Peru, Bolivia, Brazil 5/9/08

Peru, Bolivia, Brazil 5/9/08
Left Cusco by bus to Chinchero, an Inca township on the trail between Cusco and Machu Picchu. It has been an agricultural community for centuries, they have found pottery from 1500BC. The surrounding hills and valleys are covered in terraced plots growing a variety of crops, everything you can think of including 160 varieties of potato. (Peru supplied Europe during potato famines 18c?). This is a very striking place, with its Inka stone walling and backdrop of the Andes all around.
We were taken to a courtyard where a group of ladies in traditional dress (which they wear all the time anyway) have set themselves up to demonstrate wool cleaning, dyeing, spinning and weaving. Very impressive using a host of natural resources to very effectively wash and make colours for the wool, which is from alpacas (the best quality) and sheep. Startlingly colourful array of things they have made to sell displayed under lean-tos in their yard. Bought an orange bobble hat and belt for myself and some nice things for Jo and Faye. The wool is very soft and cosy.
Driving on to next stop, the bus seems tiny in these awsome landscapes, huge plains and hillsides divided into millions of plots, all surrounded by snow-capped mountains looming over us.
Most of the higher plots are tilled but empty, just a few showing green shoots of their spring crops pushing through. There are some large fields that look as though they have had grains harvested some months ago. They do grow wheat and barley here as well as lots of maize.
Descended into The Inca Sacred Valley. Stopped to walk for two hours, the first part through a huge series of terraced salt ponds, where very salty water from a mountain steam is directed via a network of channels into hundreds of these ponds. About 6´´/150mm deep, the water evaporates leaving pure salt which is manually harvested to supply this whole region. The whole thing, which has been in operation for over 2000 years, is owned by the community.
Next lunch in a Willkamajo restaurant. Wow, brilliant, 4 buffet courses as much as you wanted, salad, soup, spaghetti with beef, chicken,roast potatos, selection of puddings, I had 2, a strawberry thing and a lime jelly.
On to Ollantaytambo, the premier town in the Sacred Valley of the Incas. A beautiful place, massive mountains seem almost on top of us all around. I am in their internet shop right now, on the edge of the town square. Flowers in the gardens, including a long red bell shaped flower that was the Inca´s sacred flower representing water, a vital resource for this sophisticated agricultural society.
Overnight here then the treking begins tomorrow. May not be internet shops on the trail so may be a few days before next blog.
This is a great place to be,
All the Best,
John