Sacred Valley

On the day before we left for the Inca Trail, we took a bus tour around the Sacred Valley.  The Sacred Valley of the Incas, or Urubamba Valley, runs through the Andes Mountains below the ancient sacred city of Machu Picchu.  The valley was appreciated by the Incas due to its special geographical and climatic qualities and was one of the most important areas for corn production in Peru starting around 1400.  With the river as its source, the valley was a major center of agricultural production for native Andean crops such as white corn, coca, potatoes, and other fruits and vegetables in fields along the valley floor and upward on terraced mountain slopes.

One of the most striking things about the valley was seeing all of the agricultural terraces carved into the mountainside along the valley.

We stopped first at a market....and I got my first picture of a llama!  Cute, huh!

I fell in love with this little guy as he stared at me with his big brown eyes and I petted his soft fur.....yeah, the kid was cute too. 

Heather and I with the llamas.

The Sacred Valley

We got to stop along the way and pose for some photos with the valley in the background.

Travis striking a pose!

We stopped at the local market in Pisac and visited the shop of a local baker.  We had empanadas and got our first glimpse of cuy....guinea pig. We also stopped by a local silversmiths shop.

We stopped for lunch in Urubamba- the restaurant had a great view of the mountains and there were entertaining animals in the courtyard including this parrot that screamed "Hola" the entire time!

And I got my fill of llama and alpaca pictures!  This one reminded me of Rolo!

View of our lunch site.

This is an alpaca...can you tell the difference between alpacas and llamas?

Travis shows off some big jugs...not sure what these are used for or if they were just lawn decorations!

The highlight of the trip was going to visit the ruins in Ollantaytambo which was a small taste of what we were in for along the Inca Trail.  

Ollantaytambo is the best surviving example of Inca town planning.  The town is situated at the foot of spectacular Inca ruins which protected the entrance to the lower Urubamba Valley.  The temple area is located at the top of steep terraces which provided excellent defences against attack. The stone used for these buildings was brought from a quarry high in the mountains on the opposite side of the river.  This was an incredible feat requiring thousands of workers.

The Incan ruler, Manco Inca, retreated to Ollantaytambo after his unsuccessful attempt to regain control of Cusco from the Spanish in 1536. However, Spanish cavalry and foot soldiers followed to capture Manco Inca. The Inca forces, joined by neighboring jungle tribes defeated the small Spanish troops with a shower of arrows, spears and rocks. In an intelligent move, the Inca's flooded the plains below the stronghold making it difficult for the Spanish troops to manoeuvre. Ollantaytambo became the only place ever to have resisted attacks from the Spanish.

Here's a great example of the amazing stone work used by the Incas.  Stones were shaped using water and other stones to grind them into the right shape so they fit perfectly together.

The building built into the mountainside were amazing!

Me at Ollantaytambo

So cool...

The view was amazing!

Travis took this cool panoramic photo from the temple at Ollantaytambo.

Here I am either 1) lost deep in thought or 2) totally exhausted from the terrace steps I just climbed!

Travis, Heather and Rolo

I spotted this rainbow on our way to the Quechua village of Chinchero.

Pretty flowers and really cool terraces- I couldn't get enough of them!

At the village, we were shown how the local women spin the wool into yarn and how they use organic plants and flowers to dye there wool the amazing colors seen in their clothing and weaving.  In some cases, they use one plant to dye the yarn one color and then use a chemical reaction with salt to completely change the color!

The valley with fields and terraces.

Yep, more terraces.

The gang....

Check out the glacier at the top of the mountain!

Rolando the intrepid explorer....

You can find little guinea pig houses around most towns....cuy is a delicacy in Peru and is usually saved for special occasions.  The cuy are stuffed with herbs and then baked.  I guess you could consider this the before picture!

And I guess this would be the after photo!  We found a restaurant in Cusco who had cuy on their menu.  We figured when in Peru....

I'm about to have my first taste of cuy....

....I'm trying it....

....and it's not bad!!! It tasted like a cross between rabbit and dark turkey meat.  Not something I would want on a regular basis, but pretty tasty.

Travis always has to take things to the next level....we had to make this night an early evening since we left the next morning for the Inca Trail!

Cuzco

Our Peruvian adventure began at the Miami Airport which was practically empty!  We met a very nice bartender near our gate who doesn't usually celebrate Christmas in any special way, so he volunteers to work so that others can spend the day with their families!  Now that's what I call the holiday spirit!

So, we sat there and visited for a little while waiting on our flight to board.  I wore my antlers even though one side had fallen!

We arrived in Lima on Christmas night around 9:30.  The city was decorated for the holiday. We saw this lit tree driving to our hotel.

We had an early flight out of Lima to Cuzco where we would start the Inca Trail to Macchu Pichu.

Cuzco sits next to the Andes mountains, so I had a great view from the plane.

Welcome to Cuzco!!!

The elevation in Cuzco is 11,200 ft above sea level, so it takes a little getting used to the altitude.  I could feel the difference as soon as we stepped off the plane!  Our cute little hotel, Hotel Madison, provided us with coca tea to help acclimate us.  Let me tell you....it really does work!  Here's Travis enjoying a hot cup!

We had a couple of days to explore the city before we left on the trek, so we basically just walked around sightseeing! 

The mosaic on this wall depicts the story of the Incan culture.

Cuzco is the historic capital of the Incan Empire from the 13th century to 1532 when the Spanish invaded.  Therefore, you see a lot of ancient architecture used as the foundation for more modern buildings.  This is the Coricancha and the Convent of St. Dominic. The Coricancha or "Golden Temple was the most important sanctuary dedicated to the Sun God (Inti) at the time of the Inca Empire. This temple was named because all its walls were once covered with gold plates. Spanish colonists built the Convent of Santo Domingo on top of the Coricancha foundation in the Renaissance style.

I loved seeing all of the nativity scenes especially since they usually had llamas and alpacas in them!!

I also loved all of the brightly colored doors and balconies around the city!

View of Cuzco

Heather and I

Church of la Compañía de Jesus- the main cathedral in Cuzco

The mountain landscape around the city was very beautiful especially at night when the sunset.

Heather, Rolo and I

For our first dinner in Cuzco, we found a Pisco and ceviche bar.  Pisco is a Peruvian brandy made from grapes and they use it to make delicious Pisco sours (ice, Pisco, lime juice and egg whites- sounds awful, but it's really quite tasty!)

Plus the restaurant had a great view looking over the Plaza des Armas- I've decided that almost every town in Peru has one!  Here, Travis, Rolando and Heather enjoy the view and the Pisco sours!

Delicious salmon ceviche with onions and avocado on top of causa (mashed yellow potatoes)

Plaza des Armas

After dinner, we took a little walk around the city and found some of the old gates to the city. Most of the tourist attractions and markets were located inside the walls of the city.

Cuzco by day along the Calle Mantas and the bell tower of the Church and Convent of La Merced.

We saw these cute little girls wearing their school uniforms at one of the local markets.

While most of the markets cater to the tourists, we found the actual local market where most Cusquenos buy their food and clothing items.  It was amazing!

Rolo, Heather and Travis outside the market with a view of the mountains.

I was very lucky to be with a group who likes to take pictures......because I took a LOT of pictures!!

Once again, blue doors.

Part of the fun was just walking around and seeing the city.  I thought the streets were pretty cool and I was shocked to see cacti!

This little girl is wearing traditional clothing and has a baby alpaca with her- they are so cute!!

We stopped by this little pizza restaurant for a snack and more Pisco sours. 

The sign claimed to have the best view of the city....the sign failed to mention that there was only one window which showed this best view, but we enjoyed it anyway!!

At night, most of the city was lit and we found this fountain in San Blas- a cute neighborhood housing artisans, workshops and craft shops.

Christmas in Februrary!!

Since I was in Peru for Christmas this year, I travelled up to Pensacola last weekend to celebrate Christmas with my sister and family!! We had a fabulous dinner, opened some presents and they even had the Chrismas tree still up!

Me and the munchkin! I kept my antlers and elf socks available for the weekend!  

I got to meet Nimbus, the newest addition to the Clark family.  She's a very sweet girl! 

Christmas dinner consisted of prime rib, mashed potatoes, asparagus, and rolls!  It was delicious! 

Dinner was prepared with love!! 

Here, Nimbus pretends to be a lap dog.... 

Jessica shows off her ballet outfit! 

The Clark family at the beach at the National Seashore! 

You can tell I'm from somewhere warmer.....I'm wearing a wool sweater and Jessica is in a short sleeved dress! 

Peru

To all of my faithful blog followers....
I have tons of photos from my recent trip to Peru and I posted quite a few of them on Facebook, so take a look!  If you aren't on FB, please be patient and I'll get them posted here on my blog as soon as possible (with lots of history and fun facts to go along the with photos)!!!
Happy New Year!
Steph