Day 17: Ollantaytambo y Pisaq

Ollantaytambo

June 2, 2018
On Saturday, we visited Pisaq and Ollantaytambo, two Incan cities, on our way to Machu Picchu. A small bus picked up all the students at our homestays early in the morning and then we headed to Pisaq, which is about an hour outside of Cusco. We spent about two hours there, then ate lunch in Urubamba (I was so excited to get to go back there - Urubamba is my favorite town), then headed to Ollantaytambo, where we spent another two hours.

Sacred Valley

Sacred Valley

Pisaq. We hiked to the top where the ruins are. 

Pisaq

Pisaq

Pisaq

Pisaq

We made a stop at a market in one of the cities in the Sacred Valley. Mostly handmade stuff.

A bunch of these birds were at the restaurant we ate at. I realized after I saw one here that I had kind of thought they were a myth, like a unicorn. 

Ollantaytambo

Ollantaytambo

Ollantaytambo

Ollantatambo

Ollantaytambo

Ollantaytambo

Ollantaytambo

Kylee!

The crew at Ollantaytambo

After exploring Ollantaytambo, we hopped on a train from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes, the entrance city to Machu Picchu. The city looked neat, but you could tell it was really just a tourist destination. Most of the signs around the city were even in English. It was late by the time we got there, so we checked into our hotel and then ate dinner together. By the time dinner came around, everyone was dropping like flies. We were a group of 12, but about half of us had to leave dinner early from feeling sick. Some people had already been sick the week before. I didn’t get sick, but I must have had a small reaction to something I had eaten or something because halfway through the meal, I stopped being able to swallow. I just headed back to the hotel and slept it off. Fortunately the next morning, everyone was feeling better and ready for Machu Picchu.

Train ride

Aguas Calientes