Off to Pisac we did go - Day 498
Remarkably I woke up feeling a lot better, so off to Pisac we did go. Unfortunately, due to a recent landslide, the usual 42km bus ride was diverted, so was 71km instead.
The bus dropped us off at a bridge over the Urubamba River, and we caught a taxi up to the Pisac Archaeological Park high up above the town. Wow, what a beautiful site. It is considered to be one of the finest Inca archaeological sites in the country.
We stood in awe and wondered why Machu Picchu took the title for the most popular place in Peru. Here was just a scattering of other tourists. I do think that the mountains of Machu Picchu make the place magical, however, the archaeology here, to me, is wonderful with vast agricultural terraces. Well worth a visit. I managed to get to halfway up amongst the ruined houses, but was feeling a bit weak from the previous day plus we were about 3,500m high. I settled down on a step, wondering how many people have trod here for the last 10,000 years or more. I still find it unbelievable how these enormous walls, terraces and turrets are all built by hand, so neatly in stone with no adhesive.
(Can you spot where wally is? In 2 photos!)
Tim climbed to the top having a magnificent view of the valley. Sadly we didn’t get to see the tunnels that the Incas cut into the mountains here. Apparently one is 15m and another 3m long both leading to the summit. We did keep seeing small holes on the corners of some stone blocks and wondered what they were for. Hinges? What do you think?
We decided to walk back down to the town as when we checked on the map it was 2.2km. I did think this was a bit strange as we were 20 minutes in the car. Oh well. It was lovely strolling down the hill, past a llama, goose, pig and houses being built of handmade adobe bricks. I don’t think there are much building regulations enforced here! After walking for some time, Tim checked on Maps.me. We still had another 4.5km to go! Not sure why it said 2.2km, we must have done something wrong! Luckily we just spotted a man getting into his TukTuk so asked for a ride. Result!
As we arrived in town, we saw a bus to Cusco so jumped on. Oh dear, it was packed. Some elderly ladies were even sitting on the floor in the narrow central aisle, no chivalry here! So most of the 90-minute journey was in a hot crammed bus, standing room only. Oh, how this reminded me of commuting to London many years ago. And people do this day in, day out! My Peruvian hat goes off to them!
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