There are many ways to get to Machu Picchu from Cusco, including luxury buses and taxis. Wanting a local experience and potentially gluttons for punishment, we boarded a mini-bus where we were the only non-Peruvians onboard. When the bus filled in Cusco, we were off for a 2-1/2 hour bus ride for $1.30 each. The luxury buses were $25 each.In the end the $1.30 each was one of the best expenditures yet on this trip. The entire bus ride was a stop and go process of stopping for people beside the road and picking them up or dropping them off. It was wonderful to see the positive interaction between native Quechua and modern Peruvians as they got on and off the bus. The schoolchildren used our mini-bus to get to school and the natives used it to get from town to town. It is an understatement to say that Peru does not have any limits to how many people can ride on a bus at one time.
Our plan was to stay in Ollantaytambo for the night before and the night of going to Machu Picchu. Once here, we realized we needed to stay another night to truly enjoy this wonderful town, so we did. That is what's great about not having a set plan. We can get out of town earlier or later than we originally thought. This might cost us at some point, but now it is working. In fact, Jennifer stated, "I could live here." Noah didn't necessarily agree, but he is 13 and the internet is very slow.
To avoid unnecessary attention, Jennifer left her wedding ring at home. But to avoid a different kind of attention, she felt it was best to get another ring for the trip. She found a very nice lapis and silver ring at a local art store. The picture to the left is of Jim putting the ring on Jennifer's finger. She said YES AGAIN and Noah captured the moving ceremony between dinner and dessert.Ollantaytambo is a town of 2,000 people surrounded by the Andes mountains with Inca ruins all around in the mountains. The town is dominated by an Inca Fortress, which is considered the best surviving example of Inca city planning. The three of us climbed up to the fortress and spent the afternoon walking around. It is amazing how this structure was built approximately 600 years ago. How they got the massive stones up the steep mountain and built a city is extremely impressive.
At the top of the fortress, we noticed a very old bull ring on the outskirts of town. Most people would look at the bull ring and say, "cool". Noah and I looked at it and said, "that would be a great place to play catch." - so we did. Not used to seeing baseball in their bull ring, local school children became interested and sat in the stands to watch. Two girls, Maria and Sylvana came over to Jennifer in the stands and were fascinated with her camera and curious about the 2 guys throwing something around in the bull ring. The trust the 2 girls showed to come right up to Jennifer and start asking her questions was fun to see from the ring.
Next came a boy, Romalo who you could tell wanted to do more than just watch. I motioned for him to join us in the bull ring. I gave him my glove and got real close to him to have him throw the ball to me. He almost knocked me over and I soon realized that he could throw the ball the length of the bull ring. This little bugger has a great arm! After being back at our Hostal for awhile, Jennifer came inside to tell me that there were now 4 children waiting outside the Hostal for me to come and play catch with them. What could be better than playing catch with locals in an old bull ring in a beautiful town looking up at ancient Inca ruins!To see our slide show of Ollantaytambo, click on the following link ==> Ollantaytambo Slide Show.
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