Sacred Valley of the Incas

The Sun god must REALLY be pleased with us as today is even more beautiful than yesterday. The photo is of the courtyard the hotel's dining room faces. It's easy to picture what the monastery looked like when it was first built in the 1500's. I had gotten up early to make sure I had time for a substantial breakfast and have my suitcase out in the hall by 8am. I was impressed with my efficiency as I wheeled my bag out in the hall only to realize I had locked myself out! Fifteen minutes later I was back in my room and behind schedule which is much more typical of my traveling days!

This morning we were headed for a different area of the Sacred Valley than yesterday's trip to Machu Picchu.

Evidence of the Inca Empire could be seen frequently as the sides of the mountains had many regions covered in the now-familiar agricultural steppes. 

There is not a lot of flat farm land so modern inhabitants of the Valley follow many of the same practices as their Inca ancestors and utilize every available acre.

Our first stop was at the Awana Kancha Camelid Reserve.  Camelids are gentle, long-necked animals and include llamas and alpacas and wild vicunas and guanacos ,  The llamas and alpacas are the best known and their beautiful fleeces are coveted world wide. 

They are hardy survivors of the high-altitude environment of the Andean plateaus.
 
With their large soft eyes and gentile behavior these cousins of the humped-back camel can also display less than pleasant behavior. 

Ask the poor girl in our group who was just walking past one of these gentle llamas and managed to get in the line of his projective spitting. 

She was desperately lookong for a bucket of water to douse her head in!!

Besides seeing the different types of animals I enjoyed watching local women demonstrate the ancient Inca weaving techniques that have been handed down from generation to generation. 

Not only do they teach these beautiful methods but also show how the alpaca wool is dyed and spun into threads used in numerous clothing articles such as shawls, sweaters, hats, gloves, etc. 

I would have longed to linger in the store as the women had some truly beautiful items for sale, but I was saved that expense as our time was up and we were headed to the Pisac Market for more shopping experiences.

More winding roads through this beautiful terrain brought us to the town of Pisac known for its market and ruins. 

Unfortunately, the area around the main plaza was under construction causing the market to be more in a much less interesting location. 

 I wasn't nearly as impressed as I'd been 10 yrs ago and wound up with no purchases but a cute photo of a little girl and her baby llama.

Stomachs were beginning to growl indicating it was time to return to Cusco for lunch.  

Again, everywhere I looked the scenery was like something out of National Geographic.  Easy to understand why the Incas worshiped this region.

Lunch was in a special restaurant right on the Plaza de Armas and was gourmet category.  Peru is truly becoming known as a culinary destination. 

 I managed to shoot a few photos of the Cathedral and Plaza before we headed to the airport for our flight to Lima.

More tomorrow from Lima before we fly out at midnight for Easter Island!

Linda