We woke up early, showered and finished packing our bags for the Inca Trail trek. After a quick breakfast at the hotel, we loaded up the small bus along with our guide, driver and fellow trekkers for a day traveling out of Cusco and down the Sacred Valley. We climbed the road out of the city on another beautiful, sunny day and after a quick stop at the Christo Blanco overlook, started descending into the valley on a fairly decent road.
Less than a hour later, we stopped at a small village with a women's clothing cooperative. While many of the men were away working as porters on the trail, the women raised llamas and alpacas for wool, cleaned and dyed the wool, and then used traditional cloth-making methods to produce some very nice sweaters, hats, socks and other items. We spent about half an hour learning about their methods and then purchased some nice items as souvenirs for friends and family back home.
We got back on the road and a short time later stopped at a fantastic overview of the Sacred Valley near the town of Pisac, with the Urubamba River below us and the mountaintops above us. An hour-long stop at the ruins of Pisac gave us a good opportunity to stretch our legs and see some interesting terraces built centuries ago and still in good shape today. We then stopped along the two-lane highway at a nearby restaurant for lunch and enjoyed a good buffet with an assortment of Peruvian dishes.
Once again we loaded up the bus and about an hour later pulled into our final destination of the day, the town of Ollantaytambo. Several thousand feet of elevation lower than Cusco, it was a bit easier to breathe. We checked into our small hotel (nothing fancy, but warm blankets and hot water in the shower) and then walked over to the ruins at the edge of the town. It was Peru's independence day and the town square was log jammed with vehicles as we made our way through some markets and into the archaeological park. Ollantaytambo was laid out in the shape of a llama and like many Incan ruins, had a sun temple, several buildings and many terraces. The town is at the crossroads where two major valleys come together and the views were worth the climb to the top of the site.
With the sun setting and the temperature starting to fall, we walked back into town and to the town square, where we purchased some bottled water, cheap plastic ponchos (recommended by our guide as a back-up for the raingear, enforced by my superstitious belief that not having it would ensure lots of rain on the trek), and some snacks. After sitting on benches in the square, talking with some others in our group, and watching small town life go by, we walked back to the hotel for a quick rest before dinner. We repacked our gear (once again) and walked back through town for a good dinner at a local restaurant. Back at the hotel, we read a bit and then we went to sleep, looking forward to finally starting on the Inca Trail in the morning.
Next up: Our trekkers finally get to stretch out their legs as they hike about seven miles on the Inca Trail, gaining elevation along the way and enjoying some incredible views.
