Off to the Inca Trail...Sort of.

We bussed out of Cuzco for a sort of shake down cruise before the actual hike began. The idea was to introduce us to the sacred Urubamba River valley and to determine if everyone in the group was fit enough to continue on. We dropped one girl with knee trouble and one with Montezuma's Revenge. (The tour group gave them extra days in Cuzco. They didn't just drop them.)

We stopped to look over the valley and these locals were there. I'm pretty ambivalent about taking their pictures. One the one hand, it's like exploiting them. They become dependent on us gringo turistos for their livelihood and that seems out of kilter. On the other hand they probably earn more money standing along the roadside than if they were trying to hack a living out of the mountainside. Like Mick says, it's all an economic decision. Of course I paid. More than they asked and I gave candy to everyone else along the roadside in that area. Liberal guilt.

Speaking of carving a living out of the hillside. Every square INCH of tillable land is used here. The slope of the hill loooked to be at least 45 degrees as this couple planted their crop. Corn I think.

Anyway, on to Pisac and the Inca site of Tambo Machay. These guys were amazing. They laid out the irrigation system so the water would flow at exactly the same rate throughout the year. Five hundred years after the Conquistadors wiped them out, the system remains intact.

Of course, you gotta shop. Others shopped for chotchkes. I shopped for pictures. Or photographs, if you will.

OK, I don't think she was really Incan. This was at a little place we stopped at along the way. They raised Guinea Pigs. Did you know Guinea Pigs are considered a delicacy in Peru? They are eaten on special holidays.

Could you dine on something so cute? Well, it turns out the answer was yes. But, it DIDN'T taste like chicken. In fact it was tough and there wasn't much meat. Overrated, but when in Rome...

Ollantaytambo. This is where the Incas made their last stand against the Spanish. After losing the battle they fled to Villcabamba. That was pretty much it for them until Hiram Bingham found Machu Picchu in 1911.

The "Tired Stones." When the Spaniards showed up everything pretty much stopped for the Incas. This stone was one among many we saw which was being slid into place. The Incas didn't use slave labor to build these places. They had a code of duty to the community. Like jury duty. Everyone served. Wonder what lame-ass excuses they used to try to get out of this!

The did practice human sacrifice to the Gods though. This was an altar where the deed was done. Young girls were groomed for the part. It was considered an honor. Religion! One screwball thing after another.
OK, enough for today. Tomorrow the real hike begins.