A raft to Ollantaytambo

Ollantaytambo! Say that fast three times, your tongue will get tangled for sure! It is an Incan town and temple site. But, don't forget the raft--

the whole merry band, I think.

It was mostly a gentle float down the Urubamba River, so beautifully calm and quiet. I was in the front, so I didn't hear a lot of what the guide was saying except the occassional 'Forward!' or 'Reverse!,' but I savored the peaceful landscape.

If you just saw that photograph somewhere, would you imagine it was taken in Peru?

From the raft we saw terraced fields where corn was raised, and in front of them near the middle of the picture, is corn. It is only just planting season, so it isn't high yet. They can get two crops per year.

At the end of the ride, there was--no surprise!--this woman vendor with her daughter. Mine was the first raft to appear, and I saw her pull the skirt onto her daughter. They were charming.

Yesterday we saw a foot plow, used with person-power alone, and a yoke of oxen pulling a plow with two men. It looked like such a struggle! 

Then to the Inca Village of Ollayntaytambe. It's kind (so I repeated a word in the same line--it's early here!)  the people really do live in the houses and are not actors. We visited one home:

Inside was certainly rustic as well, though there were two more rooms (one a bathroom) we didn't see. It was decorated with many items related to the native religions including some fetal animals hanging on the wall and skulls of ancestors.  I decided not to share those.

This fellow is some kind of god who grants wishes after you tie replicas of desired items around his neck and allow him to smoke once a week. He had a cigarette butt in his mouth--

The woman of the house also raised cuy, or guinea pigs. They are eaten around 6 months old, as older than that there isn't as much meat. So it's a pretty manageable source of protein and has been since before Inca times.

These are native women organized to meet us by our guide, who said the rural people still dress the traditional way. (They are spinning some kind of wool.)

Now to the religious site, comprised of several temples (sun, moon, earth, and water), and this pyramid, very tall! Grazing in front of it are vicunas and an alpaca.

I did make it to the top, but it was a struggle. In the village the sun was very strong and hot, and I was getting concerned, but it clouded over, and a little rain fell, cooling it off perfectly! 

I am standing here in front of the facade of the Temple to the Sun.

 On the way down--steep and quite irregular steps as you can imagine, these friends are stopped with our guide Maricela.

Notice the carved stones fitted together without mortar. We'll see more, much larger!

What goes up must come down, and here I am safe! Do you see those specks of people? They are about halfway up.