Saturday, 6 September 2014
After lunch, we travelled to Ollantaytambo. This is the best preserved Inca village in Peru, with narrow alleys, street water canals and trapezoidal doorways. The town is built on the base of the old Inca town, and the streets and blocks of the town are the same as those of the original Inca town. There is also an Inca ruin here. When you enter the site you see some beautiful terraces. Climbing the steps by the side of the terracing brings you to a double doorway, which was probably the entrance to the Temple of the Sun. There are many large stones on the site, which were brought from the mountains, probably transported by rollers made of wood and pulled by llamas and donkeys. There are ramps at the site which indicates how the stones were brought to the site from the quarry in the mountains. It must not have been an easy feat.
The mountain opposite the ruins is Pinkuylluna, an Apu (sacred mountain worshipped by the people) and there are store houses visible on the side of the mountain, they used to store their crops there, and it worked like some sort of bank because in those days food was the most important thing. You can also see an outline of a face in the mountains, this is a natural formation. When the Spanish conquistador Pizzaro arrived here in about 1532, the Incas thought he was the face in the mountains, and did not fight him off. Because he had the trust of the locals, Pizarro then gathered more army to take over Peru, and later South America.
There were more interesting stories told by the guide but I had a difficult time listening to him, already the accent when the locals speak English made it difficult to understand them, but the 4 girls were making so much noise, laughing and talking loudly among themselves, that I seriously couldn't hear a lot of what the guide was telling us. I don't understand why you would travel to a country and not want to know about its history, customs, culture, beliefs etc. Or, if you are not interested, at least let others who are, have the opportunity of listening to the guide!
After this, those who were travelling on to Aguas Calientes or back to Cusco remained on the bus, and since I was staying the night in Ollantaytambo, I remained where I was. There is not much to do here, and walking around the main plaza I bumped into the 4 girls again, and I spent some time with them shopping, walking around and drinking tea. I bought a sweater. The girls were waiting for their bus to Aguas Calientes. I don't think they are bad people, maybe just spoilt and immature. Hopefully they will grow up to be useful human beings. After spending some time with them, I bought a beer and went back to the hotel.
After lunch, we travelled to Ollantaytambo. This is the best preserved Inca village in Peru, with narrow alleys, street water canals and trapezoidal doorways. The town is built on the base of the old Inca town, and the streets and blocks of the town are the same as those of the original Inca town. There is also an Inca ruin here. When you enter the site you see some beautiful terraces. Climbing the steps by the side of the terracing brings you to a double doorway, which was probably the entrance to the Temple of the Sun. There are many large stones on the site, which were brought from the mountains, probably transported by rollers made of wood and pulled by llamas and donkeys. There are ramps at the site which indicates how the stones were brought to the site from the quarry in the mountains. It must not have been an easy feat.
The mountain opposite the ruins is Pinkuylluna, an Apu (sacred mountain worshipped by the people) and there are store houses visible on the side of the mountain, they used to store their crops there, and it worked like some sort of bank because in those days food was the most important thing. You can also see an outline of a face in the mountains, this is a natural formation. When the Spanish conquistador Pizzaro arrived here in about 1532, the Incas thought he was the face in the mountains, and did not fight him off. Because he had the trust of the locals, Pizarro then gathered more army to take over Peru, and later South America.
There were more interesting stories told by the guide but I had a difficult time listening to him, already the accent when the locals speak English made it difficult to understand them, but the 4 girls were making so much noise, laughing and talking loudly among themselves, that I seriously couldn't hear a lot of what the guide was telling us. I don't understand why you would travel to a country and not want to know about its history, customs, culture, beliefs etc. Or, if you are not interested, at least let others who are, have the opportunity of listening to the guide!
After this, those who were travelling on to Aguas Calientes or back to Cusco remained on the bus, and since I was staying the night in Ollantaytambo, I remained where I was. There is not much to do here, and walking around the main plaza I bumped into the 4 girls again, and I spent some time with them shopping, walking around and drinking tea. I bought a sweater. The girls were waiting for their bus to Aguas Calientes. I don't think they are bad people, maybe just spoilt and immature. Hopefully they will grow up to be useful human beings. After spending some time with them, I bought a beer and went back to the hotel.
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