The daily diary of a wandering restaurateur
October 30 - Pisac and the Sacred Valley
This is Isabel who has done such a wonderful job of making sure we are getting everything we signed up for. Usually we strike out on our own but we thought that in a country like Peru, we would be better advised to have local guides to make sure we got to where we wanted. They have been marvelous. Coming over the mountain from Cuzco brought us to the town of Pisac, noted for its market. The terraces above the town are original Inka constructions and there are ruins of a fortress up there as well.
We found a tapestry with the colors we wanted, but we needed a larger size, so we were taken to the weavers shop while he dug one up. When you figure out how much time it takes to make some of this stuff, you wonder how they can sell it for the prices they do. While we were in the shop, we heard some commotion in the street outside. This is the tail end of a procession through the market but by the time we heard the music, the main part of the group had passed. I am sure this was an event staged for the TV cameras, but everyone was enjoying it.
The springtime temperatures are delightful, but we are never too far away from glaciers and snow in the Andes. The sacred valley follows the river and is considered the "bread basket" of Peru for its fertile soil. The main crops are potatoes and corn, of which there are dozens of varieties of each. Because the valley opens and closes, it creates dozens of micro-climates, each of which is best suited to a particular crop. Very clever, these Peruvians.
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