PeruDay9

We woke at 4:25 am, our second consecutive day of very early wake-ups. Our room felt clammy and damp. The bathroom floor was wet and the sliding glass door covered with condensation. The excess water must have resulted from the clothes we washed. The clothes were still as wet as when we pulled them out of the sink last night. To add to our discomfort, we also discovered that the bed sheets did not properly fit the mattress so all but one corner had pulled away from under us during our exhausted sleep. We were lying on a bare mattress.

We packed quickly, stashing our wet clothes in plastic bags. Barbara was downstairs when we opened the door to the lobby and the desk clerk was asleep on the couch. We woke him and he hastily prepared a wonderful breakfast of fresh mango, bananas and pineapple, rolls, jelly, butter and hot coffee. Will and Diane soon joined us. By 5:45 am, the Knoxville Group had finished breakfast, checked out of Hostal Presidente and boarded the “local” for Ollantaytambo.

The train station is a busy at place at 5:30 in the morning. Small shops along the tracks are open, selling drinks and food. Ladies with big plates of freshly baked cake, sliced and wrapped in plastic, offer their goodies for sale.

The train, filled with locals and travelers from countries unknown, slowly pulled away from the station and began its assent out of the Aquas Calientes. Everyone looked as sleepy as we felt and many an eye was closed. The scenery flying outside our window and the small train stops along the way fascinated us, so John and I, not wanting to miss anything, struggled to stay awake. As had been our experience on much of this trip, hacking coughs from locals and tourists were a white noise in the background.

One of the numerous train stops along our journey to Ollantaytambo. This station happens to be 82km - the place we began our trek to Machu Picchu.

The train pulled to a stop in Ollantaytambo at 7:40 am. Backpacks in hand, we clamored out of our seats and joined the masses exiting to the station platform. Vendors with trinket and food booths formed a boundary on one side of the station; taxis waiting for passengers filled the gravel lot in front of the tracks. We shouldered our packs and walked to our hotel, which was located on the road between the station and the village. At this hour, we were too early to check-in so we settled in the hotel restaurant to enjoy coffee, fresh fruit, fresh bread, ham and cheese and to wait. We were definitely having a hard time holding our heads up and out of our plates!

Our oasis, Hotel Pakaritampu

Finally the hotel staff indicated that our rooms were ready! John and I lucked into a large, spacious room with big windows and a deck overlooking the courtyard. We pulled our wet clothes out of our packs and hung them in front of the windows, hoping the sunshine, dry air and cool breeze would do some magic. Sure enough, our clothes dried quickly.

Not wanting to sleep away our limited time, we forced ourselves out of the room and walked to the village to explore the Ollantaytambo ruins. Our BTU pass got us through the entrance gate, our legs and some huffing and puffing got us up the steep terraces and to the top of the ruins. On top, we ran into Jonathon, Anna and Claire (from our Inca Trail trek), who had taken a taxi to Ollantaytamo on their way back to Cusco.

Terraces of the Ollantaytambo ruins

According to our guidebook, “The Inca Trail, Cusco and Machu Picchu,” the Ollantaytambo site was among the last Inca developments constructed and never finished because of the Spanish war. The site was built as a fortress with the Sun Temple located on the top. It is also the only site that the Incas were able to drive back and defeat the Spanish.

After several hours, we had had our fill of ruins for the day. We walked back to the hotel making a couple of stops to look some outdoor stands with jewelry for sale. Will, Diane and Barbara joined us in the hotel dining room for a lunch of tenderloin and chicken sandwiches. We were impressed with the beautiful Peruvian pottery decorating the hotel and chatted with the hotel staff about the regional pottery studios. With studio names in hand, we walked to the main square and hired two taxis to drive us to the studios located in Urabamba (about 30-40 minutes away).

In Urabamba, the taxis stopped in front of a tall adobe wall and one of the drivers rang the bell. Brightly painted doors “magically” unlocked and we walked into a beautiful courtyard bordered by several buildings. Pottery, benches and tiles were scattered through the courtyard; several parrots sitting in trees chattered loudly. We had arrived at the Seminario Ceramics Studio.

After a quick introduction film, we were led into the studio showroom. Everyone was overwhelmed with vast offering of beautiful pottery. I couldn’t make up my mind and ended up with two cups and saucers, a vase and five tiles, which I planned to frame once at home. Diane overheard a Spanish conversation between a clerk and customer about the studio’s on-line web store (http://www.thesacredvalley.com). (Note: a retail store, Sacred Valley Galleries, Inc., is also located on the Plaza de Armas in Cusco. ).

The courtyard of Seminario Ceramics

We made two more stops while in Urabamba, one at a textile store that sold mostly sweaters (we didn’t buy) and the second as a smaller pottery studio. Everyone was still overwhelmed by the Seminario and not interested in more pottery but I did buy a pottery and rope wall hanging. At the time, I bought it just because I thought I should but since my return home, I have discovered it is one of my favorite treasures.

Back on the square in Ollantaytambo, we began talking to taxi drivers about our return to Cusco the following day. All the drivers started with an opening fare of $130/soles ($39/US). John, Barbara and I finally settled on $60/soles. Will and Diane worked a little harder at their negotiations and got an agreement for $50/soles ($15/US). They were feeling good; we were feeling okay.

Will and Diane on the Plaza in Ollantaytambo

Our early hours were catching up with us. We returned to the hotel where I stopped in the lobby to email our families while John went to the room to rest. We met Barbara, Will and Diane for dinner and were back in our room packing our packs by 7:00 pm. John was sound asleep by 8:00, me by 8:30 pm.

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