May 6, 2017-Ollantaytambo ruins, Choco Museum, Pachamanca farm lunch

We start our full day in Ollantaytambo with a tasty breakfast at our hotel El Albergue.  Included in the cost of the room.  There's a help yourself selection of fresh fruit, granola, yogurt, juices, rolls, coffee, tea.  Then you get a menu which has 6 meal choices ranging from eggs to french toast to pancakes.  In addition to a choice from this menu you can add 2 items-side of bacon, hash browns, avocado slices, sautéed farm vegetables, link sausages. Richard has the hearty open face toast which comes with avocado, cream cheese, tomatoes, and sprouts.  I have the 2 fried eggs with rococo salsa.  We also help ourselves to the items on the buffet table.  The food at this hotel is great!

Breakfast menu

Juices, yogurt, granola

Rolls, fruit

Buffet selections

Teas, herbs, coffee

Everybody must have had breakfast earlier??

Hearty open face toast, tomatoes, cream cheese, cucumbers, avocado, sprouts, salsa

2 fried eggs, salsa, toast

Reception staff lady shows us a path we can take from the rear of the hotel that will take us into town.  It is part of the Inca Trail we are told.  It's about a mile or so walk.  Right in town are the ruins.  Can't miss them.  This is the site of the last victory the Inca had over the Spanish in 1537.  We arrived around 10:00 AM at the ruins/town.  We purchased the full Boleto Touristico tickets for 130 soles per person.  On the ticket are pictures with names of the sites covered by the ticket.  Our ticket gets a hole punch for the Ollantaytambo ruins.  There are guides that will take you around.  The guide that approached us wanted 100 soles but I forget which circuit is was for as there are 3 routes depending on how much you want to see.  I've done my research, we like to take our time, so we decide to do the full route on our own.  When we politely declined the guide who spoke good English lowered the price.  So you can negotiate.  The 3 options are the circuit court/short, circuit media, circuit completo.  We almost did the entire circuit but it started to lightly rain, making the stones slippery so we didn't get to Inka Watana and qolqas.  The ruins here are not as spread out as Machu Picchu but there's a LOT of climbing up and then down.

Part of Inca Trail leads to the town

Water channel

Ruins tower above the town

Agricultural terracing

Entrance

Entrance

Buying the Boleto Touristico

There are 3 circuits

Military zone

So many terraces and 200 steps

View from top of the terraces that shows Pinkuylluna/Inca granaries

Temple of Ten Niches

Trapezoidal doorway

Unfinished Temple of the Sun

Panels joined together with thin slices of stone

Traces of chacana symbol on a panel

Military zone

Beautiful views

Looking down

Water Temple

Princess Baths

These terraces are to the right of the main set of terraces

We had a great time exploring these ruins!

After 2 hours or so we exit right into an area of lots of souvenir stalls.  As we're walking we see the Choco Museum.  I had originally wanted to do a workshop class here-Bean to Bar-but we didn't have time for it.  I did stop at the store which has a huge array of chocolate related items and more.  I bought some truffles, a jar of assorted dark chocolates, and several bottles of chocolate liquor.  Cost 110.50 soles.  Then we got a moto taxi to take us back to the hotel.  Cost 2 soles.

Souvenirs

Restaurant in town

Choco Museo

I bought truffles and this small jar of dark flavored chocolates

This is the flavored liquor I bought

Moto taxi

Riding in the moto taxi back to our hotel from town

Our moto taxi

Back at our hotel

Our room is being cleaned so we sit on our balcony and admire the view of stunning Veronica Mountain covered in snow at its summit.

Veronica Mountain

Lovely views from our balcony

We have arranged to have the Pachamanca farm lunch for 3:00 PM.  First we are given a tour of the hotel's organic farm.  It was very interesting to see all the herbs, vegetables growing.  Our guide Gabriel shows us so many varieties of corn and potatoes as well as vegetables growing in the garden.  He explained everything and we learned quite a bit about Peruvian farming.  There's also chickens and some sheep.  Soon we are in the area for the lunch which is like a Hawaiian luau.  It's the Quecha earth oven.  There are 2 guys by the underground pit.  There are hot stones that will cook the food.  First an assortment of potatoes, vegetables, herbs.  Then the chicken, pork, lamb.  Some tarp/covering is placed over the pit.  Then dirt shoveled on top of that.  There's a nice table set up for the 2 of us.  After not too long it's ready.  A pitcher of chicha drink made from purple corn,  a huge bowl of salad.  Dessert is cheesecake with strawberries.  So much food and all of it was delicious.  Unfortunately we don't finish all the food but our guide Gabriel says it won't go to waste.  The guys who made our lunch and/or the farm animals will get the leftovers.  Cost $40 pp.  I do give the 2 guys a tip but I asked Gabriel first to make sure it was ok.

Hotel's organic farm

Lots of varieties of corn

Vegetables

Several kinds of potatoes and fava beans

Herbs for seasoning

Earth oven

Putting in the potatoes, etc.

Meat went in last

Covered with a tarp of sorts

Shoveling dirt on top

Pretty view

Our table set for the 2 of us

Uncovering

Cooked fava beans

Removing the meat

Hot stone on top to keep the meat warm or maybe continue cooking??

Preparation area

Such a beautiful salad!

Condiments and dressing for the salad

Cooked vegetables with the cooked egg on top

Chicha

My plate of chicken, salad, potatoes

My husband's plate of meats and salad

Yummy!

Shot of anisette

Dessert-cheesecake with strawberries

Our guide/host-Gabriel

We decide we'd like to walk around the town a bit so we get a moto taxi to take us.  Cost this time was 4 soles.  Our hotel said it may cost more because going into town the moto has to go uphill, thereby using more gas.  We walked around admiring the narrow streets, etc. and then took a moto taxi back.  Cost 5 soles.  What!  Maybe because it was the evening??

We chill for a while sitting out on our balcony.  Tomorrow Taxidatum is scheduled to pick us up to return to Cusco but with some sightseeing stops.    Machu Picchu was great.  I think we had just the right amount of time there for us and it was a good idea for us to visit over 2 days entrance to the ruins.  We were able to go at our own slow pace, soak in the magic/spirituality of the ruins and truly appreciate and marvel at the Incas' ability to build such magnificent structures.  I would have loved to have seen it in all its glory all those hundreds of years ago.