The Sacred Valley: A Whirlwind Tour

Returning to Cusco from Puno in the early morning hours, I took a cab from the bus station.
I found myself at the same hostel as before, Southern Comfort, "circa de Puente Grau", as before and acquired a bed shortly after to pass out for just a while longer before I got my groggy bottom out of bed and onto a tour bus to visit the three famous city-ruins of the Sacred Vallley: Pisac, Ollantaytambo and Chinchero. It was non-stop action. Here's this, here's that, ok, back in the bus. Monica!!! We're going to leave you!

Instead of bore you with some facts I scribbled while translating the tour guide's speech into English, I'll just post some nifty pictures and refer you to Wikipedia for facts about these magnificent places: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacred_Valley

The modern city of Pisac's market day-I bought gifts for the family. These are your Christmas presents guys. FYI

A family chillin' with their llama.

Urubamba Valley
That way to Pisac!

Pisac, the terraces and city

The Inca kept cuyes(guinea pigs) which would sleep under the bed. Give a whole new meaning to dust bunnies.
Crafted stones for a door.
Room with a view. The Inca were into cubby holes.

On to Ollantaytambo!

A nice view. And stairs!! Ahhhh!*pant,pant,pant*

The storehouse on the other side of the valley and the face on the side of the mountain carved by Inca predecessors.
Inca structure. Notice there is no mortar between these rocks. And what are these protrusions? I don't know, and neither do they.

Carved stone.

Time is up. Let's go. We need to make it to Chinchero. Monica!! Get on the bus.
Then we were invited to see a demonstration of how the locals dye the wool they use to create lovely alpaca goods: gloves, scarves, blackets, caps, ect.

Dying properties.
The demonstration.
Weaving and the significance of collars used. Each item they create tells a story about their way of life.

End result.

Sacred cross in plaza.

Church on the ruins of Chinchero.
Better view.
Last remaining ruins of Chinchero. Not much is known about this location.

I returned to the bus with the sun light fading and a lightning storm on the horizon. It was a lovely ending to a fascinating and rather exhausting day.

Walking Tour of Puno

On my second day in Puno I went on a walking tour of the town. My guide was a student from the University working on her degree in tourism. We spent much of our time speaking Spanglish, discussing the modern customs of today's Puno.

My tour guide

Our walk started up the hill of the Condor. There were many stairs...many stairs. The weather was beautiful, but the sun was very strong. We took our time as we climbed the stairs. My guide described to me the many uses of the cuy(guinea pig). The shaman use the cuy to diagnose illness of the common people who prefer not to trust modern medicine. They pass the cuy over the body of the ill person for up to 5 hrs. or more. Then, they kill the cuy and examine the body to observe how the cuy's body reflects the illness of the person. Interesting, I thought.

I made it to the top to join the condor!

The City of Puno and Lake Titicaca

We visited the churches and main squares. It was wedding season when I visited, so I bore witness to the procession of a couple getting married in one of the grand old churches. We toured the museum and observed some interesting artifacts including ceremonial vases, Spanish silver , and several mummies recovered from Sillustani.

This is the old gateway into the city. But Puno grew and so did the transit system, so they built new roads to accommodate 2 way traffic and larger vehicles. The gateway concluded the tour, and I believe that we were both quite tired after 5 hrs. of touring the city. We made our way back to the hostel. Upon my return, we discovered a party was going to be held.

They were doing some renovations at the time I was there which I got to see the end result of. It was great! I played pool in their new game room with this adorable European guy. My only regret was not learning his name before rushing off to catch a late night bus back to Cusco that night.

Visiting Lake Titicaca

Las Islas de Los Uros

I was going to visit the Uros Islands, or the floating reed islands, and the island of Taquile. I really had no idea what I was going to see when I stepped onto the boat. The islands are at 3,810 meters above sea level. I amazed to find that culture had maintained it's way of life living in the lake on islands made of reeds (totora)- simply reeds- for over 3000 years. Today, only a couple hundred decedents of Uros live on and maintain the islands and way of life. Conquistadors would write about the 'savage people'. I actually found them quite amiable, and their way of life peaceful. I marveled at how they had maintained such a way of life that was so in sync with nature. I even considered sticking around, until I discovered the traditional garb I would have to don if I wanted to live among them...

I don't think pink is really my color.

Their existence rested upon what they made with their hands. They women and men continued to hold traditional roles, men as hunters and constructors and women as makers and menders of clothes and gatherers of reeds. However, with the tourist business they have found wealth that has allowed them to purchase solar panels for electricity and televisions and radios for entertainment. The reeds sustained them.

They ate them, too.

Many families live in Puno now, and all children attend school. They typically speak both Aymara and Spanish. They also know 'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star'. I discover this after they presented a song to us in Aymara, and we were asked to share one of our songs. Only one song came to mind in my moment of panic and humility...

Absolutely stunning.

Check out the website on Wikipedia for more information on the Uros, their culture and traditions: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uros

We continued on to the island of Taquile. It took to hours to reach the small island made of rock and soil. Here there was a completely different culture from the Uros. These people isolated themselves from the culture of those in the nearby port. Foreigners were welcome as tourists, but not welcome to live on the island. I panted my way to the main square at the top of the island. I would be lying if I said that the altitude did not affect me. We were greeted by clever and adorable little girls who would be more than happy to stand in your photo for a sole.


The island was known for it's knitting work and the peculiarities of their culture. We sat down to lunch, a trout fillet with some vegetables and rice, simple, and were presented by our tour guide with the customs of the people. Taquileños lived by the Inca moral code- do not steal, do not be lazy, do not lie. They speak Quechua as their first language. They don't wear wedding bands to show they are married, they wear head ornaments- men, the traditional chullo, and women, a headdress at a length typically to their ankles with pompom-like balls attached at the corners- to indicate what their social status is.

The island is a marvel: 5.5 by 1.6 km, approx. 1700 inhabitants.

So the celebrations are in full swing for the Bicentennial Celebration. Plenty of distractions to keep me from posting on my blog.

We have attempted to lay witness the light show at La Moneda Palace. Here is a recap of what we really didn't bear witness to...because there were estimates of 60,000 heads in front of me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSVrSRFeRfs

But it was certainly a thrill to be part of a historical event.

I was also in the perfect place to see the raising of the giant flag in front of the palace, but the wrong time...I had to go meet with someone to discuss some details about my research in La Parva. So I watched it online. It was cool. The girls, my roommates/research team got amazing pictures.

Here is the link: http://www.cnnchile.com/nacional/2010/09/17/izan-la-gran-bandera-nacional/

Tomorrow we will go to the Rodeo in Las Condes. Pictures soon to come. On Sunday there is a festive and grand march, but again, the whole city will be out to see the 7,000 plus uniformed men and women of the armed forces pass down the streets of Santiago. I'm not a crowd person, so we will see if I go or not. But the festivities continue and everyone is in a joyful mood. It is truly like our Independence Day in the U.S. Food, fireworks, and flags.

Getting to Puno City

Traveling to Puno, the largest city bordering Lake Titicaca on the Peruvian side, took 7 hrs. on tour bus. It was amazing to see the incremental changes in landscape and living conditions of the inhabitants of this nearly surreal landscape.

During the dry season, little looks alive here

We made a stop at scenic point, where many people were selling alpaca goods. I ended up with a few things I really didn't need, but bargaining for things is what Peruvians do best and I ended up with some very beautiful gifts for my family and friends..and a few special things for myself. I also saw a baby alpaca that I just went gaga over. The woman who owned the baby kindly obliged me in posing in front the stunning backdrop of the mountains.

How can you not love this face?

Alpaca besos (kisses)!


Ok, you can be in the photo too...

After arriving and finding the cab drivers to be very disagreeable on a decent price for getting me to my hostel, The Point Puno, I returned to the desk of the bus tour company I had traveled and kindly asked them in my best Spanglish to have them call my hostel to come get me as I read that this was something they offered for free. An experienced traveler's note: in Peru, you should never have to pay more than 3 soles to get where you need to go in the touristy cities. Not even from the airport, busport, where ever. However, compromises sometimes have to be made if it is 3 am in the morning.


The hostel I arrived at had absolutely the most friendly and helpful staff I encountered during my travels. I booked a tour of Lake Titicaca with them and found the accommodations quiet and comfortable. The hostel had a lovely view of the city.



That night I went to dinner and a show. The restaurant was called Balcones de Puno. I ate a cuy(guinea pig) dinner, and was entertained by the various songs, dances and costumes of Peru. I would not recommend cuy unless you are the adventurous type. It is served to you as a roasted little body, head included. Hence, this is why there is no picture. It probably tastes most like quail and is not much bigger.

I had an early start to the next day, so as the show concluded, I retreated to my hostel for the night.

Arriving in Cusco

After an eventful trip through customs and immigration (of course I got lost, that's just me) I finally made my way to the small airplane to take us to Cusco. I must say the employs running flights to and from Cusco are very impatient with travelers, but it did not deter me from enjoying the view out my window. At first I was at a loss...Where are all the lush green forested valleys? I realized Cusco located south of the highland cloud forests. The city was the reflection of a third world country- dirty, dusty, poorly constructed. It was my first real exposure to such a city. I was amazed. Even when I had passed through part of Mexico did I not see such immediate evidence of poverty.

That being said, arriving in Cusco and not knowing the exchange rate of dollars to soles, I was overcharged to by the taxis- official my Aunt Fanny- and I took a woman home for free, then tipped her because I thought she was being so considerate making sure the lonely North American got to her hostel safely. Bah! I got ripped off on all fronts. And that was the start of the "Let's exploit the tourist". It was difficult in this dusty, dirty town to travel anywhere and not get bombarded by someone selling something. In the lovely Plaza de Armas, it was constant bombardment. You could not enjoy the beautiful cathedrals in peace.The Cathedral

La Compaña de Jesus

The city filled all the spaces of this little valley. You could really see the influence of Spanish architecture. It is difficult see in this picture, but the flag of Cusco is a horizontal rainbow. I never learned the significance of the rainbow, but I learned that the gay and lesbian community had adopted a similar flag but in reverse order of colors.

I sat back for a time to observe the demographic of those visiting the Plaza de Armas. As I waved away people trying to sell me paintings, jewelry, trying to clean my hiking boots, I noticed that among the tourists were few people in 'traditional garb' here. Two men who were in country clothing sat down to rest what looked like heavy loads on the steps nearby me, yet the officer standing guard quickly moved to stand over them. I didn't understand the significance of this action. Were these men vagabonds?

On the Cathedral steps in mid-afternoon

I returned later to my hostel to get out of the strong sun. I was feeling a little funny due to the altitude, shortness of breath, especially. It was very strange to feel like I could not breath deep enough to satisfy my lungs. Lucky for me, stomach cramps and headaches did not find me.