Breakfast eaten and ready for the completion of the tours around the Sacred Valley, “I wonder what today has to offer”? Each day has exceeded our expectations will today be the same?
As always, Llama Travel arrived on time and off we went to continue our exploration of this amazing country that I had fallen in love with. We took our seat on the comfortable bus with a variety of people we had met during different excursions. How great to be with friendly and like minded individuals. Off we set for the first part of the experience, the Salt Lakes.
The Maras Salt Flats lie in the Scared Valley amongst the stunning Andes mountains. Who would have believed that you would come upon a mirage of salt flats in the mountains. The highly salty water emerges at a spring, a natural outlet of the underground stream. The flow is directed into an intricate system of tiny channels constructed so that the water runs gradually down onto the several hundred ancient terraced ponds. Almost all the ponds are less than four meters square in area, and none exceeds thirty centimeters in depth.
Again wow what a site the salt glimmering in the sun creating an image of snow. The backdrop of the mountains, what a hidden treasure. The workers were busy scraping the salt into piles and then collecting it into buckets. We were given the opportunity to taste the salty stream, and salty it certainly is. I had visited salt flats in India while on route to Pondicherry but they were nothing like the Maras Salt Flats.
Now we were on the next stage of the journey, a visit to a local home where we would have lunch. Again the people were so lovely and welcomed us with open arms. As expected the locals entertained us with song prior to lunch. The lunch was a delicious, basic local dish. They were very informative in how the daily life of Peruvian living in rural areas would be spent. Looking after their life stock, chopping wood, working the land. Finally they went through their ritual
Before, and certainly since the time of the Incas before Pachamama – meaning Mother Earth in the ancient Quechua language – has been revered as the world’s fertility goddess. It is this goddess who harvests the land so that farmers can grow potatoes, corn and coca leaves; and embodies the mystical snow-capped mountains. However, it is also believed that she brings the rains, can cause an earthquake or strike with a lightning bolt. It is believed that Pachamama – the spirit of the Andes – has the power to sustain, or destroy, life on Earth. La Ofrenda a la Pachamama, the offering to Mother Earth, was demonstrated by the two chosen men who put together small packages which differ depending upon what help they were asking. They would put cocoa leaves, dried flower, nuts, alpaca wool etc giving them back to Mother Earth, hoping for rains during the wet season to encourage growth of crops and praying for health and for her to keep the family safe. What a wonderful way to finish this part of today’s expedition. Just a few more clicks of the camera and now time to hurry and catch up with the group.
The final part of todays
Elle Je` Travel 