Sacred Valley!!

/ Ed Armstrong
Today was another fantastic day in Peru!! How day was filled with wonderful sites to see and great people to meet. This was the courtyard right outside my hotel room. I love all the colors in Peru!!

I loved the clouds above this church that was next to our hotel!!

I loved the simplicity and beauty of the flowers in Peru!!

We started our day visiting the local market!! It was amazing to see so many items. These chickens were popular for people to buy.

Their market was an eye-popping explosion of color and sounds!!

All the fruits and vegetables available for purchase were amazing!!

Every food imaginable was there for purchase. Grains to vegetables. Meats to fruits.

This woman could cut up a chicken faster than I could watch her move it around on her work counter!!

These chickens were amazing to me!!

I loved the attire of so many Peruvian women!! Their hats were absolutely marvelous!!

These were some of the fattest I have every seen!!

I enjoyed watching these ladies do business as the woman with the hat was buying her groceries.

These chilies and ginger looked so good!!

I loved all the colors of the vegetables and fruits!!

It was amazing to walk through the market and enjoy so many great foods!!

Peruvians appreciate great and colorful food!!

Some items were spicy and others not so much!!

There seemed to be no end to the great foods the vendors were selling!!

I liked the eggplants and limes too!!

I absolutely loved the hat this lady wore as she was selling her strawberries!!

This fish was brought in from the Peruvian cost to the Sacred Valley.

Peruvians certainly love their bread products!!

After we spent time in the market, we rode in “tuk-tuks” to Urubamaba.


John and I had fun sharing a “tuk-tuk”!!

After lunch we went to Ollantaytambo!! This was an impressive placed filled Inca and pre-Inca ruins. There were also many shops in the area. It was amazing!!

Peruvian people were going through their normal day as tourists flooded the area to see the amazing sites!!

I enjoyed the colors of these items hanging between shops!!

It was fun to watch the colorful ornaments move with the breeze!!

It was shocking to stand before these terraces and realize they were all built so soundly by the Incas so long ago!!

Everyone fell in love with the alpacas happily eating along the terraces!!

These guys were giving me the look as I took their photo!!

It was very fun to watch these playful creatures!!

This child was very happy and content withing the colorful bundle carried by Mom!!

I thought this guy was especially adorable!!

Our tour director talked about how well the Incas used the rocks to make their walls without any spaces or need for motor!!

Most people probably do not like this topic. Guinea pigs are common in Peru. The primary reason they are so popular is they are used for food. Our tour director told us how much she enjoyed eating Guinea pig meat. I think I will pass it that is every offered to me. I have know people that had Guinea pigs for pets, so eating them seems quite strange to me.

This bull was next to our the path of one walk today. I am glad he was tied up so that there were no misunderstandings!!

One of our special highlights today was to go to the Sacred Valley Project!! This non-profit organization is dedicated to improving access to education for young women from low-income families in remote mountain communities in Peru. They have three schools in Peru and give the girls safe places to stay, nutritious meals, access to schools, and mentorship. I was incredibly impressed with the school. The woman in this photo is from Argentina and she runs one of the schools. If anyone is interested, their website is sacredvalleyproject.org.