Day 5: Ollantaytambo Inca Fortress, Rafting the Urubamba River, Home Hosted Lunch and more, 5.12.19

We started the day by driving to Ollantaytambo, a town in the Sacred Valley of south Peru, where there is a large Inca fortress and stone terraces Actually there seem to be Inca and Pre-Inca ruins everywhere. They must have been very busy!

The ruins were quite extensive. You could hike all the way to the top to see the Sun Temple but I opted to go down after the second terrace and explore the ruins on the lower level. In the last picture, Short Beth and Jena did a little shopping; she found this adorable hat for her grandson. I thought I’d like one for mine, but unfortunately it was time to leave Ollantaytambo.

Next stop was rafting the Urubamba River. This was right up my alley.

It was a leisure float with a few rapids. It was a challenge for me to keep paddling in sink with the Beth and Mary Beth who were in front of me, since they weren’t in sink with each other. Who should I follow? The good news is that our guide was great and we had a great ride to the exit point!

From the river, we cold see the Sky Lodge above. This is a hotel on a cliff that costs about $250 to stay one night. To get there you have to climb rope ladders to the top. I could picture my daughter Kate and her boyfriend Dan up for this adventure. Not for me.

Everyone made it to the take out spot so Pepe thought it was a good time to take a group picture!

If houses have a red flag or symbol hanging in front of the door, it means they sell and serve chicha, a fermented drink made from corn meal. Pepe thought we needed to stop and try some. I thought it tasted like light beer, so I had a second sample.

Pepe sampling the strawberry chicha.
Dori and the chicha maker.
Ingredients to make the chicha.
Jana trying out the frog drinking game.

The home-hosted lunch was next. We were stopping at Emma’s house. Pepe has known her since he was growing up around Urubamba. Emma was one of his neighbors. She is married and has three daughters. The older girls are twins and are in their second year of college studying tourism. The younger daughter was 12 years old.

To me this was the best part of the trip. I really enjoyed meeting a family who lived in Peru. Helping and sharing a meal helped us to interact with one another. While the girls did speak English, having Short Beth fluent in Spanish was a big plus in order to keep the conversation flowing.

I did try the cuy, guinea pig. It tasted gamey and the skin was really crunchy. One bite was enough for me.

Outside Emma’s house. Our hosts family introduced themselves and invited us inside their home.

Yes, guides pig was on the menu!
Dropping in a tortilla.
Courtyard of house
Frying the tortillas and guinea pig
Yum, golden fried cuy!
Two of the girls singing a song in Spanish.
Outside of their home
Group shot before we left the family.

Our last stop for the day was optional. We went to Pablo Seminario’s pottery shop. Pablo and his wife Marilu have developed an artistic style of pottery that reflects their culture. They are internationally recognized and have their pieces in well-known museums.

Their pottery was beautiful. Even though it was Sunday, we got to meet Pablo and Marilu. In their gift shop I bought a set of of coasters as a souvenir.

All in all, it was a fun filled day, with a lot of active learning. I have just loved our “Day in the Life” experiences. Great immersions into their culture!

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