Encounters of the Inca Kind

While the entire Sacred Valley was Inca Territory, most of their surviving structures were toward the east end of the valley. We had passed numerous Inca terraces, large stone terraces used for agriculture, but no actual structures. Today we would explore our first such structures.

But for a little background about the time of year. June is a particularly special month for Peruvians in general and Quechua in particular. The Quechua people are actually the base of the Inca culture. The Inca is actually only one person - the 'king' so to speak, so really, there have only been 13 Incas ruling over the Quechua people, in total from about the early 1300s until 1532 when the Spanish conquered and basically eradicated the culture. The Inca were very attuned to nature and the agricultural cycle, since that is what brought them sustenance and prosperity. So June 21, the Winter Solstice in the southern hemisphere, is THE most important day of the year. It marks the return of the sun (this being the shortest day of the year down here) and the beginning of the new cycle. In fact, on June 24 the celebration of Inti Raiyma (Inti being the Sun) is recreated in Cusco, the centre of the Inca religion and culture. There is a church in the town of Urubamba where our lodge was located, and the people wasted no time in making their own celebration. Unfortunately from the bus we couldn't get a really good view, but this photo should give you brief idea of what it looked like:

From there we traveled to Ollanytaytambo for our first hands-on experience of Inca architecture. Ollantaytambo is a very small town, but is named after a very large fortress/temple built into the side of a cliff across from yet another "holy" mountain. The initial view from the bus was certainly impressive, but then we arrived and walked to the base of the forest wall of terraces. And looked up. W-a-a-a-y-y-y up! The group;  "Are we going to climb this?". Elizabeth our guide, said "It is not as difficult as it looks. But A) this was only the second day 'at altitude'. And we  people were still pretty groggy, and B) Elizabeth was born and lived all her life in Cusco, at 11,500 feet Above Sea Level! And, we discovered later, as a guide used to take hiking groups to Machu Picchu over the 48 KM Inca Trail, with mountain passes as high as 13,000 feet, TWICE a MONTH!! But, up we went! First three terraces and a break. Then four terraces and another break. And then the final five terraces to the top! And while it was strenuous, it really wasn't that hard! And the view was fabulous.

One of our Alans at the bottom of the terraces
of Ollantaytambo

Another group of terraces on the other side of the hill

Part way up and still smiling!

 

The next stop - looking a bit high now.

Looking back along the valley



Yes! We were both here!! And there is some Inca lore
about the mountain behind us. A figure can be seen carved
into the mountain of a benevolent god who
 helped the Quechua of Ollantaytambo. Every June 21 the
'crown' on his head is the first thing illuminated by
the sun when it rises over the mountains.

At the top!! Larry in the beautifully finished entrance to
the Royal Temple

There was a difference between the finish of the stones
for the Royal Temple and those for the terraces. The
Temple stones were placed together with no spaces
and were finished by 'sanding' them. The nubs sticking out
were used to move the huge stones, and were ground off
once they were in place.

The Alpacas! We conquered Ollantaytambo!!! From left: Nancy and Don,
Margaret and Alan, us, Barry and Joyce, and Dean and Julia.

Couldn't resist a picture with the resident Inca!

This is where all the preparation for this trip with Eric (our trainer for new viewers) started to pay off, We realized that after each break, we recovered very quickly and were ready to proceed. Our legs were a little sore from the climb, but mostly because the stone block steps went anywhere from maybe a four inch rise to often as much as ten or twelve inches, depending on the stones used in the build. And were almost as irregular in depth. Not like going up stairs to go to bed at night by a long shot!

What most impresses is when you look at the sheer size of the stones, and like the Egyptians and the pyramids, the distances and heights they moved them! All of the stones were quarried on the "next mountain over and about three miles away!

This panoramic shot shows the terraces and the Royal Temple at
the top, and, way off to the left, that stony gray area on the mountain
top is the quarry the stones came from. For the largest stones,
the Quechua used logs to roll them down the hill,, across the valley
and back up to the temple. The ramps they used are still
visible on the other side of the hill.

 In many respects the Inca structures are  more impressive considering they were not, for the most part, built using slave labour, but by their own people over many years! Keep in mind also, that there is no recorded evidence that the Inca ever used the wheel. They also had no metal tools, but used tools made mostly of harder stone than the granite of these blocks to achieve these incredibly smooth finishes, and seams tighter than any house built in the 20th Century!

After our morning at Ollantaytambo, we returned to Casa Andina for a cooking demonstration by the executive chef. He made for us a Peruvian Ceviche and a dish called Lomo Saltado, or sauteed meat, both of which were served on the buffet at lunch. You might see them the next time you come to our house for a meal!!!

Lunch plate - delicious vegetable soup, the ceviche in the spoon,
Lomo Saltado in the front with that Peruvian staple - french fries!
With over 3,000 varieties of potato, we figure they could
corner the potato chip and fries market if they wanted to!

We decided to relax a bit in the afternoon, so here are a few photos from around Casa Andina. It is a beautiful lodge, but we had to say that the internet connection was particularly slow. It took the better part of 1 1/2 hours to get the last blog post up! But the grounds are very beautiful and the accommodations, though not plush, were very comfortable.

One of the buildings

Our room with a nice sitting area in the back

The local fauna - a hummingbird who sat still
long enough to have his picture taken

Around the gardens

The Lobby area with fireplace

 

In the evening, we were treated to a folklore show by a group called Kusiwasi. It depicted the struggles between the various gods to create the Quechua world: Manco Capac, god of the Sun, Pachamama, or Mother Earth, the goddess of the Moon and various others.  Oh, you get a real treat - video!!

After that it was dinner and bedtime, looking forward to the next day at Machu Picchu!!