Ollantaytambo - April 2012

The starting point for the 4 day trek to Machu Picchu!! But before we got there, we made a couple of stop-offs. First for lunch, at a really nice house of a very rich family who were kind enough to open there doors to us. There house was so awesome, it even had a tree growing inside that they had built the house around! So cool! The backyard was so much fun to explore, there was a parrot, kittens, horses, llamas & bunny rabbits.

On our way out, we found some kids playing in the street who we gave stick on tattoos, balloons & polaroids to, they were so chuffed with the polaroids which made me feel slightly better for having dragged the camera all around the world, glad it was making some kids happy. We then went to try some local chicha (which I do not like, at all, so sat out of), see how honey and local pottery is made.

Once we actually reached Ollantaytambo we were so delighted at the tiny town. It was adorable, and one of the things that really added to the oh-so-cute nature of the town was a stream of water which ran through it, which streets were built around, and which popped up from underground when you least expected it. When we reached our hotel, the stream ran right past our front door, and to quote Rory “Oh! There’s a little girl peeing in it!” but let me tell you, she was more than just “peeing” and was promptly shooed away by the hotel staff. Maybe not so cute after all.

We took the evening as a last ditch effort to train for the 4 day hike we were about to embark on. Rory, Callum, Natalie, Brett, Gary, Max, Richard & I hiked up to some ruins, where we watched the sun set on the last day before our massive journey to one of the 7 wonders of the world. Slightly nervous, totally excited. I do not know how I got any sleep that night. (perhaps iit was the knowledge it would be my last sleep in a proper bed for some time).