Ride across the Alte Plano. Over into the sacred valley, via the Inca gates to Cuzco, which was a strategic defensive site. Crazy buses dominated this part of the ride, no wonder the crash stats are bad, for buses. Left into the Sacred Valley, and things rapidly changed to cultivated ground, more lush, and affluent looking (relative). Harvest is going on, with stooks stacked in paddocks drying, and straw threshing via horses happening. We passed several places where there was a circle of straw with two horses being made to trot around a tight circle on the straw, by a man in the center holding the reins and using a whip to keep the momentum up. Presumably this is stomping the grain out of the heads. Stopped for lunch at tourist restaurant with Lamas, cats and dogs and heaps of tourists. Nice buffet lunch. Down the valley to Ollantaytambo. Steep sided valley with light bouncing off the steep ravines and high cliff tops. Houses lining streets, most of the way for the last 60km with children playing in the street. Arrived in Ollantaytambo, an ancient Inca town, with crowded streets, tight alleys with buses and trucks navigating their way through making for further slow progress. Historic town with cobble stone paving and narrow alleys and Inca walls and fortifications. Dinner at a very nice restaurant, stuffed trout. A long day in the saddle.
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