"VOYAGER MACHU PICCHU TRAIN: MAPI TO OLLANTAYTAMBO
Travel from Machu Picchu to Ollantaytambo in this comfortable train, and let your feet have a rest. Enjoy an authentic
Andean experience, while relaxing in modern and comfortable interior design illuminated by Latin American music.
Comfortable seats with tables in front to share the journey with friends.
Today, we will pick you up from Ollantaytambo train station for your Maras and Moray tour. The first stop will be
Maras Salt ponds, believed to pre-date the Inca period. These shallow pools were dug into the mountainside, filled
with salt water from an underground spring of an adjacent mountain. After water evaporation, the salt is carefully collected
and packaged for sale. Witness locals harvesting salt in the traditional way practised for well over 500 years.
Approximately 7 km southwest of Maras, continue to Moray, which boasts an impressive Inca ruin of giant circular terraces
believed to have been used for agricultural experimentation due to their exceptional irrigation system.
Upon concluding the tour, you will be transported back to Cusco. Depending on the weather and available time, you may
have the opportunity to visit Chinchero, a significant Inca town featuring a colonial church and a picturesque plaza along the
way."
Just as I was acclimatising to the altitude we headed back up another 1300 metres. The shortness of breath was incredible and it made me feel dizzy. The medication isn't doing its job 🤦♀️
Pics from the train.
Our guide, Andy, met us at the Ollantaytambo train station when we departed. We had a 22 seater mini bus for the driver, the guide, Mark and I.
We headed off road to our next experience. We drove through beautiful countryside, viewing both mountains and crop farms.
Drying out the corn.
A new hotel complex being built. ↕️
Some of the steep and winding road we drove.
Looking down at Sacred Valley.
Moray (Quechua: Muray) is an archaeological site in Peru approximately 50 kilometres (31 mi) northwest of Cuzco on a high plateau at about 3,500 metres (11,500 ft)
Circular terraces believed to have been used for agricultural experimentation due to their exceptional irrigation system. Trees were planted in the bottom circle of the largest ruins. Every year they were transplanted up to the next level if they were doing well. There were 12 levels. After the 12 levels they were transferred to another circular terrace of a higher altitude. If they survived that set of terraces then they went on to the 3rd set. This was to make the trees tolerant to the conditions where they needed them to go. The reverse process was also used if they wanted lower altitude plants. Considering that the average life span of an Inca worker was 35 this was an amazing feat they never saw completed.
The 1st set
I opted to just walk around the top but Mark who hasn't been as affected by the altitude as me went down the bottom with Joel our guide. The arrow below shows where they are.
The 3rd set of terraces.
Beautiful wild flowers/weeds
Joel showed us some shells washed out of the dirt. Apparently the old sea floor in Moray was up this far, 3,500m.
Crops grown on a plateau.
The Maras Salineras (salt mine) in Cusco are located at an altitude of 3,200 meters above sea level (approximately 10,498 feet above sea level).
Church built for the workers and visitors using tourist entrance fee money.
Stock piles of salt.
The terraces are formed by retaining walls of irregular stone seated with mud mortar, forming dikes that delimit the wells as small reservoirs of approximately 5m2. The conduction system of the saltwater from its catchment, is done through a main irrigation channel, which branches out into several small channels that feed the wells.
The salt production takes place once a month and is marked by the calendar of the seasons of the year. In the dry season (from May to October) the accumulation of salt is fast, there is greater production, and a better quality of salt is obtained with a white or pink. However, in the rainy season (from November to April) the production is difficult and the color of the salt shows a brown color.
The salt water comes from a natural spring.
Pics from our drive to the town of Chinchero. In Chinchero we visited a complex where we were given demonstrations on how the wool is collected from the Alpaca, washed, turned to thread and weaved. All very interesting and done the traditional way. A display of all the foods used to colour the wool.
I don't know how anyone could eat these gorgeous little guinea pigs.
There were a few colourful murals.
Grating the root to was the wool before spinning.
'Alpaca wool is a dry fiber with almost no lanolin and is often washed for the first time after it's been spun into yarn or at the hank stage, rather than before. In the Andes, indigenous people traditionally use natural, plant-based detergents like Sacha Paraqay (a grated root) or Illmanke (a pounded plant) to wash the wool.'
The parasites on the prickly are what's used to dye the wool. 'Cochineal bugs, oval-shaped scale insects around 0.2 inches long, are harvested and turned into the natural dyes cochineal extract, carmine and the pure pigment carminic acid. They have been used to color food, textiles and cosmetics for centuries.'
Dying the wool in a pot of boiling water.
Weaving. Traditional patterns.
These ladies were making the edges for the weaving products, like blankets and scarves.
Shop with very long and decorative candles.Finally we have arrived at our hotel in Cusco.
"Cusco, set at an altitude of 3,400 metres in the Peruvian Andes, was once the capital of the Inca Empire. It is known for its Spanish colonial architecture and Incan remains. Narrow, cobble-stoned streets lined by Inca walls stretch out from the main plaza in every direction. Many of the colonial buildings were built on top of Incan foundations and the stonework is unparalleled in its precision and beauty."
We are staying at the Antigua Casona San Blas for 4 nights. This will be our last hotel until we get back to Sydney.
Another 'shabby' room 😉 The wooden doors close over the windows.
Entrance hall has a wooden front door and a glass door into our room.
I've set myself up with the Alpaca pillow and blankie for an afternoon recovery rest. We skipped lunch so we had an early dinner in the hotel. The weather was too miserable to go elsewhere. I picked a table right beside the fire.
Complimentary home made chips and dip.
Mark had Alpaca steak 🦙It was very tender.
I had spaghetti carbonara.
We came back to find to fluffy hot water bottles in our bed and some chocolates.
We had sunshine and light rain today.Cuscos temperature was 9-17°
"
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