This was a truly awesome day. Our guide, Wilfredo, made us feel completely at east immediately. He picked us up from the Plaza in Cusco early in the morning and we began our drive to Chinchero. We stopped at an overlook on the way and Wilfredo told us about the snow capped mountains in the distance. The little village of Chinchero was very interesting, partly because this was Wilfredo's home. While there, we were introduced to his Godmother, a typical Peruvian lady with a huge pack on her back on her way to market. Wilfredo seemed to know almost everybody in the village, which made this visit all t he more interesting for us. The streets are very narrow, and lined with ancient buildings on both sides. On the Incan Plaza, he explained that the market meets here every day in front of the colonial church on the main plaza. He was extremely knowledgeable about the history of the Incan people, and the kings who ruled the Incan empire. He explained how the Spanish invasion had destroyed much of the religious relics of the Incans, and had replaced the Incan temples with Catholic Churches actually built on top of the Incan temples. He pointed out the difference in the structure of the ancient Incan walls and the ones built by the Spanish, and by the end of this visit to Chinchero we felt like pros in spotting the Incan architecture. He then took us to the agricultural area where there were terraces built into the side of the mountain for farming. From Chinchero we went to an Andean textile weaving demonstration where the guide there explained how the wool from the alpacas was dyes, spun, and weaved into beautiful. objects. I, of course, couldn't leave without bringing something home! The ladies there were truly incredible, working on the looms with instruments that had been in use for hundreds of years. On the drive to Moray from Chinchero Wilfredo gave us insight into how the people who occupy the region now live and work. He explained that most of the area is farm land, and that barley and potatoes are very important crops. In fact, Peru has over 3,000 varieties of potatoes!!! The road to Moray is largely dirt for quite a distance, and there are some curves where our driver, Alejandro, had to toot the horn to warn an oncoming vehicle of our presence. The site at Moray is a series of circular terraces in which the Incan people planted various crops. This is believed to have been a sort of testing site to see what crops did well at what altitude and in what relation to the sun. Wilfredo took us down the steps so we could get a great view of the entire site from both the bottom and the top. From Moray, we went to the salt mines of Moras. This was another dirt and extremely curvy and narrow road. Thank heavens for Alejandro!! This was an extremely interesting site and very different from anything we had ever seen before. Wilfredo took us into a small chapel on the pathway down to the salt flats and an overlook where we could see the entire site. The water coming down from the mountain is actually naturally salty, and flows into large areas where the water evaporates and leaves the salt behind. The salt is then cut and bagged and sent to be cured for use. This was a really incredible day, and Wilfredo was such a great guide. He was very patient and took time to answer any questions we had. He was obviously very knowledgeable about all the places we visited, and gave us great insight into the life of the ancient Incan civilization and the results of the Spanish invasion. We thoroughly enjoyed his company, and especially appreciated his pride in his own Incan heritage. Anyone looking for a very different type of tour would certainly enjoy this one. And if you are fortunate enough to have Wildredo as your guide, then you are in for a terrific experience.
