Peru Day 8: May 5th
We left Machu Picchu this morning and took the train heading along the Urubamba River to Ollantaytambo where we toured and hiked the fortress of Ollantaytambo.
The Incas were amazing builders. They built this site from granite that was quarried from over 3.5 miles away and across the Urubamba River. All of the stone in the center was brought here to build and fortified the terraces which were used for farming. Built by the founder of Machu Picchu and of the Tawantinsuyu (Inca Empire), Emperor Pachacuti (Pachakutiq – the earth shaker), as a royal estate in the mid-15th century, Ollantaytambo was a stronghold against the Spaniards and the capital for resistance leader Manco Inca Yupanqui in the mid-16th century. The Inca withdrew from Ollantaytambo to the more defendable Vilcabamba shortly after a victory over a Spanish expedition, so the town was never razed through warfare.
The stones at the bottom of the hill and those on the right were thrown down from the top when the sacred area was threatened by the Spaniards.
There are several niches with a trapazoidal shape and the lintels.
The sire has many different stones types of stones. Looking on the right, terraces bottom left, bedrock and top left quarried stone.
These houses were high up on the hill and we were able to hike to them. All the homes originally had thatched roofs.
We toured the The Temple of Water, it was a sacred place and citizens went here to bless themselves with the water. The window also allows the sun to hit the fountain at exactly the right point during solstice.
Ollantaytambo – Vale Sagrado Cusco is at the convergence of to rivers, so the land was fertile and they could farm on the valley floor and on the terraces.
The stonework here is amazing. The Incas did all of this work without iron or steel tools .
The bedrock is on the right and the quarried stone on the left. The bedrock was unsuitable for construction, so the Inca builders just worked it into the plan.
Many of the stone walls had two layers. There is one stone at the top, estimated at over 60 metic tons and was brought from the quarry. The theory is that the Incas would get 200 or more people pulling the stone with ropes while other used levers from behind.
This is a stone face of the Temple Del Sol, Temple of the Sun is huge and intricate. It is at the very top of all of the terraces and is unique because only temples or homes of the Inca ruler rated having such smooth stone.
It was colder and more windy than the bottom! —
Bedrock on the bottom. Quarried stone on the top.— with Peter Hines at Sitio Arqueológico de Ollantaytambo.
Along the road our trip leader pointed out the Sky Lodge Adventure Suites, we passed on our way to Chinchero. One must rock climb up and down! For more on this, see:http://naturavive.com/web/skylodge-adventure-suites/
Rock climbers were heading up to the Sky Lodge. Not exactly a restful vacation!
We saw this women weaving and selling her wares along side of the road, with her two children nearby
We stopped for lunch in Urubamba, and a pan pipe band was playing.
There is a tomatoes tree at the restaurant.
There was a horse was outside of the restaurant we ate at. It was saddled with a tradition Spanish saddle that had wooden stirrups. We saw similar ones in the Gold Museum in Lima.
Along the way we stopped to saw a traditional spinning and weaving demonstration in Chinchero at 12,100 feet.
In Chinchero, we were greated by women in traditional dress who demonstrated traditional methods of spinning and weaving.
Walking was slow as we were at 12,100 feet above sea level. Chinchero is believed to be the mythical birthplace of the rainbow.
A women was showing weaving. Under her left arm was a bag of wool. She pulled the wool and wrapped is on the spindle. The women who do this, do it constantly, even while doing other chores.
Many different things are uses to dye wools. One of the women, Rosemary, showed us a Dactylopius coccus which is a bug found on cactus. Crushing the bugs makes a red dye.
Other women demonstrated weaving with wool. It will take her several weeks to complete this table runner.
Another women was weaving the borders that will be hand sewn onto other items like table runners, blankets, ponchos, etc.
We ended the day attending a cultural dance and musical performance and a night city walk in Cusco at the Centro Qosqo de Arte Nativo – Sitio Oficial. The dances had a variety of themes and costumes.
We took a short tour of Qorikancha at night. There is an Inca religious, geographical and political center of Cusco. When the Spanish reached Cusco, the order of the “Dominicos” commanded the building of Santo Domingo Church, on the foundations of the Qorikancha Temple, preserving only a part of its greatness, which today continues to amaze the world.
The fountain in the square in Cusco, Peru with statue of Pachacuti. He was the ninth ruler of the Kingdom of Cusco (“Sapa Inca”) and later the Emperor of the Inca Empire. Pachacuti began the expansion of the Inca dominion from the valley of Cusco to a big part of western South America
In the square in Cusco, as you can see it was a bit chilly!