ernesto was able to translate all she told us.

The roads we travelled on were at points heart stopping. At one point we had to cross a raging creek, on a corner with a steep drop to one side. Twice Flavio our drive got out to examine the crossing before with my heart in my mouth and my eyes closed we inched our way across. This was the worst of quite a few creek crossings, adding to that dodging around rocks that had slipped down the hillsides, small landslides and dogs that think they own the road, cows sheep and pigs tethered to the banks and tight corners made for an interesting drive.

Apart from the drive the Potato Park was very interesting as we stopped at 3 different areas to learn more about the potato.

(P:- When we decided Peru was going to be visited I started researching and I knew in ancient times, the potato originated there. I also found out we were going to be within 40 klm of the Potato Park ( internationally sponsored) so proceeded to try and arrange a visit. When we were picked up this morning Ernesto’s first comment was “we have arranged an unusual and very special day for you. It is rare for private people to visit one of the most scenic, very private, valleys (13,000 ha) in the area. A most interesting day, local foods, the technical side of their aims is to protect and continue the life of some 1100 rare potato varieties, looking at propagation, growing and storing rooms wandering fields and (it felt like) hiking to the top of the Andes to see actual wild potatoes growing in their natural environment. After such a great day this Machu Picchu thing we are going to see tomorrow is going to have to be good to surpass today!)