The heart of the Inca’s agricultural setting and important ceremonial region, the Sacred Valley is not only beautiful, but an important part of Peru.
It’s incredible to walk around the valley and see the cut out farming steps along the mountainsides – these farming techniques of the Incans are still in practice and make for a great view.
I have a special talent wherever I go – I attract animals.
From dogs and cats when I visit peoples’ homes, to swooping birds (which I have a fear of) when simply walking along, to stray animals on foreign streets.
So, imagine my surprise when feeding some llamas at a rest stop of ours along the road to the Sacred Valley, they didn’t seem too fussed by me.
Not only could I not get a decent llama selfie (somewhat expected), but some llamas even turned their noses up at the food I offered. Huh.
However, later that day, at another stop, I made friends with numerous random kittens, who sat on my lap and purred as our tour group listened to a talk about local drinks. So there’s that.
We also had a bit of a “practice session” before we hiked the Inca Trail – climbing the archaeological site at Pisac.
Let me tell you – from even that small, 20 minute hike, I began to have doubts that I would be able to complete the full-day Inca Trail hike we were set to embark on just days later.
I’m not a super athletic person – I take walks regularly and do yoga when I’m feeling particularly motivated, and I hadn’t done any special training leading up to this trip.
But despite that, I made it to the top of this (relatively small) crest – of course – with some whining and heavy breathing along the way, and felt pretty damn good when I got to the top.
Maybe I’ll even start hiking as a hobby at home… But probably not…
Small steps, Marnie, small steps.
How about all the dogs? It seemed to me like there are digs everywhere in Peru. Did you make friends with the dogs?