Sacred Valley

Yesterday we left the beautiful city of Cuzco and took a tour with Maria Elena again, but this time through the remote Andean villages between the Andes mountains going towards Aguas Calientes, the town right outside of Machu Picchu. We went to a few beautiful native towns including Pisac and a small animal rescue. I'll start with the animal rescue. Normally I hate going to zoos, and any other animal confinements outside of nature. When she said rescue the whole bus, including two girls from San Fran and two guys from Seattle let out a sigh of relief. When we got to it, I was imagining chain link fences with shabby roofs, it was the opposite. No, it wasn't a concrete building with colorful murals painted all over them and hidden rock speakers playing fake animal noises, it was a mountain side with a glacier water-filled river running through it. Maria Elena explained that the reason this place is so important to her is not only because it showcases many beautiful national animals of Peru, but because the man who started it wanted these particular animals to have their own piece of heaven in nature that belongs solely to these creatures. Why these animals? Because they are sold on the black market in horrendous conditions. With the donations tourists leave at this place (there is no fee) the man is able to feed and get the animals medical attention they need once rescued. Again, I was beyond fearful to go into this beautiful rescue, my hands were numb and tingly. When I walked in I saw macaws walking all around holding oranges, grapefruit, and fresh bananas. There were bobcats chewing on fresh meat and condors flying around with their babies. I noticed that the macaws weren't flying and immediately became suspicious of their wings being clipped. Before I could ask, my Seattle friend did and...DON'T READ IF YOU'RE A BIRD LOVER LIKE ME...the reason they walked instead of flying is because they were sold on the black market, and 10-12 baby macaws are shoved in PVC pipes for their rainbow colored feathers. When they arrived, all of their wings were broken, and he has helped them heal but they will not be able to fly. The good news is is that they seem to enjoy walking around and eating endless supplies of fruits and berries. I also saw one sitting on a 50 year old rescued tortoise, you know, just chillin. We spent more time than expected hanging out with these free roaming animals, I even saw an alpaca drinking out of the river and then resting amongs wildflowers. Happy ending.

We then headed to the Sacred Valley. More breathtaking views from amazing ruins that haven't managed to be destroyed. The hike was long, but it was just preparation for our Machu Picchu climb. We spent about two hours admiring the Incas' engineering and carvings in the steep sides of the mountains and headed to Pisac.


Maria Elena dragges us out of the Sacred Valley and we arrived at the beautiful town of Pisac. This town was a nice stop because it is a town filled with Quechuan (Native Indians/Incans) craftsmen and artisans. They set up one of the best little market areas in the valley and the items they are selling are authentic. We went into a tiny, tiny alleyway with a silver shop in which they showed us a brief demonstration of how one puts in the colorful native stones into the 95% silver jewelry, all by hand. I was really impressed on how they take whole big rocks and make them such beautiful accents in the jewelry we wear. Their silves was beautiful. Did you know that in order to make jewelry from silver you must have copper in it? Well this is one of the only places in the world that uses as little copper as it does, and this is not information they fed me to persuade me to buy their silver (I didn't buy any), but information I looked up myself. After this demonstration we had an hour in the market. Um...I can't even explain what went down in that market place, but I will tell you that William and I were like kids in a toy store, not like Toys R Us, more like FAO Schwartz.

After shopping, shopping, eating empanadas, and more shopping we were forced to continue our journey and arrived in Ollantaytambo. Ollantaytambo is a little town with one store, two restaurants, two hotels and a train station. It is tiny, but beautiful. It's a peaceful little haven that rests next to a roaring river and between the lush, green Andes Mountains. When you walk outside all you hear is the sound of the river and birds. Our hotel was amazing. The grounds were covered in lillies, tulips, orange trees, amarylis trees and so much more. There were hummingbirds flying around and the sounds of many others. The service at the hotel was seriously 5 star. They treated us like royalty and fed us like kings. The next morning we woke up and headed downstairs and across the street to the train station to begin our journey to Machu Picchu.