The Magic of Ollantaytambo

After a crazy weekend filled with a field trip to Lima with the kids, a huge Christmas party for families and lots of tearful goodbyes, it was time for me to pack my suitcase and say farewell to Huaycan. However, although I had to say goodbye to my students and dear friends, I didn’t have to say goodbye to Peru quite yet. Bekah, one of my fellow volunteers and I set out on a whirlwind 5 day trip to Peru’s most well known destinations: Cusco and Machu Picchu. Two of our close friends from Huaycan accompanied us to the airport to say goodbye and as I said goodbye, I found myself promising that I would return to Peru again one day. It is much easier to say “hasta luego” (see you later) than adios (goodbye).

Embarking on this journey was quite ambitious considering that we wanted to do so much in such a little time and it turns out that its much more complicated to get to Machu Picchu than most people realize. However, I love a good travel challenge and thanks to my trusty lonely planet guide, we were able to navigate the whole trip on our own and find the cheapest options possible. Bekah and I were great travel companions because I was able to take control of the planning and she was perfectly happy to go with the flow and try anything. As we soared over the Andes mountain range on the way to Cusco, I already knew that it was going to be an incredible experience. All around us, big puffy clouds swirled and down below, the towering mountains were blanketed with green and etched with curving rivers. Once we landed in Cusco, we immediately set off for Ollantaytambo, a small village in the sacred valley between Cusco and Machu Picchu. Our eyes were glued to the window of the car as we saw the sun set over the Andes and donkeys and sheep grazing by the side of the road. When we arrived in Ollanta, we immediately felt like we had found ourselves in a different world. The town had been continuously inhabited since the time of the Incans and the streets are still paved with the smooth stones that the Incans set down more than 500 years ago. Small mounts of water carry streams of rushing water through every street and above the small town, the stars sparkled and the moon highlighted the silhouettes of the looming mountains embracing the town. We found our way in our hostel, called “hostel de wow” and immediately fell in love with the cozy, welcoming and magical hostel. The bunk beds in our room were made of pine logs, a beautiful dream catcher hung from the ceiling and outside our window, we could hear the water gurgling by. We slept very soundly that night!

In the morning, we awoke to the sound of tweeting songbirds and we immediately threw open the curtains to see the view- and it was more incredible than we could have imagined! On the mountainside we could see the ruins of the Incan fortress and down below us in the street, women wearing traditional hats and shawls. We had a delicious breakfast and sipped some coca tea (the coca leaf helps with the affects of high altitude and is also a big part of traditional Andean rituals and culture.) I fortunately did not feel the affects of the high altitude very strongly, accept when it came to hiking up hill and then I did feel short of breath. Wow, one of the owners of the hostel who grew up in Ollanta and is very connected to the culture and magic of the place, then offered to tell us about the legends of the mountains that surround the town. While we only saw beautiful rock faces, the Incans saw the shapes of the animals and faces that we so important to their folklore and religious practices. The condor is the animal that represented the sky world and in the one rock face he pointed out the shape of a condor. Well, it took a lot of squinting and point for Bekah and I to see it, but it was really cool to see how the Incans based so many of their legends on the natural world around them. He also pointed out a frog holding up a face, the mother earth (Pachamama) figure and a man holding up the sky with his huge fingers.

He also told us about how Ollanta was called el corazon de la tierra (the heart of the earth) because the water runs through the city like blood runs through our veins. The city of Cusco was called the bellybutton of the earth, because it was the center of the Incan empire and the life force. Finally, Machu Picchu was the head of the earth and the empire, because it was the center of power and wealth. Hearing him tell us all about this folklore in his calm voice was very special; we never would have felt this kind of connection to this place from a guide or a book.

For the rest of the day, we explored Ollanta and hiked up the side of one of the mountains to a ruin. The view was absolutely incredible and worth getting out of breath for. As we looked over the town, you could see the narrow alleyways, the tile roofs, the cornfields and the beautiful landscape beyond. We also did some shopping and found a store that sells traditional woven products made through a non-profit artisan cooperative. Through the organization you can learn weaving and volunteer- something to keep in mind if I return to Peru in the future! In the afternoon, we packed up and said goodbye to Casa de Wow, sure to leave a drawing and thank you in their big guest book. We were sad to leave and both Bekah and I felt like we could live there for a long time- relaxing, rejuvenating and getting to know the wonderful people. However, Machu Picchu was calling and we had a train to catch!