September 10, Tuesday  Fly to Cuzco • Weaving demonstration • The Sacred Valley

Destination: The Sacred Valley 

Accommodations: VILLA URUBAMBA  

Activity Note: We’ll spend the next six days at elevations above 9,000 feet. We recommend staying hydrated and eating light while at high altitude. Travelers may rest at the hotel if necessary.

This morning after breakfast, we left at 7 am for the drive to the Lima airport for our flight to Cusco. Cusco is the fifth largest city in Peru, Lima being the first. Everything went pretty smoothly at the airport and we boarded our flight with ease. They made this huge safety announcement in Spanish and at the end, in English they basically said… Read about it in the pamphlet at your seat. Too funny!! We arrived at our destination around lunchtime.

We had to carry our carryons down the steps as they didn’t put up a jet way and then we had to walk to the terminal. Once in the terminal, we had to walk up a winding ramp that doubled back on itself three times. Now mind you, we are now at 10,860 feet, so breathing, when you’re exerted, becomes a bit difficult. At one point, my fingers started to tingle. But after a little bit, I was fine. We picked up our luggage and boarded the bus that would take us to a weaving village and then eventually to the Sacred Valley.

It was amazing that most of us did fine with the altitude. However, some of the folks did have side effects… Trouble breathing, headaches, and dizziness. We were told to eat light which means, find things that are easily digestible, and to keep drinking water with electrolytes.

The weaving village of Huayllarcocha, was even higher than the airport at a whopping 12,500 feet. They always say to start at lower altitudes and work up to higher ones, so I’m not sure why we hit the ground running with such high altitudes, but Allan and I were fine. Now maybe it was the pills we are taking that got us through. Who knows.

We had a very interesting demonstration of how the women dye the alpaca wool and baby alpaca wool, sometimes using plants, bugs, etc to get the beautiful colors. It was amazing how the different plants dyed the yarn beautiful colors and sometimes, there was a chemical reaction when two things were mixed together, making an entirely different color. The lady asked for volunteers to do some spinning and so I tried my hand at it. First I had to pull the yarn to thin it and then I twirled the spool to wrap the yarn around. The lady said I did a great job. 🥰

They passed around a nice hot tea made from mint, which is supposed to help ease altitude sickness.

After the demonstration, we had the opportunity to do some shopping and I bought a gorgeous shawl made from baby alpaca wool. Baby alpaca wool is more expensive than alpaca wool and more expensive than sheep wool. It feels cool to touch and so very soft.

After our weaving village visit we boarded the bus for a two hour drive to where we will be staying for the next two nights. We had a box lunch on the bus… Pasta, vegetables, and chicken salad, potato chips, a mini apple pie, a banana, and a bar of chocolate. And of course, we kept drinking water with the electrolytes.

We went through the mountains, slowly making our way down to an elevation of over 9,000 feet. It was beautiful to see the countryside and the little villages tucked into the mountains. Some of the villages were from the 1800’s.

We passed through a little village that had signs up advertising roasted guinea pig. It apparently is a delicacy here in Cusco, and many families serve it on special occasions. We will be able to try it at some point. (I’ll have to apologize to my pet guinea pig Jellybean, who is now in guinea pig heaven, because I probably will be eating one of his relatives. 😳)

There was terracing in some areas in the mountains that was done to prevent erosion as well as for plantings.

Our guide Patty told us that everyone aged 18-65, must vote in the elections in Peru. It is compulsory. If you don’t, you will be fined. People over the age of 65 can vote if they want to…or not.

We finally arrived at VILLA URUBAMBA, a family run hotel situated in a beautiful area with flowers and trees all around and lovey accommodations.

We had a drink at the bar and then had a delicious dinner in the restaurant.

All in all, it was a great day!

Leaving the airport in Cusco.

Box lunch chicken salad.

Going through the mountains and below, terracing and the 1800’s village.

The lady doing the demonstration

Plants to make the green color

She picked bugs off the plant and squashed then to make blue

This lady was weaving a pattern using a technique passed down through the generations. She has memorized the pattern.

My baby alpaca shawl. The blues are much more vibrant than the picture shows.

Learning how to spin the yarn

Roasted guinea pig anyone???

Two ladies standing in the street. This is what the older women commonly wear

King size bed. Bathroom has a walk in shower

Looking out our window.

Very picturesque.