The Sacred Valley of the Incas

What a weekend. After a week of Spanish School, it was time to go out to a Discotheque on Friday night. But not before learning a few Salsa dance moves. I should be a Salsa dance pro in no time.

Bright and early Saturday morning, my sister and I took a bus to Urubamba. From Urubamba we caught a tri-taxi to the salt pans. Thousands of salt pans have been used for salt extraction since Inca times. It was an amazing site to see. There were no other tourists except for two older brothers. It was fun to watch the workers. After the salt pans, we headed down the main road and caught a ride from a taxi driver, I think (I was a little skeptical but was just following along with my sister), to Ollantaytambo. Ollantaytambo is the best surviving Inca city with narrow cobblestone streets. A steep walk up the stairs of the ruin brings you to some amazing views of the sacred valley. Once at the top we took a rest on a rock which made a couple of good seats. I had one of my all time best traveling moments as I looked around at my surroundings. It was a semi cloudy day and behind me was a glimpse of a snow-capped mountain peak that would come and go depending on the clouds. The mountains in the Sacred Valley are incredibly huge. How beautiful!

On Sunday, my sister went to Machu Pichu and I went on a mountain bike ride. It was just me and the guide, Sergio, good bike rider with a few gold capped and missing teeth;) We took the bus to a town about an hour away from Cusco and then rode to Moray, which is a deep amphitheatre like terrace. You are able to walk down into the bottom. There are two large bowls and one small bowl. The small bowl is the original and the other two have been restored. It was very neat to see. About a 30 minute ride took us to an old colonial town of Maras. After Maras it was down to the salt pans. We entered from above and then I was able to walk down into the salt pans. Entering from the top was really amazing. A different view then from the day before.

The mountain biking for me was a little challenging but good practice for me. On the bus ride back to Cusco, the bus driver had a sun visor that was of a women in a bikini with fruit surrounding her. Pretty funny. The mountain views on the way back were so great. I love this place!!!!!

Song Quote: ¨Momma's gonna cook me supper And Georgia's gonna tuck me in This town is gonna make me something special I'm coming home again" Josh Kelly - Song 20 Miles to Georgia