Sally and I went back to Ollantaytambo to explore a bit more. We liked what we saw a couple of days prior, so wanted to have more time there. We stopped at a few places, but ended up getting a room at the cute Picaflor Tambo Guesthouse. We accidentally chose one of the nicer places in town and didn't have to pay full price. Score. It being on one of the narrow, cobblestone streets, and across from the entrance to one of the hikes made it even better.
We didn't have much time to do anything in regards to hiking after we arrived but somehow managed to crash a party. We heard music coming from the Sexy Llama, yes Sexy Llama, and went upstairs to investigate. The name and music drew us in. We found a bunch of women dancing and they waved us over. We figured why not. So we spent a couple of hours dancing and drinking beer. It was really nice of the locals to invite us gringos in. We may have been in our hiking boots, but they also worked as dancing shoes. And my aunt got her wish to dance for her birthday. Apparently they were celebrating choquekillka. However when I googled it to learn more, the dates seemed off. Maybe it was an early celebration? Nonetheless, we danced away until we got hungry for dinner.
It was time to try some more local food. Quinoa was obviously on the menu, but it was time to see what the big deal was about alpaca. So that is what we did. We got alpaca pizza and steak to fill us up for dinner. It was actually really tasty. As a meat eater, it wasn't so crazy different from other meats I've had. I thought I was going to eat llama in Peru, but instead it was alpaca.
We spent the following day hiking around town. After breakfast, we headed up the hill to explore the Inca Granaries of Pinkulluna. It was kind of steep, but before we knew it, we had gotten pretty far up.
We reached the Granaries in no time and took in the view of the town down below. We couldn't stop there though. So we hiked up some more. We hiked quite a ways up and probably would have kept going if we weren't short on time.
After reaching the bottom, it was time to grab a pisco sour to quench our thirst. We snagged the balcony and had a good view of the plaza below. We could people watch in peace.
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| Tiny streets of Ollantaytambo. |
We didn't have much time to do anything in regards to hiking after we arrived but somehow managed to crash a party. We heard music coming from the Sexy Llama, yes Sexy Llama, and went upstairs to investigate. The name and music drew us in. We found a bunch of women dancing and they waved us over. We figured why not. So we spent a couple of hours dancing and drinking beer. It was really nice of the locals to invite us gringos in. We may have been in our hiking boots, but they also worked as dancing shoes. And my aunt got her wish to dance for her birthday. Apparently they were celebrating choquekillka. However when I googled it to learn more, the dates seemed off. Maybe it was an early celebration? Nonetheless, we danced away until we got hungry for dinner.
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| Dancing with the locals. |
It was time to try some more local food. Quinoa was obviously on the menu, but it was time to see what the big deal was about alpaca. So that is what we did. We got alpaca pizza and steak to fill us up for dinner. It was actually really tasty. As a meat eater, it wasn't so crazy different from other meats I've had. I thought I was going to eat llama in Peru, but instead it was alpaca.
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| Alpaca. |
We spent the following day hiking around town. After breakfast, we headed up the hill to explore the Inca Granaries of Pinkulluna. It was kind of steep, but before we knew it, we had gotten pretty far up.
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| The Granaries. |
We reached the Granaries in no time and took in the view of the town down below. We couldn't stop there though. So we hiked up some more. We hiked quite a ways up and probably would have kept going if we weren't short on time.
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| Ollantaytambo down below. |
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| Aunt Sally with her pisco sour on the balcony. |
We enjoyed our pisco sours as we waited for our lunch, which consisted of cuy (guinea pig). One more item to check off the list of What to Eat in Peru. Good thing my aunt is up for trying new things just like I am. Although we had to turn away one of them since it looked like there was hair on it still. I usually prefer my meat to be skinned of any feathers or hair. The cuy was ok but I liked the alpaca better. There wasn't enough meat on the bones. Maybe I needed a bigger guinea pig.
After lunch, we headed to the Inca Fortress and Temple ruins. We spent a couple of hours wandering around the temple ruins. These ruins are famous, and now known to me, because the Incas successfully flooded out the Spanish back in 1536. It was a major victory at the time. It's still impressive how long they've lasted.
After our day of exploring, it was time to head back to Cusco. We only had a short time in Ollantaytambo, but I'm glad we made the effort to see more of it, and not just as a passing town on the way to Machu Picchu. It would have been nice to see more of the surrounding area. But let's be honest, I was a little tired from hiking. Another time.
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| Cuy. |
After lunch, we headed to the Inca Fortress and Temple ruins. We spent a couple of hours wandering around the temple ruins. These ruins are famous, and now known to me, because the Incas successfully flooded out the Spanish back in 1536. It was a major victory at the time. It's still impressive how long they've lasted.
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| More ruins. |
After our day of exploring, it was time to head back to Cusco. We only had a short time in Ollantaytambo, but I'm glad we made the effort to see more of it, and not just as a passing town on the way to Machu Picchu. It would have been nice to see more of the surrounding area. But let's be honest, I was a little tired from hiking. Another time.
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| Picturesque town. |
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