Thursday 16 Feb 2012  Ollantaytambo

After a basic breakfast our next guide ¨Julie¨ from Cuzco arrived at 0830.  The private car drove us to the Ollantaytambo ruins, which we climbed and we had a full historical coverage from Julie.  Here we were climbing at heights well of 3500 meters and it was heartening to see that even our guide was puffing a little at this altitude.  However Malcolm and I both managed well and although feeling stuffy and sometimes light headed we had no troubles.  All of our time in Peru and Bolivia was at an altitude of over 10,000 feet. In the ruins we were once again awe struck by the craftsman ship and size of stone blocks moved by hand up steep mountain sides.  Julie pointed out the quarry high up on the mountain across the valley and the sloping roadway prepared for bringing up the stones. After Ollantaytambo we stopped at Chinchero (3762m) where we had a display of weaving by a local lady. I once again felt that I should support the local economy and purchased two handmade table runners.  Each piece takes one month to weave. When I paid I gave the lady an extra $10 and she almost cried and hugged me, followed by a kiss on the cheek.  Julie once again said to me ¨thank you for helping my people¨. The Inca descendents really are beautiful and warm people and you can´t but feel that you want to reach out to them.  Then it was on to Pisac markets in the large tourist town of Pisac.  There is a level of discontent here from the farmers because their market has become a tourist hub and obviously affecting their trade of fresh produce. Julie took us to a silver smith and shop as Malcolm and I are both a bit over the market scene by now.   Here we watched the raw silver being turned into the lovely jewllery set with stones.  Lunch was at an old Hacienda which was converted into a very swanky tourist restaurant where we sat on the veranda and listened to Inca music played on the pan pipes.  As we were about to leave we were treated to a Llama giving birth, with the assistance of the staff.  I was later told that it is very good luck to witness a Llama birth.  On the way back to Cuzco we passed through verdant valleys overshadowed by the Andes mountain range.  In Qenqo we visited a sacred site and the sacrificial stone table used for Llama and possible human sacrifices where the heart was cut from the living body and sacrificed to the gods.  People with cleft palates, children and virgins were the primary human sacrifice.  When Julie dropped us off at the hotel she gave us a big hug and thanked us.  When I gave her a tip she thanked us for caring for her people again.  When we were settled into the Cuzco hotel again we collected our heavy luggage which had been there for two days and then walked to a local restaurant for a spagetti dinner.  This evening Malcolm did our clothes washing in the bath.  To bed at 21:00 tonight.