Holy Valley

Today's itinerary had us spending the day in the Sacred Valley. It's in the Andes between Cusco and Machu Picchu. The Incans called it the Sacred Valley because it had the perfect climate and natural resources. The river running through allowed them to farm and set up an irrigation system. The mountains protected them from enemies. They were able to produce a lot of corn that was then used as a means of trade with other Incan tribes.

We stopped at several spots along the valley, which spreads over 100 kilometers. One of the sites that I found the most interesting was a spot in the mountains where the dead were buried. The village was on one side of the river and carved into the mountain on the other side were over 400 tombs. They looked like little holes hidden in the side of the mountain, and they are pretty inconspicuous at first. But as you looked closely, you could definitely see them. What was most surprising to me was that all levels of social class were buried in these tombs. Royalty and servants alike. The differences were with what they were buried.

Another cool part of society were the intricate irrigation systems to bring water from the river and mountains to the towns. The systems were so well constructed that they are still used today. 500 years later. Crazy.

After the final site, we went to watch an alpaca-wool-dying demonstration. Alpaca wool is huge here, so we went to see how it was colored. But at the point the US-Ghana soccer game was well underway. So a group of us found a TV to watch the second half. The alpaca demonstration was at a house, so we ended up sitting inside with the husband watching the game. It was really fun especially when the United States won.

Differences between Lima and Cusco

• Drivers in Cusco are calmer, never honk their horn and actually let you cross the street.
• Cusco roads are very thin and curvy. Obviously since the city is built into a mountain, they can't be straight up or cars would not make it.
• Every where you look in Cusco there is some resemblance of the Incan culture. In Lima, there are historical sites, but in Cusco a lot of stores and buildings just reused the Incan architecture.
• The altitude here really hits you. I can definitely tell this city is much higher than Lima.
• Some typical Cuscan dishes that aren't available on the coast-Guinea Pig and Alpaca Filet Mignon.