Yesterday I did not have enough time to charge my camera battery or book a tour for today, so I was not expecting today to be a busy day but then I was not expecting to bump into the three crazy cool Canadians.
I was just sitting in the computer / breakfast room updating my blog when I chanced to overhear that they were planning on visiting the Sacred Valley today, which is one of the places definetly on my list. They were a pair of sisters and a boyfriend, all having been travelling for a bit before reaching Peru and they seemed to be fun and cool people that it would be great to hang with, plus of course we will share a mutual dislike for Americans, ha ha.
I got chatting when then and as soon as they said that they were going to do a private tour, I reckoned that I could probably join in even at this late stage, and they were cool as it meant splitting the bill four ways instead of just three, so I just had enough time to finish eating my breakfast before grabbing my camera and dashing out the door with them.
Regrettably I did not remember to grab my suncream and although I was wearing jeans and a t-shirt I could not help my neck, forearms and face being caned by the sun again, which I will be regretting for the next few days.
We all met up with the giude in reception, officially he is a mix of spanish and Inca blood, the same as about 60% of the population, but he said his spirit was 100% Incan and because it was a small and private tour he was able to stop and give us a lot more background info and legends rather that just reeling off a typical tour script and then rushing us to the next location.
He seemed to have a lot of views on just about everything from magic, to aliens and the crimes the current Peruvian government are making against the land and the people, and at first I almost took him as a cook until througout the day and the sights I saw I had a chance to reevaluate a few misconceptions.
First off for the day we went to Pisaq, which was about an hours drive away and what I didnt realise was that as we were on a private tour we were going to actually trek up some of the Inca trails. It was a bit of a shock to learn that we need to buy a set of admission tickets for PES 70 each, which was almost as much as I had left on me, and I was thankful that later on even the smaller villages had at least one ATM machine that accepted european cards.
There are so many Inca trails across the mountains and valleys of Peru that it would be almost impossible for anyone to say that they had trekked them all, especially as new ones are being rediscovered every few years. Once we started trekking up one of these trails I could not help but instantly begin to have a whole new level of respect and appreciation for the Inca's as these trails were not large cobbled levelled paths going around the mountains but more like tiny footpaths that take a very direct route from one place to the other and after an hours trekking I feel that every Inca was a born mountain climber.
There were no guide ropes or wire mesh fences as protection and if these trails were in any country in Europe then the EU would have banned them for being far too dangerous decades ago. Try as I might I could not help but have to hold on the the cliff face at times, and come down on my arse at others, which made me feel all the more stupid when up in front all three canadians were walking the trail like they were born to it.
By the end of the first hour my knees and legs were getting wobbly and shakey so it was a great relief when we started coming down again, and I had decided that as we stil had two more places to visit today that I would be willing to skip the middle one if they were all like the first, but in the end this was by far the longest and hardest of the treks so I did them all.
Along the way we all excanged views on the Inca's and the Spaniards and the Canadians had clearly done their homework as they knew a lot more than I did or expected any normal traveller to have, and the more we talked about the Atlantian civilization the more I had to think that there must be some truth in the myths, especially when the evidence was all around me.
The stonework of the temples and walls were of a quality that show how pathetic our modern techniques are, as they were using stones as big as sofas and tables placed together so tightly that you could not even slide a piece of paper between them and no motar needed to hold them together. Plus the stones were shaped and cut very smoothly and flat and placed at angles that increase their strength and reduce any chances of damage from earthquakes.
Historicaly a massive earthquake hit the region and most of the spanish built buildings toppled like a deck of cards but the original Incan walls did not even crack let alone fall, and I think that it would take a massive determined effort to ruin the stones.
The second place we visited was Ollantaytambo which was equally as impressive if only slightly smaller in overall size. Here there were signs of advanced understanding of science and astonomy, as well as an accurate seasonal sun clock, which all again linked to the fact that the Inca's were not savages or ruthless killers of neighbouring tribes and needless sacrifices but an educated people who worked in harmony with the land around them.
Our guide was very emotional when it came to the fact that the Peruvian governement is trying to sell off most of the mining and tourist rights to foreign investors and acres upon acres of mountain and forest land has already been sold to multinational companies.
At the end of our tour on Ollantaytambo there is a rock where it is said the ancients would accend on ledges small enough to barely have a single foothold before reaching the very top of the peak before flinging themselves off as they transcend into giant condors and fly away. My three Canadian friends were all willing to see how far they could climb before t got too hazardous, or until they could become Condors themselves, but I felt that I still had some living as a human left in me so I chose instead to sit and become one with the spirit of the mountain at ground level.
The final place we visited as a group was Chinchero where we learned and witness the crafting of the woolen clothes that can be seen on most of the locals and even on some of the tourists. It was great to see how the locals used natural plants for dying both their wool and also as make up, and they were also good sellers who managed to see a few items to my Canadian friends although my budget and backpack do not really allow me the luxury of buying many souverneirs, so instead I just gave a tip and smiled a lot.
After the mini shopping trip we visited the sacred rock which predated even the Incan civilization and the thing that impressed me about the whole day was the spectacular views.
Finaly when the sun was setting it was time to come back, but as we were all pretty hungry and still wanted to chat a bit more about what we had seen during the day, we stopped off at a restaurant that they recommmended and I had a great meal of chicken on a bed of mashed potatoe with a mushroom sauce, costing PES 20.
It was a shame that they already had booked a four day trek to Manchu Picchu for the following morning as this is also another place that I will be visiting, but being on a tighter timetable I could not afford to spend another four days trekking, and to be honest if the first few hours of today is anything to go by then I don't think I would enjoy trekking for four full days anyway, so I had to say goodbye and goodluck to them and them head on down to my hostel bunk while they continued to pack for the morning.
Once I got back to my bunk I loaded up my skin with enough after sun to sink a battleship and repeated the process a few times during the night, but still when I woke the next morning I was not only sore but stiff and aching all over.
Luckily all I have to do today, is socialise, visit a few musuems in the centre of Cusco and book a day trip to Manchu Picchu for tomorrow, so no lengthy trips in the sun and a chance for my limbs to recover.
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