This morning we went to Ollantaytambo, a small town in the at the head of the sacred valley that has been largely preserved since Inca times, over 5 centuries ago. In the town is a very large, imposing fortress.
Which, at this altitude, is not trivial to climb to the top, as Carol is demonstrating.
Afterwards, we visited a traditional Peruvian home (sort of) and was surprised at the importance of Guinea Pigs - as pets, as food, as a medicinal aid.
They roam around the house, generally being cute. The kids in our group had fun feeding them and were much more impressed by the guinea pigs than scrambling up the Fortress.
We also explored the back streets of the town, and soaked up the history.
While Ollantaytambo is a very historic town, it also is on the main highway, plus it has the train station for the journey to Machu Picchu. As a result, the narrow streets are clogged with trucks, cars and tour busses since this is the only way to get from where you’ve been to where you’re going in this part of the country. This can mean huge gridlock and is a shame since it otherwise is very picturesque.
After all this excitement, we returned to the hotel for lunch and more entertainment.