Ollayantaytambo / Sacred Valley

From Cuzco, we travelled by local bus to a huge market, which only operates on Thursdays and Sundays in Piscay. The market was much the same as the others we'd been to, but alot of it was still quite interesting, particularly the food. In the back of the market, next to the Church, there are traditional clay wood-burning ovens where vendors sell freshly baked empanadas - I went for a potato and onion one; unbelievably good.

After the market, we took a hair-raising taxi ride to the next town, where after switching to Tuk-Tuks, we negotiated the narrow, bumpy paths up to a local family's business/house. There, a woman showed us how she makes potteries, from raw clay all the way to porcelain-lined decorated mugs etc. She and her family still use the traditional methods, including naturally occuring pigments from rocks found in the Andes. Her husband, who only makes pottery as a hobby, then showed us how to actually make the goods, using a traditional foot-powered pottery wheel.

Taking another local bus to Ollayantambo, a village built almost entirely on the Inca Trail tourism. The hostel here was small but comfortable, although they ran out of hot water so that meant an extra night without showers - hardly ideal! For dinner that night, we went to Hearts Cafe, a charity cafe run by an Englishwoman, that helps the indigenous educate the children. There, Vikki and I shared a chicken casserole with mash, a small pizza, and a bacon sandwich - I wasnt really impressed by any of it, but it was cheap and all profits go to charity so you can't complain! Dessert was an excellent apple crumble and custard, and I even had proper English Tea - the first in weeks!!