Day 4: Maras, Moray and Cusco

 The morning started out eventfully, with Sylvia having an asthma attack from the very high altitude hike in Pisaq! Not to worry, the hotel sent a doctor and a nurse to us who treated us extremely well and prescribed some steroids. The doctor said that asthmatics actually come to Cusco from Lima because it's supposed to be better for them-- "but they don't climb mountains!" 

Our new friends!

It was raining so we got the hotel to send a golf cart.

Then, en route to breakfast, we saw our friends getting outfitted for their big moment at the 8am feeding. 

Focus on alpacas, ignore cone head to protect hair.

All of this excitement meant that we weren't going to be biking at crazy high altitude anymore though, so we changed the plan to just visiting those sites by car/foot. And we just limited Sylvia's exertion -- they were still very high up. We had a new guide today, Diego (who is the bike guy) but who was happy to accommodate. 

So we started by driving through the highlands to the salt mines of Moray. 

Disclaimer: I love salt. Ranan once looked at me and said "Are you made of salt?" after seeing my salt my food for the one thousandth time. So be warned this is the start of SALT CONTENT. Feel free to go down to where I have highlighted End of Salt content. I just really love salt. 

                                          

OK so where did the salt  come from? Diego told us that they actually have found tons of seashells in the area--the salt was from part of an ocean that was pushed up to super high elevation when the tectonic plates pushed into each other. So the salt is ocean salt, which is mind blowing. The Incas knew that there was salt here, too, and used it for food preservation.

Being responsible with new, unexpired inhaler

Basically, the way it works is that there's a salt-stream, which is diverted into these pools. The water runs through the pools, depositing salt along the way. The water eventually evaporates, leaving the salt. 

There are 4500 salt pools and they are jointly owned--the only condition to buy-in is that you have to be a local  of one of the two nearby towns. Apparently business hasn't been great since the pandemic -- they raised prices after it ended, but no one really wanted to pay extra. 

We learned that when they mine salt, there are three layers. The top layer is white salt, the middle is pink salt and the lowest darker and used for epsom salt. The base of the salt pools are clay, which doesn't allow the water to drain through the ground.

We walked down to the salt pools. There we learned the legend of the four brothers who came down from the mountain. The oldest was very powerful so the younger three trapped him in a cave. This made him so sad that he started crying, hence where the salt water comes from. So it’s that or the tectonic plates, depending on your worldview.

END OF SALT CONTENT

Last thing--the salt mines are in Maras, which used to be a stopping point between the Sacred Valley and Cusco. But the modern main road doesn't go through Maras. As Diego put it: "There are no rich people in Maras anymore."

But on a happier note, Moray was incredible. There are concentric terraces that the Incas made over sinkholes.

It was so bright we could not see anything.

Then we had a very interesting alternate take from today’s tour guide, Diego -- slightly different than our usual tour guide, Yanet. Yanet had told us that the reason the Incas planted on terraces is that each terrace has its own altitude and slightly different conditions for growth— a theory put forth by some guy named John something. But Diego said there is also a counter theory, that there terraces were just to make use of the land and maximize planting—after all, what they were mostly making was corn, potatoes, etc. I like this inter-guide fight.

He also showed us an agave plant and its flower. The agave plant makes a flower every 15 years which shoot’s up into the sky and then drops seeds. 

^Another formation--can you tell where they have restored part of it? Apparently UNESCO has told Peru that if they are going to fix up any parts of these ruins they have to look substantially different after.

Then we drove to a restaurant that Diego uses when it’s raining and they can’t use their picnic spot (because the van will be stuck in the mud). We waited outside as they got set up and the view was unbelievable.

The food was so good! Quinoa salad with fava beans and giant corn kernels and a tuna mashed potato dish which Sylvia loved and Martin pretended to eat because Sonia had given him an intrinsic fear of tuna (love you Sonia!)

We also reapplied sunscreen because even though it was cloudy the sun was very strong. Halfway through the meal Martin told Sylvia while she was taking a bite of quinoa that she looked like she was wearing a kabuki mask and that bite of quinoa shot up her nose. That's amore!

Then we drove to Cusco. Our hotel is very peaceful but the city is a tourist hell. 

another lucy!

my face has never been this white and we need new sunscreen

Incas vs aztec chess

At night it was very pretty but we were tired from the altitude so retreated back to the hotel (which pumps extra oxygen through the AC!) We are looking forward to seeing Yanet tomorrow, who will give us a tour of the city center/some context.