Quote of the "whenever I feel like posting one"

"Why fit in when you were born to stand out?" - Dr. Seuss

Friday, November 25, 2011

Day Two - Chinchero y Maras Moray

Population of the Department of Cusco: 1,205,000
Pop. of the City of Cusco: 250,000
Number of tourists every year: 2,000,000
First stop was the pueblo of Chinchero in the Sacred Valley. We got to see a really cool demostration of how they make natural dyes and then use them to create llama blankets and scarves. It was really interesting how they still use the old methods! I liked the cute llama out back too! Everything there was very expensive of course because it was all hand made.
I was so excited for the next part because I had learned a bit about it (thanks Luke) and it seemed really awesome, and it was!! Moray was next on the list and it was super cool! It was huge! Way bigger than I had imagined. It's made up of a bunch of leveled terraces, each with a slightly different climate. The Incas used this to test which plants grow in which climate and whatnot. It was so cool. I couldn't feel the difference that much, but it was still super fun to walk down and up the crazy inca stairs and to sit all in a circle in the very center!
Straight to the natural salt flats next in Maras! The cool thing is that nobody knows where the salt comes from, but the salty river runs through and the built to flats to collect and sell the salt. It's very cool! The place doesn't have a tour or anything, but we got to walk around for a while and we tasted the salt fresh too. Really bad tasting!!! We headed back to Cusco after Maras to celebrate Luke's 19th birthday! What fun!
L

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