Sacred Valley & Mark´s 25th Birthday!

When we first booked our Inca Trail tickets to Machu Picchu for October 22nd, we thought, is two weeks too long to be in the Cusco area? We have now been in Cusco for almost two weeks and know the answer...absolutely not! We are still surprised daily with new restaurants, markets, adventures, and the amazing people in both Cusco and the Sacred Valley. Who knows...we may be returning sooner  to the Sacred Valley than ever expected!

Over the last week, we have spent most of our time in the Sacred Valley which is located approximately 1 hour from Cusco. Last Tuesday, we decided to take a 1-day Sacred Valley tour with a local company, Peru Agency. It was a great preview to what would come and a beautiful day to spend walking around the ruins in Pisac, Ollantaytambo and Chinchero. With the tour, we were able to learn more about the history of the towns and the ruins. The ruins are breathtaking and very impressive when you think about how they were made thousands of years ago. Plus, our tour guide, Raphael, was great! We went with a small group of 9 which was much less than the expected group of 25.  Mark and I enjoyed lunch solo at an Urubamba restaurant while the rest of the group was taken to a much nicer buffet...We still aren´t quite sure what happened there, but we were just thankful that they came back to get us! The tour took all day and was a wonderful way to get to know the Sacred Valley roads and to even see where we would be spending Mark´s Birthday.

 Entering the Sacred Valley

Wednesday and Thursday were spent in Cusco wandering the streets and preparing for our weekend trip to Urubamba and Ollantaytambo (Sacred Valley). We found the BEST wood-fired pizza at a restaurant called Pachapapa in the San Blas neighborhood. We also enjoyed some great carne empanadas and cold beer near the Plaza de Armas.  We even had a chance to try out the local drink, Pisco Sour while we played a few games of Spite and Malice. As you can tell, those two days were mostly focused around food, drinks, and cards, but they were relaxing and rejuvenating at the same time.

We woke up early Friday morning to start our trip to Urubamba to celebrate Mark´s 25th Birthday. We packed our backpacks up and headed to la Calle de Pavitos where you can catch vans easily to the Sacred Valley for only 10 soles.

Van ride to Urubamba

The van ride was fast and easy with a fun driver who blasted the local Peruvian music. He dropped us off right at the entrance to Willka Tika and from there we walked down a gravel road to the resort. We were so excited to be there and immediately were given herbal tea and veggie sandwiches. The sandwiches were delicious made with homemade bread and vegetables from the Willka Tika´s gardens. After lunch, they took us to our room which was absolutely beautiful with a king-sized bed, hot shower, and a cabin feel to it. Don´t get us wrong, we love our hostel but to be at the resort with hot showers and water pressure was definitely a nice change!

We spent the afternoon exploring the Chakra Gardens and reading books under the sun. The owner of Willka Tika spent years creating the gardens which all have special significance and ceremonial purposes as well. We felt like we were in the movie ¨The Secret Garden¨ because of all the gardens and hidden paths.

Dinner was served at 6:30pm in the main area; Mark and I headed there early to get a bottle of wine to celebrate his birthday. We found a great Malbec wine from Argentina, which we both really enjoyed. Dinner was three courses and included a quinoa curry soup, homemade pesto pasta with a fresh tomato sauce, garden salad and a cake dessert. A birthday dinner to remember!

Birthday Boy and his vino!

That evening, we were lucky enough to experience the Solar Baths that are heated throughout the day and fragranced by fresh herbs and flowers. It was such an amazing feeling to be in the Sacred Valley of Peru, under the stars, in a hot bath filled with flowers and herbs. Thank you again to Shari and Greg for such a wonderful evening!

The next day we set off to Ollantaytambo for the next two nights. We hailed down a small motor taxi who took us to the local bus station where we found a van who would take us to Ollantaytambo for 1.30 soles. The trip is only 25 minutes, but the van stops many times to cram in more people along the way! Without a map of Ollantaytambo, we had some difficulties finding our hostel but the locals were helpful and we finally made it to the family run hostel, Hospedaje de Portadas.

Motor Taxi to the Bus Station

We got settled into our room and walked out to the hostel´s courtyard. Immediately, the owner started to speak to us in Spanish asking if we wanted to hike the mountain across the street. We said, ¨Si!¨and before we knew it he was leading us across the street into someone´s yard where he pointed to a trail. The climb up was fairly steep and took us to the ruins that we had seen earlier that week during the Sacred Valley tour. From the top, we had a great view of the Ollantaytambo ruins and the city. Well worth the hike!

View from the hike - Ollantaytambo Ruins and the city

We had lunch at the Heart´s Cafe, which is a British owned non-profit cafe that gives all of their proceeds to the local Andean communities to help feed the children along with many other things. We ended up eating there three times for two reasons: the delicious food and the important cause! We got to know many of the volunteers there and hear their inspiring stories. Ollantaytambo has many great volunteer opportunities, which is reason to return in itself!

That evening, we watched a local volleyball game while enjoying dinner. Every night, the city sets up a volleyball court in the middle of the Plaza de Armas. There are designated teams that play, some even seemed to be sponsored by local companies. It´s a great way to bring the community together and everyone seems to be there from the small children to the elders. We spent quite a few hours watching the game, eating dinner and talking with the locals.

The next day, we set off to the Moray Ruins located almost 2 hours away via taxi. Our driver took us through some crazy gravel roads that headed straight up the mountains. His name was Enrique, and we practiced our Spanish with him throughout the day. We had a lot of questions for him about the area and he had a lot of questions for us about the States. The ruins were great and it was interesting to see how they farmed back then, but we would have to say that the highlight of the day was talking with Enrique. He even went out of his way to take us to a small town where they serve the best Chicha, corn beer. We went to a local woman´s house and she showed us how she prepares Chicha, dries corn, and where she raises the Guinea Pigs (Cuy). Two younger kids were there as well and we were able to learn their names, ages, and about their local school. Small things like that is what makes the trip so special!

 Moray Ruins

Ollantaytambo was a great city to walk around and to meet people from all walks of life. We met a nice young couple who sell the most amazing paintings, but unfortunately are a bit out of our price range this time around. They just appreciated us taking the time to look at their art and for spending time talking to them. We met a volunteer who is from Woodinville, WA while eating breakfast at the Heart´s Cafe - such a small world! Overall, our weekend to the Sacred Valley was spectacular and Mark´s Birthday was perfect.

We are back in Cusco until we leave for the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu on Saturday. We are looking forward to the hike and planning our next adventure!