What to you do the next day after seeing Machu Picchu? Why you go see more Incan ruins of course! For our last day of our on-the-go tour of the sacred valley we visited the Ollantaytambo ruins. Our legs were pretty dead after the day before so we all agreed to go to the site but to stay at the bottom instead of scaling hundreds of more steps. What we found at the bottom was still pretty amazing. There were houses, bridges and a perfectly carved fountain used in ceremonies. The site also had the usual farming terraces built into the side of the mountain. There were also large food storage buildings complete with a ventelation system to keep the food cool. The boys loved the open field because they were able to finally run free.

It’s hard not to fall in love with the sacred valley. It is a magical mysterious place. We have no doubt that we will be back someday. Maybe when Choquequirao, the sister city to Machu Picchu, is completely excavated. Currently they say it is only around 30-40% unearthed and that it will be larger than Machu Picchu once they are done. Peru is going to build a cable car system to access the top of the mountain. Currently it is only accessible via a 2 day rigorous hike. We also need come back to try Cuy which is gunea pig. It is a celebrated dish by the locals cooked in all kinds of different ways. Alfredo talked about it a lot and we regret not ordering it when we has the chance.

The drive from Ollantaytambo to Cusco takes a little over an hour. Mason undoubtedly being exhausted from Machu Picchu decided it would be a great time to have an uncontrollable tantrum. He screamed incoherently for at least 20 minutes about wanting to stand up and refusung to keep his seatbelt buckled. We thought Alfredo and the driver were going to pull over and make us walk the rest of the way to Cusco. Fortunately the game “I spy” saved the day for the rest of the van ride. Upon arrival in Cusco we checked into yet another hotel. We slept in a new place 4 out of the 5 days on our excursion. After check in we met back up with Alfredo to tour the Basilica de la Catedral.

It was a beautiful cathedral built by the Spanish in the Plaza de Armas. Unfortunately the Spanish Conquistadors forced the Incan people to build it using stones from their own sacred cities like Saqsaywaman. The Cathedral was filled with all kinds of beautiful paintings, exquisite altars made from melted down Incan gold and all kinds of slver artifacts. Our stay at the Cathedral was short lived. Turns out it was not on Mason’s bucket list and we had to leave before he made to much more of a scene. Our family went out for lunch at the same restaurant we went to our first night in Cusco. The kids enjoyed playing in the toy area once again. Chelsea and I decided the kids could not handle the rest of the walking tour of Cusco after lunch. Tom took the kids back to the hotel for some quiet time while Chelsea went with Alfredo. The two of us went to see the temple of the Sun.

The Spanish built many churches and convents right on top of the sacred Incab temples. It was interesting to look at the art, architecture and history of there two cultures. We also went to the Museum of Qorikancha with many Incan and pre-Incan artifacts. Finally we had to say goodbye to Alfredo and our time in the Cusco/Sacred Valley area of Peru.