Pisac

Updates with images July 15. We were all feeling a little better today...and so finally made our trip to the Sacred Valley. We hired a taxi and drove there and back in relative comfort. The taxi for the day was 180 sol (75$CDN). I drugged Diego with gravel for the motion sickness that was bound to come with a day stuck in a taxi. I'll admit it here:  maybe with too much gravel, but these things happen.  The roads were twisty and turny and slightly scary...lots of up and down mountains...for those of you who have ever been to the Dominican Republic, it reminded me of the roads to Samana: kind of beautiful, a lot treacherous, and also sort of ugly...all mixed into one.  As a side note, at the Eco lodge in the Rainforest we ran into a Canadian family from Abbotsford who have been DRVING around Peru....from Lima to Cusco to Puerto Maldonado and back. In two weeks. Wow. Wow. Wow. I can't tell you how incredibly brave/stupid that is. The roads here are a mess. Not as bad as the Dominican Republic, but still a challenge--large pot holes, not much lighting at night, twisting roads through the Andes...and the GPS doesn't work all the time (said the lady from Abbotsford).  Speaking of roads: on our way back down from Machu Picchu we were in one of the large tourist buses that lug tourists up and down the mountain. We had a whole cuffufle about Mateo's ticket (long story), but after finally boarding to descend on the second day, we had a pleasant trip down the mountain. At the very bottom the bus was trucking fast and the walking tourists were traipsing up the side of the road...and then the bus hit something. There was shouting from outside and the bus came to a slow stop....the bus driver got out to investigate. I think all of the bus people just stayed put because we didn't want to have to see what a tourist who was smacked by a bus looked like.  The driver comes back on....and continues driving. We pass more walking tourists, which I can see out the window. The walkers are crying and carrying on....and I am now sure that we killed a walking tourist with the bus.  We drive for a minute and then the bus pulls over and the driver rolls his window down to speak to a man outside...and says in Spanish " go pick up that little dog." So I am guessing the bus ran over a street dog. It was NOT a big deal to the Peruvians (or me either, most of you know how I feel about animals. I know it's not that PC to admit, but it is the truth...I am a work in progress). Anyhow the boys were asking about it after we got off the bus...and I tried to explain to them that here the life of a street dog doesn't mean that much. Hitting the dog was not big deal to anyone, except the walking tourists who were acting quite traumatized by the whole thing...This was a good time to talk to the boys about being aware of their environment and walking with care.  But I digress.  The ruins in Pisac were unreal. Huge farming plateaus with stone structures built on top. Jaw-dropping to me. And we were able to climb all over and through them...as much as our legs and lungs would allow. It was a great warm up for Machu Picchu. Unbeknownst to us, it was  training of a sort for the many, many more stairs and levels to come at Machu Picchu. We got a great view. Diego was s till drugged for the whole thing...but was a real trooper. And Mateo was accidentally left atop the structure for a short while, to be later rescued by a National Geographic Expedition team (seriously)...Mateo now reports he has a newfound respect for NG and is their number one fan. Basically, we all started down and Mateo was still playing around in one of the huts up there. We realized at the bottom that Mateo was still up there. Diego had already made it down on his own and was sitting dazed on a rock. Later Mateo asked why I didn't come back up to get him....I was like: DID YOU SEE ALL THOSE STAIRS????? Side note: Mateo loved the name of this place, Pisac, pronounced 'Pee Sack". Especially after the "sexy woman" moniker of the last ruins.  

 

 

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