Ollantaytambo to Pisaq

First (no second) Ruins
The next morning we woke up bright and early and packed up our bags and left them at the lovely hostel that had been staying at for the past three nights and headed for the local ruins. We had been scared off checking it out before because the fee advertised at the entrance was S/ 130 (£28) which we thought was a bit much. After speaking with some other travellers, we discovered that the fee included entrance to about a dozen ruins in the Cusco area and is valid for over 10 days. So we coughed up our soles and headed up the ruins.

The ruins themselves were interesting, though writing this in hindsight makes it difficult to accurately describe what we felt at the time as we have seen so many other ruins since. The most impressive bits were the massive stones that they seemed to have quarried and lugged up the side of the mountain (how?) and the many agricultural terraces built into the side of the mountain. My reccomendation would be to check them out if you are in the area.

Peruvian Hot Springs
Some guy who was trying to sell us a tour mentioned that there were hot springs that you could go and bathe in at Calca. Sweet, we thought, muscles aching a bit from all the steps at the Macchu Picchu and Ollantaytambo ruins, it's on the way to Pisaq, our destination for the night, so we'll head there.

After negotiating one local mini-van (S/1.5) and one local bus (S/1), we arrived at the bus station at Calca. On asking around for the hot springs, we discovered that they were actually located 8km up the mountain at a place called Machacancha and we could get a route taxi there for only S/2. We jumped in.

The hot springs were not exactly what we expected but hey, the water was warm, we had a roof over our heads and another experience under our belt. Recommendation: why not :)

Pisaq
After safely negotiating our way off the mountain (another route taxi), we caught another bus to our destination, Pisaq and checked ourselves into the Kinsa Ccocha hostal. The name is the Quecha for Three Cockroaches... an ominous name... nevertheless, I did manage to examine the rooms before we handed over any cash and there were none of the creepy crawlys in sight.

Safely checked in, we went exploring. I think that Johan's favourite town was Ollantaytambo but mine so far is definately Pisaq. True, it doesn't actually feel as if you will turn a corner and encounter a real Inca (actually you do as the folk of Ollantaytambo are direct descendents of the Incas) but the streets are narrow and clearly for foot traffic and kept very clean, and the shops sell things like shampoo and granola bars...

Tomorrow's adventure will be a day of ruins as we explore the Sacred Valley...