Don't Drink Water From the Tap and Don't Flush Toilet Paper Down the Toilet: 6/15

Today we left the hotel at 8 am again and traveled to the Sacred Valley (Valle Sagrado). We made a few stops along the way, and the second stop was the coolest. We stopped at an alpaca and llama farm and got to feed and pet them! The alpacas were surprisingly soft and both species were very friendly.

The stop after that was just a quick one to stop and look at the village of the Sacred Valley. After that we got back on the bus and traveled to Pisac, a village in the Sacred Valley. In Pisac, there is ancient Incan architecture. The architecture was important for agriculture and consisted of different levels carved out of the land. The different levels were helpful because Peru has different microclimates which allowed the Incans to grow all kinds of crops. The climb to the top of the mountain was hard, but the view was definitely worth it.

After that we went and got lunch at this fancy buffet which was nice. Outside of the buffet was a beautiful river with mountains surrounding it, so after lunch we just sat outside for a while and enjoyed the nice view.

We then traveled to a place called Ollantataytambo where there was more ancient architecture. This place is believed to have been used as a way to tell the change of the solstice. It is also believed that it was not finished by the time the Spaniards arrived so it was never finished.

After that we traveled to an artesian market where we learned how Peruvians make yarn from alpaca fibers, how they dye the yarn, and how they make sweaters and blankets from the yarn.
We got back to the hotel around 7 pm and went to the market to get snacks for tomorrow’s trip to Machu Picchu! After that we went out to an Italian restaurant and then came back to the hotel to rest for tomorrow!