Peru - Sacred Valley

Next up we had to go through the Sacred Valley before commencing the hiking and camping portion of our trip.  We left Cusco in the morning and drove through the small town of Calca.  Here I was very amused by their version of a "barbed wire fence" using cacti to prevent undesirables from climbing over.  

 

Net we climbed through the high passes of the Sacred Valley- where we stopped at an old ruin, where you can see the farming platforms carved into the hill.  There was your standard tourist stop there, where we looked at the traditional methods for weaving and alpaca wool dying.  Heidi accidentally stuck her foot in their fire, literally, leading them to shout in indecipherable warning, and much to our guide's amusement.  

 

This stop also was home to several condors, which are nearly extinct.  The condor is one of three more main deities of the Inca people.  The condor for the heavens, the puma for the earth, and the serpent for the underworld.   

   

Our final stop before hitting the hiking road, was just outside of Lares, at their hot springs.  After a nice relaxing dip, we had lunch made for us and then we were off. In retrospect the soothing dip in the hot springs might have made more sense AFTER we got our rear-ends kicked by the Andes....