Urubamba to the Temple of the Sun

This morning we left our beautiful resort, and went to Ollantaytambo – the Temple of the Sun.  We are still stunned about how such a wonderful place can be located in such a miserable looking town. The Temple of the Sun, which is at the end of the Sacred Valley before you enter Machu Picchu, was constructed by the Incas and is actually higher than Machu Picchu and contains more steps. To ascend to the top you need to climb 600 steps to reach the actual temple.  There are many terraces along the way where agricultural products were planted for the inhabitants.  At the top, one can actually track the change of seasons.

After climbing back down the 600 steps – we returned to the hotel for a Pisco Sour lesson (our third) and a cooking demonstration – ceviche and lomo saltaldo (Peruvian beef stir-fry dish).

After lunch, the group was blessed by a “Healer” or Shaman. The ceremony was to honor the Mother Earth - Pachamama. The ceremony consisted of each person receiving 3 coca leaves from the Shaman. He then collected the leaves from us after we blew our spirit into the leaves and said our name. The leaves were placed in the center of some beautiful wrapping paper and the Shaman covered them with many different offerings (corn kernels, animal cookies, wheat, etc.). The items were then wrapped, tied with a string and were to be burned later. The Shaman blessed each of us and we held hands (right over left - right gives, left receives).  It was a very solemn ceremony where the Shaman spoke of balance in all things.