Wednesday, December 18, 2019, Machu Day #2 Background

Machu Picchu trip, day 2, December 18, 2019

A 4:00 am wake-up call and we were down for breakfast to prepare for a long day.  We piled into five 12-person buses for a trip to the outskirts of town where we transferred to two larger buses.  The small ones are the only type allowed in the historical district because of their size.  We drove for about two hours to the Maras salt fields, an area that has been in operation for over a thousand years.  There is a stream coming from inside the mountain laden with salt.  Natives have built small ponds of various sizes to catch the water and let it evaporate, a process that functions well mostly in the dry season.  Since we are well into the rainy season, there was not much activity going on.  As the water evaporates in the sun, more is added until there is a thick coating of salt which is then scraped off and made ready for sale.  These plots are passed down from generation to generation and are highly valued.  There were several vendors around the site selling various salt products, like pink salt which is said to be as good as the rare Himalayan salt, but we did not buy any.

Another bus ride and we found ourselves approaching a farm.  This area is very fertile with fields on both sides of the road.  It is very hilly here and fields are made wherever the land is flat enough to cultivate.  The fields are small, of irregular shape and, using contour plowing, are productive on hills.  It is possible to plant on hills but it must be much harder to do than on level ground.  This was known as the Sacred Valley in the time of the Incas as it was the most productive land for miles.

The village residents came out to greet us at the entrance.  They were clothed in traditional Peruvian attire and lined the road playing flutes and drums as they led us into their village.  We arrived to the central area and were divided into two groups.  One was to witness a cooking demonstration and the other, the making of adobe bricks to build a house.  Both areas were going to require the participation of volunteers to assist in the process.  There was nothing they could help Betty learn in the cooking department, so she volunteered to help with making mud bricks while I stayed for the cooking class.

The first step in making mud bricks is to prepare the mud.  They had a good pile of it ready for us but it needed mixing.  This is done with bare feet similar to the grape-squishing process in wine making.  Betty was ready to whip off her shoes and socks and begin stomping but just before she did, she noted a large pile of alpaca poo and thought better of it.  She realized that if she did, she would have to check the box “yes” on the immigration form that asks “have you ever visited a farm and touched a farm animal while in a foreign country?”  The process of making bricks, once the mud is mixed, is relatively easy.  The mud is poured into a form.  Someone stomps on the mud to get out all the air pockets and then the form is turned over and the brick is carefully dumped out and let to dry.  This process takes quite some time and works best in the dry season.  I, on the other hand, began helping to make a hot sauce for some roasted guinea pigs that were being cooked.  They were set up for assistance in this process.  They had five large flat stones in a row with a small stool next to them.  On the stones was another stone with a rounded edge.  The local women added ingredients to the flat stones while we rolled the smaller stones back and forth crushing the ingredients.  Hot peppers, green peppers, cilantro, onions, tomatoes and many different spices were mixed together to make the sauce.  Rolling the stone was more work than it looked at first, but they served some coca tea to keep us going.  Eventually, we enjoyed a small snack of guinea pig with hot sauce along with our tea.

By this time, we were getting hungry.  We had been told only that we were to have a picnic lunch by a lagoon.  We didn’t know what to expect but we were all pleasantly surprised.  It was outside, of course, and by a lagoon, but that was where the comparison to a picnic ended.  It was a catered affair inside tents where we were served a several-course lunch.  Starting with two appetizers and wine (Peruvian, of course), it continued with chicken, shrimp, beef, and vegetable shish-kabobs, all grilled at the tent side.  A few pasta dishes were added, as well as a delicious dessert, coffee, or tea.  We were all full and happy when we left.

Our last stop was in a town where we saw another beautiful church, followed by a stop at a native textile factory where we had a weaving demonstration.  These ladies make and die alpaca and other kinds of yarn and weave it into beautiful cloth to produce shawls, sweaters, and hats.  We eventually returned to the hotel after dark, too tired to eat any dinner but looking forward to the next day.  The weather so far had been cloudy and cool but no rain.  We were glad we brought our Viking jackets but hoped we wouldn’t have to test how waterproof they were in Machu Picchu.  It is about two thousand feet lower than Cusco so it should be a bit warmer but it is well into the rainy season.