We met Sabrina and Mino, who opened up a little bakery in Ollanta, just a couple of months ago. Sabrina is from Arequipa, Peru, and Mino is from Rome, Italy. They decided that they wanted to live in Ollantaytambo, and they started their bakery. It´s called Piccolo Forno, which means “Little Oven” in Italian. Mino has lots of experience, baking in Rome, and Sabrina is enthusiastic, warm, and welcoming. We talked a little about baking, and Sabrina said that she wanted to learn how to make cinnamon rolls, so away we went. I baked at the bakery one day, then I returned the next week after their daily production, and we made some dough and let it rise, then later in the day, we rolled it out and made some cinnamon rolls. Ollanta is full of tourists who are going to or coming from Machu Picchu, and cinnamon rolls seem like something a lot of them would like.

We put the first batch in the oven about 7:00 pm, and then, at about 7:15, a whole group of tourists came in the door, from Portland, Oregon of all places, in search of some baked goods. They sat down, and when the cinnamon rolls were done, they bought them all up and sat there and ate them. Not bad for the first time. I hope that the cinnamon rolls become a regular feature at Piccolo Forno.

Sabrina and Mino, welcoming Mike into their bakery.

Rolling in the dough

Drizzling some icing

Yum yum eat ém up

Next week, we might try some onion buns, for sandwiches on their way to Machu Picchu. 

The Inca civilization was  advanced and organized in so many different ways. The three golden rules that guided the civilization were: Do not steal. Do not lie. Do not be lazy. The Incas were extremely industrious, and their engineers and architects were extremely exact. The had no concept of money, but “taxes” were collected in the form of three months of labor per year from every male. Everything belonged to the state. In return for working and doing whatever the state wanted, the families were provided for. There was no hunger. Everybody had everything they needed. It was a truly socialist civilization.

About an hour drive from Ollantaytambo is an archaeological site named Moray. This site is a spectacular illustration of the Incas´ forward thinking and their priorities for the common good. Moray is located at 11,000 feet of elevation, and it was used as a laboratory for growing corn seeds that would produce corn at varying elevations. They built terraces in concentric rings, down in a depression, which varied in temperature, according to elevation and sun angle. They grew different seeds on different terraces of different temperatures, then they took those seeds to areas that duplicated the conditions. Using this method, they developed seeds that were resistant to frost, and that would grow in limited sunlight or full sun, and they took those seeds and planted them in the best sites in the Andes.

From top to bottom is about 500 feet.

The terraces are about ten feet wide. They had good drainage, and lots of different types of corn were developed here.

We spent a few hours at Moray with Deb and Steve. We went down to the bottom, where it was almost ten degrees warmer than it was on top. Of course, after descending and leaving an offering down at the bottom, we had to climb back up.

A fascinating place that speaks of planning, abundance, and preparation.

Ollantaytambo is called The Living City of the Incas. Ollanta (as everybody here calls it) was a very important center of the Inca Empire, and it has been continually inhabited since the 1400’s. The Incas defeated the Spaniards here in a famous battle where they diverted the Urubamba River to mire the Spaniards´ horses, and the mountains surrounding the town are full of Inca ruins and temples. The most famous structure is a temple that was carved into Tamboqasa Mountain, on the west side of town. This temple was a religious site that honored the sun and the stars and the condor, and that channeled water down into sacred baths. What makes the site so spectacular and mind-boggling, though, is that the Incas built the entire temple (it is huge, not just one building) in the shape of a llama, which is only visible from high up on Pinkuylluna Mountain, which is on the other side (the eastern side) of Ollanta. The Incas saw a llama in the dark spaces of the night sky, between the stars, below the Southern Cross. (It is still a treat for us to look up into the southern sky and see the Southern Cross each night. The people in the southern hemisphere cannot see the Big Dipper and the North Star. It’s the same with the northern hemisphere and the Southern Cross.) Anyway, they saw a llama up there, and they decided to build a temple to reflect the llama and to honor it. They loved their llamas. The architects planned it, and the masons and laborers and stone-cutters built it so that it could be seen from a mile away, across the valley, half-way up the mountain on the other side. They also planned it so that on June 21, the shortest day of the year, as the sun first peeks out from the mountain to shine on Tamboqasa, the very first rays shine directly on the llama’s eyes. Perhaps you can make out the geometric llama in some of the photos.

The llama´s head is up to the left. She´s facing the left. The V-shaped green shape in the middle is her fur.

We went up to visit the ruins with our friend Alberto, who also was our guide. The terraces on the way up are impressive.

Their stonework was the hallmark of the Incas. The masonry is so precise, and the stones had to be brought over such distances, and they were built so sturdily, that today they are a marvel. The Incas didn´t quite finish building this temple before the Spaniards invaded. There are rocks on the site that were in the process of being sculpted but were never finished. There are other walls that were built to withstand earthquakes, and many people are convinced today that the only way they could have built them was with help from extraterrestrials. Albert doesn´t go along with this theory, instead believing that with their bronze tools, water, and patience, the Incas very well could have sculpted the rocks, and with the help of levers, they could have gradually elevated even the heaviest of the stones.

The stone-cutting workshop

a jigsaw puzzle is stronger than a straight fit.

Here we are by the baths. The water has been flowing like this for seven hundred years.

You can see across the valley to Tunupa, the messenger and watcher, next to his storehouses. The Incas used the storehouses to store potatoes and corn.

And here is what the storehouses look like up close. They are called colcas. They were designed so that the wind could flow through and dry the potatoes and corn, and they could keep food stored for years. The Incas had hundreds of these sites throughout the empire, and if there was a bad year for crops, they could distribute food to the people who needed it. The storehouses were full most of the time. These people were not just scraping by.

Another day, we spent most of the day hiking from our hotel to another set of ruins, called Pumamarka. These ruins are about five miles from town, up up up into the mountains. We went there again with Alberto. We started up at a little town called Muñaypata, and walked by some terraces. The terraces allowed the Incas to grow food on the steep mountainsides.

Soon, we entered an archaeological park called Media Luna.

The trail continued up and up. Eventually, the valley reaches a pass, up at close to 15,000 feet. We didn´t get nearly that high.

A fruit break along the way. The fruit is a tumbo. It’s kind of like a passion fruit.

We reached the ruins in about three hours. They used to be a military training post. We looked around, ate lunch, took a nap, and headed back to town.

A lovely day up in the Andes!

We’ve arrived in Ollantaytambo, Peru, and we have started working at Apu Lodge. Apu Lodge is a bed and breakfast in Ollanta, as everybody here calls it, about a five-minute walk from the plaza. Ollanta is known as The Living Inca City, because the city was built about seven or eight hundred years ago, and it still is pretty much the same city now as it was then. There are no cars in town, except for entering and leaving from the plaza. The streets themselves are way too narrow for cars. The roads in town were built by the Incas, as were many of the walls and buildings.

Ollantaytambo is actually a small village in the Sacred Valley, and it is at once magnificent and extremely mellow. It is 10,000 feet in elevation, surrounded by peaks. It is mainly known to the outside world as the starting point for hiking to Machu Picchu, or for getting the train there. By train, it’s two hours to Machu Picchu. It is a four-day hike from here.

We will be here until the end of May, working at the lodge. We greet guests and welcome them, help out with breakfast, help arrange tours and taxis, teach English to the staff, go shopping, help keep the place clean and running. It feels great for us to stay in one place for a while and be able to help. It feels great to hear people say Thank you, instead of us always being the ones saying it.

One of the views, clouds and mountains

Looking the other way

Apu is located at the end of a street. Because no cars can drive here, one of our jobs is to go down to the plaza to meet guests and bring them back, or to help them carry luggage.

The water that’s running alongside the road is the original Inca irrigation canal. The water comes from up high in the mountains. When we need to get a delivery that’s heavy, people use tricycles to carry the load. There are lots of tricycles in town, most of them missing pedals, a lot of them missing seats. Here is Mateo, the guy who delivers gas tanks for heating water, delivering a tank to the lodge.

The plaza on an early morning

Monica and I took over the volunteer position at the lodge from two other couples: Gemma and Cesar from Spain, and Deb and Steve from Canada. We had a few days of overlap with them to learn from them, and we had a kind of passing the torch, with a good-bye party.

Toinette and Margarita, along with Carlos and us

Steve and Deb bade farewell. Louise, from Scotland, is the owner of Apu.

Margarita, César, and Carlos

Mike with Mayu Rumi, Louise’s daughter. Mayu is already bilingual.

Everybody who comes to Ollanta goes to Machu Picchu. Everybody. For a lot of them, it has been a life-long dream to come here. We’ve met people from France, England, Japan, Taiwan, Serbia, Spain, The USA, Argentina, Austalia, Canada, and we’ve just begun. People are happy and excited to be here, and it is a pleasure for us to welcome them and help them, and to get to know them a bit.

Megan from Melbourne, and Kim from Vancouver stayed for five days and laughed and laughed.

Romina and Hernán are from Buenos Aires. We talked about everything with them.

Apu Lodge has eight rooms available for rent. We work together with the staff, comprised of Ruth, Francisca, Gregorio, and Carlos, to hopefully keep everything running smoothly.  Monica is everywhere, cleaning the fireplace, washing dishes, arranging flowers. Everybody works together and it is usually fun.

Moni bought this fabric in the marketplace, then sewed a few aprons.

Ruth comes in every morning and takes care of everything.

Whenever anything needs to be done, Gregorio is on it.

Francisca is a steady hand.

Apu means, Spirit of the Mountain. The Incas saw the mountains as living beings. The lodge is located directly underneath Tunupa, whom the Incas carved into the mountain. He is a guy who watches over things in the valley, as well as delivering messages. He is very visible from the plaza, and from almost anywhere in the valley. Perhaps you can see him in the following photo.

As we stay here longer, we are becoming more familiar with the spirits of the mountains. We have plenty of time for excursions and hikes, and we are getting to know the area. The Sacred Valley is a beautiful place.