Pisac and Ollantaytambo

Today was a really awesome day. In the morning, we took a group trip to the ruins of Pisac and Ollantaytambo. Ollantaytambo used to be an Incan fortress, and the architecture is just amazing. There are a ton of rock terraces as well as really interesting blocks cut out as doors and walls. Something I found really cool was that it took up to 50 years for the Incas to move one of the larger blocks to the top of Ollantaytambo. I can’t even imagine what it would be like to be one of those people, knowing that your work for your entire life was based on moving a single rock. Something else I noticed at Ollantaytambo was that it was a lot easier to climb up and down. While I would like to think that this was because I was in a lot better shape and was completely ready for the Chicon hike next week, I realize that it is probably a mixture of that and the fact that Ollantaytambo is at a lot lower elevation than Cuzco.

After Ollantaytambo, we visited the Pisac ruins. Pisac, unlike Ollantaytambo and some of the other ruins I have visited, was constructed for living (some of the others were for battle and agriculture). The Pisac ruins reminded me a bit of Moray, as there were a series of grass terraces. However, the terraces were not circular. Additionally, the view was amazing, as the Pisac ruins are at a much higher altitude, around 12,500 feet.

From the Pisac ruins we went to lunch, after which we visited the famous Pisac Market. This market has a ton of different handicrafts. While I had heard that it had great selection, I did not know that the prices were going to be so high. I was really interested in getting an alpaca sweater, but I soon realized that it was going to be out of my price range. I did see a couple of hats and scarves, but thought that I could get these things at El Molino for comparable or lower prices.

From the Pisac market, we returned back to Cuzco, saying goodbye to the Urubamba kids until the Chicon hike. When we got back to our house, I realized that I was really tired, so I just went to bed.