[Itinerary Page]The daily diary of a wandering restaurateur
October 30 - Sacred Valley
We left this morning on a private tour through the Sacred Valley of the Incas to the town of Ollantaytambo where we will spend the night before taking the train to Machu Pichu on Sunday. Our guide, Patti, had an amazing knowledge of the history, agriculture, politics, and about anything else you could name. I found myself wondering if I could do nearly as well in my own back yard. Probably not.
Our first stop was at the market in Pisac. Sunday is the big market day so we were not expecting a lot ... but one of the Lima TV stations was in town doing a special on the town so everyone was in native garb and the place was wonderfully decked out. The Pisac Market is supposed to have some of the best prices on local handicrafts and indeed, we found a lot to like. We finally found a wall hanging for a major hole on our living room wall ... and bought it from the folks who actually made it. Their shop is right in the market area so we could even watch a work in progress.
We took a refreshment break at a cafe owned by a German woman who came to Pisac after living in Indiana for twenty years or so. I asked her what prompted a move like that and she said she liked Pisac better than Indiana! Not knowing quite what to say to that, I finished my beer, paid the bill and left.
We got a running travelogue all the way down to the far end of the valley where we stopped in Ollantaytambo for three large bags of rolls before heading another hour up a one-lane dirt road (although calling it a road is generous) to the village of Patacancha. I will fill you in on the reason for the rolls later.
Patacancha is well off the tourist trail and is so far back that the 300 or so residents still dress in native costume ... because that is what they wear every day. As we finally arrived at the village, Margene noted that "We're not in Kansas any more, Toto." And truly we were in a very special place. They do not have electricity. There is running water but it is not inside the houses and is not treated. The houses are mainly of stone or mud brick with thatched roofs.
I was surprised to be invited into one of their homes to look around ... not that there is a lot to a house tour of a one-room building where the whole family lives along with their animals. For all that they do not have by our standards, they seem to be very happy with their lot in life and do not even notice how difficult it is to eke out a living high in the Andes. I doubt that any of us would last a month.
The residents are very friendly and not at all averse to having their pictures taken. Elsewhere in the country, it seems like the "quaint locals in native dress" expect to be paid for letting you take their picture, these folks had no such ideas and actually enjoyed the process.
After wandering around the village for an hour or so, it was time for the rolls. These folks live on a diet that is primarily corn and potatoes with some wheat, pumpkin and the occasional guinea pig on the menu. They almost never see baked goods unless they walk down to Ollantaytambo -- a two hour hike -- or catch the public transit (open truck) that comes along once or twice a week. So rolls are a special treat.
The tour company always brings rolls when they come in lieu of training the locals to ask for money. The residents know that when a van comes to town, that the rolls are not far behind. I think it is a brilliant policy. These people's way of life is disappearing as "modern civilization" encroaches and I am not sure they will be any better off for having electricity ... which will bring television ... which will kill their entire culture.
The day really has me thinking about what it takes to make a person happy. It surely is not material possessions.
© 2004 Restaurant Doctor