We are staying in a completely bonkers but very comfortable hotel (seven rooms) away from the tourist parts of the Sacred Valley. We decided to walk to an Inka ruin, Urca, about which we know nothing, because it was fairly close and the walking was easy.
The Sacred Valley is immensely lush with steep mountains on either side over which, at this time of year, hang clouds which come and go during the day, with or without rain.
We walked past some beautiful farm animals including at least one bull (but tied up), sometimes accompanied by curious dogs:
We saw flowers everywhere – wild and cultivated – and familiar and unfamiliar fruit:
As we climbed, we saw the Inca terracing still being used for growing crops (mostly maize):
As we approached the ruins, we saw that someone was growing flowers (presumably for commercial use) around them:
The ruins themselves were quite odd – and nobody else there of course. The oddest thing was the rock suggesting some kind of water ritual. But who knows?
We walked through the ruins trying to avoid falling down (Inka?) water canals and ended up transfixed with the wild flowers:
And then we spent ages while I tried to photograph humming-birds who were obligingly darting back and forth at this plant. I did succeed eventually! Zoom in – I haven’t cropped the pictures and the bird is pretty sharp so you can see the beautiful feathers.
I was pretty delighted:
And back to our bonkers hotel. We arrived back exhausted and made this video for you all to enjoy before I tried to have a jacuzzi and sprayed the entire bathroom with water.
And here’s our dinner last night, served in our palatial room on rocks instead of plates (each weighing more than one of our suitcases). By the way, this was one portion of spaghetti divided in two!
And Sue sitting at the very big Flintstones table for breakfast, dwarfed by the size of the chair and table. The person with the tray is the son of the owner, both rally drivers who’ve won lots of cups in Italy!
What an amazing array of experiences and photos from the past few days. Absolutely magnificent pictures of hummingbirds birds- what patience Miriam. Did you show us Sue’s sweater? Did I miss it? And on top of all of that your photos are bringing back wonderful memories.
You haven’t missed the sweater, Claire! A photo will be dispatched. It’s actually a sort of Claire colour – a gold/mustard sort of thing in BABY ALPACA! Cool to the touch but warm. I love it! So glad as d this is bringing back memories.
It looks wonderful, Miriam and Sue – love the hotel, but you may want to bring a stepladder on your next trip to access the bath tub! It looks so beautiful and interesting everywhere you go. Thank you so much for all your lovely photos and updates!
Lovely to hear from you, Jens. As a tall Dane, the jacuzzi would have presented no problems for you! I slightly wish it had presented more problems for M who more or less flooded the bathroom when she turned on the jets …
Loved the humming bird and the flowers and particularly liked the tour of the very funky hotel. All looks great a real adventure.
It is indeed a great adventure! There is something about hummingbirds that is completely enchanting and the garden of the slightly mad hotel was really beautiful..
What a fabulous valley, and while the hotel might be bonkers, it certainly has a personality and oh so comfortable, And Miriam your delighted smile is delightful.
It was indeed super comfortable though a cobbled shower may be a slightly acquired taste?
This is all so magical – and it did make me laugh.
I wonder if lots of Dutch people stay there and can manage the jacuzzi?
Beautiful hummingbird.
Dutch people because they’re tall or jacuzzi smart? And yes, hummingbirds – what’s not to like? Unless you’re plant nectar I guess..
So what about the bonkers bit? Were they worried that you might make off with the crockery? It all looks very lush!
Super lush! Spaghetti on night two ( it was so nice on night one) came on plates so they’d obviously reckoned we could be trusted with the crockery….