Maras and Moray and on to Machu Picchu

Friday, April 29, 2011

Fortified by coca tea and coca leaves to chew on (the local preventative for altitude sickness), we took off this morning with Miguel and Carlos (our driver). Our morning drive took us through the Sacred Valley before we began to climb to the towns of Moray and Maras. Moray is noted for circular terraces that took advantage of natural depressions in the land. Using the naturally occurring variations of temperature and climate among the varying depths of the terraces, the Incas took advantage of the resulting microclimates for agricultural experimentation. Among the results were over 700 kinds of potatoes and corn of every color, many with enormous kernels.

Outside Maras, we visited the salt pans of Salineras, originally constructed by the Incas and still in use. Three thousand pools, terraced on a mountainside, are separated by channels and fed by salt water from a natural spring. As the water evaporates in each pool, four inches of salt remain. The different levels of salt have various uses, from cooking, to industrial purposes, to the formation of salt sculptures for sale in local markets!

Miguel and Carlos set up a picnic lunch for us at a site with magnificent views of the snow-capped Andes. No “restaurant with a view” could come close!

We visited Inca ruins in the town of Urubamba and also a chicharia, a home in which chicha, a weak alcoholic drink brewed from sprouted corn, is served. The homes are marked by red plastic flowers hung by a pole outside their doors, so passersby know what is available, no other signage or advertising.

As we neared the train station back in Ollantaytambo, the closure of one street threatened our arrival for our train to Machu Picchu. We left Carlos in the car and Miguel led us on foot to the station. En route, we decided to take a locally popular vehicle, a taxi on a motorcycle. Strange, indeed, but we made it to the station on time.

Perurail’s Vistadome is a beautiful, hour and a half ride through the Andes and along the raging Urubamba River. It terminates in Aguas Calientes, the lively gateway town to Machu Picchu. We’re here for the night, along with many others eager to see one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in the morning.