What a day! We went on a big road trip via colectivo to Ollantaytambo, a little town about half way between Cusco and Machu Picchu nestled in the Sacred Valley, and got all settled in to our newest location.
Zaylia and I both slept pretty well last night and woke up around 8:30, giving us plenty of time to get ready for the day and get all packed up before checkout time at 11. We have packed so many times now that we’ve become extremely efficient at it, and we were almost completely packed in under a half hour. We got ready for the day and went to enjoy our final crepe breakfast at our hotel.
Today the fillings for the crepes included guacamole in addition to the usual jam/butter/lime. We happily munched them down, then finished packing. When we were done we still had a whole hour to kill! Which was good because we ended up getting into a big fight and took space for like 40 minutes. Luckily the hotel has a really nice courtyard area, so I cozied up with some tea and read there while Zaylia read in our room.
After we made up, we went to check out. We had been told that the colectivos to our next location, Ollantaytambo, picked people up at a plaza just a few minute walk from our hotel. I decided to confirm this with the front desk guy before heading out, and it’s a good thing I did because he told us that that was incorrect, and the real place was a random corner a 25 minute walk away. He also offered to call us a cab there, which we gladly accepted, and he even confirmed the price ahead of time.
We only had to wait a few minutes, then we headed outside to meet our taxi. The driver was really nice, and we chatted on the drive to the colectivo pick up spot. We discovered, as he drove, that all the super narrow streets that we thought were one-ways were actually two-ways! If you want to go a certain direction you just wait until it’s clear of oncoming traffic and you go for it! I was really surprised by that. I also noticed that the streets were so narrow that to turn down a perpendicular street, the cars had to go past the turn-off, then do a 5-point turn to get into the street. It was amusing to watch the extremely slow pace that cars were thus forced to navigate through the city at, and to see it take ten minutes for the taxi to go to a point that was only a 5 minute walk from the hotel.
As we pulled up to the colectivo area, we saw many white vehicles, mostly vans, but a few cars, parked in little driveway-type parking lots beside the street. As we exited the taxi we were immediately approached by a colectivo driver who said he had two spots left in his car. The cost was about a dollar more per person than taking a bus, and after a minute of thought I decided that that was an excellent trade off to not have to take a bus ride.
Zaylia and I loaded into the third row of an Outback-sized car. The driver finished strapping the rest of the other passengers’ luggage to the roof of the car, and we were off!
The drive took around 2 hours total. As we headed out of the city, the road led, via switchbacks, up and out of the valley that Cusco is nestled in. Since we were leaving Cusco behind us, we only got a fleeting glimpse of the city sprawled out across the valley. It looked both vast in its size and humble in the way it blended in with the surrounding hills. One mountain forming the valley had “Viva El Peru” written in huge letters across it.
As we exited the valley, the buildings became more sparse. They were all made of the same hill-colored bricks, and were all in various stages of completion. We briefly pulled off at a roadside bakery and were all able to purchase waters and snacks that the workers handed us through the open window. Zaylia and I bought a big bottle of water for only 1 sol (about 30 cents)!
For a while the drive was nice and smooth. It was so smooth, in fact, that I was able to read without getting car sick! Eventually we came to another city that was bustling with market goers and mototaxis. We drove through it pretty quickly, and the city soon gave way to farmland. As we drove, the sprawling fields and farm houses gradually came closer and closer together, until we found ourselves driving through what looked like a town of farms. Sheep, cows, and the occasional pony grazed along the side of the road.
Around this time, the formerly smooth road began to have small but deep pot holes and pits in it. I didn’t actually see any of these, but I assume they were there because the driver suddenly started swerving dramatically from one side of the road to the other, without decreasing his speed. It was so dramatic that at first I thought he was messing with us, until I realized that he was specifically trying to avoid certain parts of the road. It was at this point that I put down my book and put all my focus on not being sick.
This went on for about a third of the drive. We gradually drove into a beautiful valley, with mountains rising dramatically on either side of us and a river burbling beside the road. The road became smooth again here. However, there were numerous rock slides blocking our lane, so we would swerve quickly around them as we drove down the road.
The final stretch of road before Ollantaytambo was all ripped up, so our speed decreased dramatically. We bounced along the rough road, me clenching both my jaw and my seat and Zaylia continuing to read like nothing was happening, for the last fifteen minutes of the ride.
At last we pulled up through the little town and into the drop off point in the main square. As eventful as the ride was, I could only be grateful that we had done it in a car and not a bus.
Zaylia and I paid the driver, strapped on our packs, and started our walk to our hotel. We ambled down the streets, admiring the crafts for sale, the cute brick and stucco buildings, and the stone irrigation channels running alongside the streets.
The road leading to our hotel was all torn up for construction, so we didn’t know what to expect from our hotel based on the view from the street. When we stepped through the main entrance, though, it felt like we were stepping into an oasis. The place was neat and beautiful, with plants growing in the courtyard and two little swings. The entire hotel is actually made up of a series of buildings, built stair-like into the side of a mountain. The owner’s toddler and dog were both running around happily.
We got checked in and were led up to our room. As we went to leave, the toddler ran up and took her mom’s hand to join the aventure. Even the dog joined us. Our room is in the highest building, so we mounted many steps, feeling a little out of breath when we arrived. The room was over twice as big as any of the rooms we’ve stayed at in the past month, and has its own bathroom and shower which, after so many hostels, feels extremely luxurious. It also has an entire wall of windows opening out to look down into the valley. The mountain directly across from us rises steeply, like a huge dramatic wall. It is glorious. While Zaylia took a shower, I sat out on the deck and breathed in the view. The owner’s cat came over while I sat there and let me pet it briefly, much to my joy.
We relaxed in the hotel room for a little while, then ventured out to find food. As we descended the final stairs into the courtyard area, the toddler came up to the bottom step and watched us descend, arms held out wide. When Zaylia stepped off the last step, the little girl gave her a huge hug. Waving goodbye happily at the adorable toddler, we headed out of the hotel, walked back to the main square in town and made our way around the restaurants ringing the square, looking at their menus and comparing prices. We settled on a restaurant and were sat at a nice outdoor table that was partly shaded.
Zaylia and I were both completely enamored by the town, and decided that we should celebrate our arrival here with a fancy dinner. We ordered a pitcher of passion fruit juice to share. It was only a little more expensive than a single cup, so we expected it to equal 2 or 3 cups, but between the two of us we filled our cups 6 times and still didn’t finish the pitcher! I learned today that the pisco sour is a classic cocktail here, so I also ordered one of those. It was pretty strong, and the flavor reminded me a lot of soursop.
For food, Zaylia got cheese taquitos, which came in a mountain of guacamole. I decided to go all out on classic Peruvian dishes and got an alpaca burger. It was unbelievable. Like if you took the world’s best hamburger and made it ten times richer and more flavorful. As I took the first bite, I was so enthralled by the flavor that I forgot where I was and what I was doing. All that existed was the flavor of the burger. I think the word “transcendent” is appropriate to describe this burger. Even going as all-out as we did, the entire dinner was under $30.
We had the most amazing time eating our fancy foods and pounding passion fruit juice. We still had a lot of food left even after we were full, so we each tried to cajole the other person into eating more and more. The setting sun lit up the mountain across the valley in front of us, creating a glorious backdrop to our wonderful dinner. At one point we just gazed at the view and sighed. Zaylia said, “I feel so grateful. This is just the perfect moment.” And I completely agreed.
Toward the end of our meal a woman selling jewelry that she had made came by our table. We got to talking and ended up buying a really beautiful necklace that caught our eye. We had so much fun talking that afterward both Zaylia and I exchanged hugs with her as we said goodbye.
We meandered our way back to the hotel, full and happy. We got all cozied up on the bed and watched The Emperor’s New Groove, since it takes place in Peru.
Things were going really great until bedtime. For whatever reason, Zaylia and I got into a big fight. I went out onto the deck to take space, feeling really sad and upset, when who should come up but the owner’s cat! It seemed really happy to see me, much to my surprise, and jumped up into my chair. As I continued to pet it, it made its way into my lap, and eventually curled up in a little ball, tucked its nose in the crook of my arm, and went to sleep. I don’t know if it could sense how desperately I needed a friend in that moment, but it felt so wonderful to have a buddy to snuggle while I was feeling so sad.
We stayed like that for over an hour. Eventually I gently set the cat down and went back inside to make peace, but things devolved into a fight again. I went back outside and sat down, and about 5 minutes later the cat came running back up! It acted super happy to see me, jumped right in my lap, and started making biscuits on my leg. Before long, it was curled back up in my lap and sleeping peacefully.
This place really does feel magical. Even the hardest part of the night somehow turned into a beautiful experience! I couldn’t be happier that we are here for a whole week, especially after all of our struggles the past few weeks. I guess they don’t call this the Sacred Valley for nothing.
