We spent one day traveling around the Sacred Valley (so named by the Incas because of the sunny and fertile land for their crops). Our drivers/tour guides Jorge and Karina took great care of us, and even stayed in the car with the sleeping kids a couple times while the adults climbed the ruins. One highlight of the day was a less-known animal sanctuary a short way outside of Cusco, where we saw rescued and endangered animals native to Peru. There were llamas & alpacas (of course), tropical birds (rescued from black market), andean pumas (rescued from a nightclub in Lima), and condors (rescued from farmers trying to poison them), among others. It was amazing to see the giant condors in flight! Somehow Rick got a fabulous shot as a condor practically grazed his nose.
We stopped in a few markets. The highlight for Big Sis was Pisac, which we learned about from her storybook, Carolina's Gift. We intently searched for "Carolina" and "abuelita" while shopping. We tried out a traditional "manta" to carry Little Sis, but it was not nearly as easy as the local women made it look. Clearly an acquired skill-- we saw children as young as 3 years old carrying their dolls, puppies or goats in mantas, so they must work their way up to full-sized children by the time they are mamas. Notice in the picture, most all woman wore this manta for hands-free carrying of something- if not babies, then shopping purchases or merchandise to sell. We bought one so we can keep practicing!
The Sacred Valley is beautiful, so much green scenery from the crops (mostly corn or potatoes), with wildflower-covered mountains and rivers in between.
We ended our day touring Ollantaytambo city and a nearby Inca fortress by foot, then caught a train to Aguas Calientes where we rested up to tackle Machu Picchu.
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