After leaving Cuzco, we began our exploration of the Sacred Valley of Peru and our approach to Machu Picchu by taking a speed-demon taxi ride to the delightful village of Ollantaytambo, where we stayed for a number of days. We were happy to return to the peace and quiet of village life after our crazy days in Cuzco.
Some readers may remember the other Arctic doggies we met in the Chilean port of Valparaiso. We sure were surprised to meet another, and this one a wooly Malamute like Borealis! The sweetest dog, he followed us around for hours.
This little, and I mean very little, lady was in the main square of Ollantaytambo. Notice she's barely taller than the bus' bumper. Tall gringos like ourselves can sure feel like towering giants here! Who knows if it's due primarily to genetics or malnutrition, but my bet is the former is definitely a key cause.
Some more wonderful, narrow alleyways. Ollantaytambo is, more than Cuzco, the best remaining example of Incan city-planning. All the streets in the town are the original Incan stone streets and walls. You really feel like you are walking back in time here. One of my books says that Ollantay has been continuously inhabited since the 13th century.
And the traditional Incan doorways, slanted inwards at the top.
3 comments:
Very Interesting! Although the pickup and mayor story was somewhat scary. You must have taken a diary or you have a better memory than your brother. (I can't even remember what I did yesterday) :-)
Yes, I did keep a journal, especially because I knew I wasn't going to be doing any blogging while on the road. Just writing a few short sentences down every day has helped enough to jog my memory while writing the journal so many months later!
However, I can't remember what I did yesterday either!
Another Borealis! And that stone construction is absolutely fascinating!
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