On the way to Machu Picchu

It was an early start. We piled into the van and being last on meant we didn't have a choice of seats - we were relegated to the back. It was a bit bumpy and I immediately regretted not getting on the bus earlier. My tum settled down and I realised one benefit was we could spread out across 4 seats and put our feet up for a snooze.

After travelling through suburbs our first stop was another mirador (viewing spot) that looked over Cusco. Here we learnt it was cheaper to build up on the hills. In other places it's more expensive because it's cooler in summer but here it's cheaper because there is a higher risk of landslides. Someone asked "What the locals thought of that?" and the guide just shrugged.  Given Peru is also on the ring of fire what more can one say.

The guide also mentioned that native trees grow slowly so over here the locals are planting more and more Eucalyptus and Pine as they grow much faster. Sound familiar? I guess at least they aren't cutting down the natives but I did wonder if they would end up with a wilding pine problem.

We travelled down a sealed road and then a dirt windy road up in the hills. Our view was of steep hills with a river flowing below, remains of Inca terraces, potato crops (of which there are 3000 varieties) and corn crops (29 varieties).

One reason we like G Adventures is they support local communities. And today we visited three of their communities - the first being the Ccaccaccollo Community and Women's weaving co-op. On arrival we were given a handful of long grass. I thought it rather an unusual welcome gift but then realised it was for the llamas who were nudging each other along the fence line looking for the tastiest bit.

We learnt in 30 minutes what would have takes the locals years to perfect. From shearing the llamas, washing the wool in a soap made from a root of something, dyeing it with natural ingredients, spinning and then weaving or knitting. Some beautiful items. I particularly loved the blankets but no room in our bags.  Their clothing was colourful.  The socks the woman wore above their knees were very cute and looked warm.  The hats were a signal of marital status - an interesting variant to a wedding ring.

And then on to a local pottery where we sampled a cheesy enchilada and learnt about clay and the making of beads, chess sets, mugs, toys and the back breaking job of mud bricks for houses. 

Apparently a 10 metre x 5 metre house needs 3000 bricks. Many houses sport a bottle of wine or two cattle ornaments as a sign of happiness. Architecturally these houses survive modest earthquakes as the bricks provide some flexibility. Doors are also often wider at the bottom to provide more strength - a trick learnt from the Incas.

For lunch we stopped at the Parwa Community Restaurant in Huchuy Qosco which was established in 2014 with the financial support of G Adventures and other organisations. Over lunch the issue of cold showers in Cusco came up. "Would you prefer a hot shower or the internet?" was the question. It was about 50:50.  After being treated to a four course meal we waddled back the bus for a bumpy sleep to our hotel for the night. 

Ollantaytambo is described as an Inca town. "Drop your bags in your rooms " said our guide Guido "and meet me for a walking tour in 15 minutes". I visibly saw the groans, we didn't have to go but I think most of us had a FOMO moment. It was after all the only time we will be here. Beautiful cobbled streets, high walls around groups of houses surrounding a court yard, cute plaza and more wonderful cafes and restaurants. The town is overlooked by Inca ruins - a foretaste of what is to come.

One of the things about visiting other cultures is you sometimes see things that are confronting (like regular meats on the menu). We were shown rooms of guinea pigs - at least they had plenty of room to run around in. Unusually in one of the rooms there was a singer sewing machine in the same room. Just imagine sewing with 30 or so guinea pigs under your feet.

A couple of other things we learnt

• Students often go to school half days (7 to 1 or 1 to 6) as schools are too small.
• There are lots of fences painted with names of candidates for Peru's next president. There are 40 people standing - the election isn't until 2026.

AGUAS CALIENTES (MACCHU PICCHU TOWN)

Out the door at 6.45 to catch the train. Even the restaurant had woken up for breakfast coffee for 15. A saunter down more cobbled stones to the station at the bottom of the hill. Music playing we waited at the platform with loads of other tourists not yet quite awake. The views from the train were spectacular fast running rivers, huge boulders, steep snow capped mountains and small plantations of corn and bananas or cows squeezed into any a pocket size piece of flat land. 

Photo opportunities were limited - each time a beautiful scene came up, trees and power lines got in the way. We dropped about 200 meters and we were in the jungle. Rich green canopy following the river down to our destination. 

Some of our group got off the train to walk the last few kilometers (it took them 7 hours and they said it was worth it). We stayed on the train and in less than 30 minutes were slowing down for the station. It was a short walk, but it took us ages as we stopped for photos of the town situated on two sides of a river and a gorge. And of course we met Paddington.

We dropped our bags at the hotel. Our rooms were not ready after all it was before 10 but felt like 5 in the afternoon. Back through the town with colourful stalls selling every souvenir you could imagine and restaurants galore.  We crossed the railway lines and wandered along beside the river to the butterfly house. Here we saw butterflies in every stage of their cycle.  The sanctuary releases 50% of the butterflies into the open and keeps the other half in a large netted cage. 

There are a lot of dogs in the town without owners supervising them.  Well fed and behaved they seemed to enjoy wandering the streets or sleeping in shop doorways.  There is also quite a bit of dog poo I think someone must come around and clean it up on a fairly regular basis.

Some interesting facts:

• Butterflies are at their most vulnerable when they have just hatched. For a couple of hours they drip a fluid (a bit like blood) and they can't fly until all the fluid has gone and wings are dry.
• The larvae camouflage very well. Some look like leaves budding in spring, others like dead twigs.
• One butterfly (photo below) looks like their predators eg snakes head when it's wings are closed and an owl when the wings are open. 

We went for a swim in the hot pools in the afternoon and then it was time for dinner.