O-Town

The little town of Ollantaytambo has a rich history and was once a place of great importance. Located in the Sacred Valley, approx. 60 miles northwest of Cuzco, Ollanta is home to one of the finest archaeological complexes in Peru. It contains religious, astronomical, administrative and urban complexes, with areas reserved for activities related to agriculture and livestock (Salazar, Cusco: And the Sacred Valley of the Incas). It seems that nearly everything in Cuzco holds some deeper symbolic meaning. In fact, some will point to the shape of the city (a tree) and relay the importance of the "Tree of Life" or the "Sacred Tree". It seems each ruin holds religious and ceremonial significance and symbolizes an animal, spirit or ideal sacred to the Incas. Many of the ruins held important astronomical features designed to keep the people connected to the spirit world. Fortunately for us, we were able to borrow a book from our B & B while exploring the Temple of the Sun today.

One of the features you notice right away in Ollanta is the the dedication to agriculture. The town is surrounded by terraces, and contains many, many plots of farming land throughout the town. There are also waterways throughout town that provided water to the townspeople, while also serving as irrigation systems for crops and produce.

Farmland and Terraces

Farmland and Terraces

Cobblestone and waterways (on left)

Plaza de Armas (main plaza) in Ollanta

Eric on our rooftop terrace, with views of Ollanta in background

Colorful hats/Masks for sale in town

Cacti/plants in Ollanta

There are a few things that stand out to me about Ollanta: 1) the sound of water (it is always running somewhere), whether it is the many waterways throughout town, or the streams nearby before reaching the Temple of the Sun ruins, or the Patakancha River (which connects to the Urubamba, which connects to the Amazon); 2) the smell of fire, or burning seems to be constant scent in the air, whether it is for cooking or as a heating mechanism; 3) the importance of crops/agriculture with the presence of so many terraces, farming plots, etc.; 4) cobblestones - everywhere!; 5) beautiful mountains, which surround the little town of Ollanta.

Today we had the chance to eat at two more restaurants here in town: Puka Rumi (for lunch) and Pachamama (for dinner). Both were recommendations by our hostess, Winn. We each had sandwiches at Puka Rumi - mine was jamon y queso (ham & cheese), Eric's was steak, cheese and pesto. We split a big bowl of fries to top it off. It was very good, on both accounts. Most others in the restaurant ordered sandwiches as well. One group ordered the pasta and it looked and smelled delicious as well. The restaurant was located perfectly - just beyond the ruins we explored all morning. For dinner we decided to try out one of the many places advertising wood-fired pizza. We had the Pachamama pizza (namesake of the restaurant), which came with cheese, ham, sausage and red bell peppers. It didn't really have a sauce on it other than the layer of red peppers. We joked that it was our hot dog pizza, because the "sausage" really looked like small pieces of hot dogs on top. Again, the food was great, and when we could eat no more, we waddled back to our hotel.

Outside of Puka Rumi

Dinner w/ our "hot dog" pizza

One other thing we've had to think about, now that we are three days into our trip, are the common travel ailments. Clearly we haven't had anything too troublesome, or you would likely have heard of it before now. With the increased altitude there are certain ailments that tend to bother people. We've been lucky so far in only having very mild symptoms. Eric's nosebleed (which was pretty significant) was likely a symptom. We've both been short of breath and needed several breaks when hiking/climbing. While I haven't had any nosebleeds, I've woken up each morning with dried blood (nosebleed at night?). Eric got sunburned the day before yesterday, even though it was overcast the majority of the day. Today we lathered him up with sunscreen (we should have thought of that sooner). Today I caved and got Chapstick and Vick's at local stores. Although they were both overpriced, they've been really nice to have. We also both enjoyed long, hot showers today. At the last place we had about 5 min. of hot water before it would start to run out. Here at Casa we have plenty, which seems like a luxury after a day of hiking. Hot tea has also been a big help for both of us. With the exception of the nosebleeds, I would compare the feeling to that of good ol' Midwest allergies, or sinus pressure. Yesterday we met another tourist (an older lady from Australia) that said of the 15 people in her group, 4 had to get oxygen when they were trying to acclimate to the altitude. We are fortunate and grateful we haven't had any bigger symptoms than we have!

Tomorrow we head off to Aguas Calientes by train. Neither of us are really looking forward to Aguas, as it is known as a super touristy, armpit of a town. It is a necessary evil though, as it is the base for exploring Machu Picchu. We plan to make the best of it.

Colorful flowers in Plaza de Armas