Peru Rail & Machu Picchu Village

We caught the Peru Rail train from Ollantaytambo to Machu Picchu Village. Early rise tomorrow for a Machu Picchu climb.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Machu Picchu Village is just around this mountain - our hotel.

 

 

 

 

 

I like their street rubbish bins

 

 

 

The train goes right through town, not a light rail but a full size diesel long distance locomotive.

 

 
 

Village Life

We had nothing scheduled today and discovered last night that our ticket for the Sun Temple was for 2 consequitive days, so we decided to have another look and set out exploring Ollantaytambo.

The view from our room

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were wondering why we heard music all night long and discovered that we are here in the middle of a 4 day festival. The main square had a stand from which locals watched one dance and music troop after the other and we enjoyed the show from yet another upstairs cafe.

 

 

 

 

 

The Sun Temple's other side and the Inka baths

 

 

The baths from above to give you some perspective of how high we climbed

 

For the perspective of the terraces - spot the Ian

 

Up high

 

 

 

 

Coming down

 

 

 

 

 

Sacred Valley - part 2

After the Inka ruins, we visited the Pisac bakery, silversmith and Sunday Community and Farmers market. This was followed by a buffet lunch at a Spanish Colonial restaurant that had the most amazing garden. Our day ended in Ollantaytambo, a village in the Valley that contains an archeological site of the Inka Temple of the Sun. My altitude sickness seems to have settled as I was able to climb the squillions of stairs, albeit slowly. We spend the next 2 days in Ollantaytambo, in another hotel oozing with Peruvian ambiance, so we will have time to explore this town without the Sunday hustle & bustle.

The silversmith

 

 

The bakery, they use all sorts of grains and seed, but no wheat. Mostly quinua and corn.

 

 

 

The market - we bought a branch of mandarins an the most humongous avocado I have ever seen for 4 Soles, which is about $1.60.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Heading home and on our way to lunch through the valley.

 

 

The Spanish architecture restaurant and garden in Yucay.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Inka Sun God temple

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The village getting ready for the Sunday bull fight. In Peru the bullfight is between 2 bulls for the right to mate with a given cow.

 

Settling into the hotel to our avocado dinner(they are tablespoons and regular bottles of beer) and the view from our room. It's been a full day.