La Bamba

Today we moved from Cusco, through the Sacred Valley and ended up in Ollantaytambo.  The trip through the Sacred Valley of the Incas was by bus and it was a very memorable cultural experience.

Our first stop was in Chichubamba (bamba means valley in Quechua, the language spoken in this part of Peru).  The community has a union or co-op where 60 families work together for food, shelter, and clothing.  We had a local woman explain to us how the weaving of sheep, llama or alpaca wool into textiles is done. 

Our guide at Chichubamba demonstrating weaving wool preparation.

They now use detergents, but in the olden days they used a root vegetable to clean the wool.  The wool is then died and spun.  The wool gets colored with natural dies from plants.  The red color comes from a parasite that grown inside a cactus.  They use salt and lime juice to made the colors lighter (red to pink, purple to blue).  Black is the color of happiness in Peru - opposite from what you see in North America. 

The natural plants and seeds that create the colors.  Red comes from a cactus parasite.

The wool is dyed by boiling in pots of colored natural dyes.  I love how beautiful and colorful their clothes are.

We saw the cleaning, spinning, coloring, looming and finally weaving.  Each pattern that they make is done by hand, and has a meaning.  Each border is intricately woven separately and then joined to the main piece of fabric.  I purchased a lovely hand woven belt.

Peruvian weavers.

Our second stop was at the top of the valley to get a view of the bamba.  The rolling hills are very green, and there were mist filled clouds on all the mountain tops.  The mountains are not rocky, and are very different from the Canadian Rockies. 

View of the Sacred Valley of the Incas.

Our third stop was for lunch with a local family in Urubamba.  The daughter, Nari, is working with Agroturismo and that is how her family was chosen to host the tour.  We sat in her kitchen at a big table with a Peruvian woven tablecloth.  To drink we had a sweet juice made from black maize.  Our first course was pan bread with avocado.  They also had a spicy chili relish if you were brave enough (it was yummy!).  The second course was a wheat soup with potatoes, cheese, broad beans and coriander.  The third and main course was rice, chicken and tomatoes.  It was all nicely flavored and not spicy.  I had a feeling the chicken was very fresh (if you know what I mean!)

My tour group at Nari's kitchen table.

For dessert we walked 2 blocks to a house that makes chocolate.  Monica showed us the chocolate tree and fruit (the fruit is picked when orange).  Each fruit contains seeds that are first marinated for 2 days.  Then the seeds are dried for ~6 days.  Once dry, the seeds are roasted in a ceramic pot over an open fire for 10 minutes.  They are now ready to be peeled (a paper-like cover similar to a peanut comes off).  In a metal grinder Monica mixed the peeled seeds and 2 big spoonfuls of sugar.  The grounds are then melted and pressed into molds and placed in the freezer.  The chocolate has a wonderful smokey, nutty flavor and is pure and rich. 

Monica, my favorite chocolate maker.

Another few blocks away we visited a family that makes ceramics.  Alsihwonay showed us how the clay is spun on a wheel (powered with your foot), painted and then cured in an oven.  She paints the ceramics with Inca symbols, and uses a very smooth rock to polish the engravings and paint on the clay.  

The ceramic artist.  Notice the house is made of mud walls, this was very common in the Valley.

We visited a house filled with guinea pigs (which are a Peruvian delicacy called Cuy).  The house was dark and had about 60 little guinea pigs, as well as cats, ducks and hens.  The house was decorated with old carvings, skulls and Inca stonework.  Hanging from the ceiling they had dried meats, fish, and a llama fetus (dried like jerky).  Nothing goes to waste and the dried meats are saved for soups when required in the dry season.  Each home is made up of 4 buildings to create a square with a courtyard in the middle. 

Typical row of houses in Ollantaytambo.  The Inca irrigation system provides fresh water outside the door of every home.  They simply step out and use a pail to get water from the canal.  Very efficient.

Typical home with a plethora of Guinea Pigs.

Courtyard and the son of our host.

Our final stop was Ollantaytambo where our hotel was an Inca ruin made of stone with tiny cute rooms.  Although rustic, the bathrooms look like they are out of Modern Living with funky square sinks and cool faucets!

Courtyard in my Inca hotel in Ollantaytambo.