Poly GIP Peru: Day 4- The Sacred Valley

This morning we left our hotel in Cusco and drove to Ollantaytambo. On the way, we visited a llama farm, where we got to feed and pet the llamas and alpacas as well as learn about how Peruvian textiles are made. Afterwards, we stopped in a town called Pisac and went to the market. We went to a store where we learned how to tell the difference between real silver jewelry vs. fake silver and also recognize real alpaca fur from synthetic. For lunch, we had an all you can eat buffet. Outside the restaurant, we were able to access the Urubamba River, where we skipped stones. Also, there were llamas outside the restaurant, but everyone was scared they would spit on us because they kept staring us down. Finally, when we arrived in Ollantaytambo. The streets in Ollantaytambo still have the old Inca irrigation system, which used to collect water from the mountains that the people could use. We went to the ruins of Inca terraces as well. Back then, the terraces used to lead to the sun temple, which was the most important religious structure. However, the Incas never finished building the temple, because the Spanish invaded. Another interesting thing we learned was that the face of the very first European explorer to visit the site is carved into the mountain side. Contrary to popular belief, there were many other European explorers that visited South America before Columbus. In this case, a viking visited the town and taught the Inca people how to build and farm so they carved the mountain side in his likeness to commemorate him. We are very excited to see what's in store tomorrow!
Milo Woods