Ollantaytambo

I've visited Ollantaytambo two or three times in the past but always with a group or guide and so with a constraint on the time there. This time I had three days in the little town which still retains the Inca layout of roads and buildings. Like Cusco, the small streets are cobbled and the lower part of the houses is constructed of large irregular stone blocks. Unlike Cusco, there is a constant flow of water alongside the streets in special channels that bring water down from the mountains.

My trip nearly didn't happen as there had been a call to strike action by all transport workers. It was cancelled at the last minute and so buses and taxis were getting through the sacred valley but no trains were running. It had been raining heavily in the night and was still raining when I got my bus to Urubamba (to change for Ollantaytambo) and so I was unsure whether the great rocks and trees on the road were from landslides or were part of a deliberate blockade. It was somewhat scary taking a slalom route through whilst avoiding oncoming vehicles. Still, all was well and I reached my hotel in one piece.

I had been recommended to stay at El Albergue and so I booked in for my stay. The website said it was 'next to the railway station'. In fact, it was so next that it was on the platform and the restaurant and bar were shared with travellers to and from Macchu Piccu. It was fun to watch the various classes of train go by whilst eating breakfast or dinner and I was a little tempted to join the train myself but then, there was plenty to see in Ollantaytambo itself.

I spent two days exploring the great ruins -- wandering all over and watching condors fly over the mountain tops. I found the energy to climb all the terraces and walkways and to the top of the complex of buildings above the great Temple of the Sun. I 'found' the place where the small falcons were nesting, meditated in the Temple of the Condor and by the Bath of the Ñusta. The weather was kind to me and the sun shone for most of every day there.