Maras, Moray and Ollantay-what?

We just had a few days off over Easter and vacations in May are approaching rapidly – this will give me time to go traveling a bit and explore more of Peru (I’m definitely planning on trekking to Machu Picchu – I mean, even if it is a tourist magnet, it is one of the seven World Wonders after all).

Up to now, I have done a few shorter weekend trips, mainly visiting lots of ruins xD. I’ve been twice to Ollantaytambo (that name is such a tongue-twister!), where Anna’s host mum has a big house – she always welcomes us with open arms and delicious food :). It’s a cute little town, though quite touristic, partly because there is a direct train from there to Aguas Calientes (the access point to Machu Picchu). The ruins of Ollantaytambo are probably my favourite up to now, I love how they’re nestled right up against the mountainside. The view from the top is fantastic, too.

On our first trip to Ollanta, as the locals tend to call it, we made a detour to the ruins of Moray and the salineras of Maras. We were quite a merry group: Anna and Damaris, the two other Swiss volunteers, Anna’s host siblings from the US and Canada, a Swiss and a Dutch friend from Anna’s Spanish school and a German couple that spontaneously joined us for the ride. After haggling for a while with the colectivo drivers, we finally got a more or less acceptable price and set off for a very bumpy trip. It was quite hot in the van, but the driver warned us the window might fall off so we didn’t dare open it…

Our first stop was at the Inca ruins of Moray. Here one can admire circular terraces, built to imitate different micro-climates and thus experiment with various crops and growing conditions. I must say, I was impressed by the extent and the precision of this site – more evidence of the Incas’ ingenuity!

Next, we traveled on to the salineras of Maras, a salt basin system stretching out over the mountainside. A beautiful sight, hundreds of salt ponds in different shades of white and brown. Casually eavesdropping on the explanations of a tourist guide, we learnt about the process of obtaining salt: they let salty water originating from a spring in the mountains evaporate in the basins, then scrape the salt from the bottom and sides once there is no water left. This extraction process is possible thanks to a cleverly devised water supply system made up of small channels and gates throughout the site.

Apart from having caught some kind of a bug, which made me feel groggy, gave me a massive headache and made the bus rides all the more uncomfortable, I really enjoyed this trip and all the others as well. They give me the opportunity to see more of this amazing country I’m now living in, learn about its people and history and, last but not least, they provide a good counterbalance to my work at school, allowing me to relax and recharge my batteries.