Salineras de Maras

On our first full day in Ollantaytambo, a beautiful Incan town that's about a two-hour drive northwest of Cusco, DW, our two daughters, and I caught a collectivo—a community bus—to the nearby town of Urubamba, in the heart of the Sacred Valley.

Our B&B offered their driver, the man who picked us up at the airport in Cusco and drove us to Ollantaytambo, to drive us for the day, but wanted to charge us 250 soles (about $100 Canadian) to do so. We were fairly certain that we could get to the Sacred Valley for less, and the collectivo was a great start, costing only 12 soles (about $4.50) for all four of us for the hour-and-a-half ride.

The ride was great, since we were the only foreigners on this mini bus and we got to meet locals, including one woman, dressed in traditional Peruvian garb, wearing a tall, felt hat, who fell asleep next to me and rested her head on my shoulder. A private car wouldn't have given us that experience.

Once in Urubamba, we were let out at a bus terminal and there were several taxis waiting to whisk travellers to places that the collectivo didn't go. We found one driver and explained to him that we wanted to visit the salt mines in Maras—Salineras de Maras—and the archeological site in Moray.

He agreed to take us to both places for 120 soles ($45 Canadian). Sold.

He turned out to be a great guide. Even though he didn't speak any English, both DW and I were able to communicate with him: DW used her rusty Spanish that she learned in university (she brushed up in the months before we started our vacation) and I relied heavily on the Google translator, though I was surprised by how much I understood him when he and DW were conversing.

I even corrected her when she misheard our driver.

Our driver pulled over, as we were nearing the entrance to the salt mines, and pointed to some birds in the grass a few dozen metres away. He said what they were, in Spanish, but DW and I couldn't understand him. But he gave me enough time to change lenses on my D-SLR to my 200–500mm and try to capture photos, even though they really were too far away, and flew farther away after snapping a couple of shots.

This was the best I could get. I was able to later (and by later, I mean yesterday) identify them as Chimango caracaras.

We passed a small building, where a few llamas were grazing, out front, and our driver told us it was a good place to stop for authentic chocolate and salt from the mines. We said we'd stop on our way back.

As we approached Salineras de Maras, the driver pulled over again, at a great lookout point, so that we could get out and take photos from above. Still with my telephoto lens on the camera, I got some great images.

Our driver waited in the car while the girls and I explored this fascinating mine, which is believed to be up to 3,000 years old, well before the Incas. And the mines are still operational today.

After our visit, as promised, we stopped at the shop that we had passed on our way in. It turned out to be a very good recommendation, as one of the locals spoke English and gave us sample drinks of chicha morada (a semi-sweet beverage made from purple corn) and chicha de jora, a fermented drink made from yellow corn. She explained the chocolate-making process and discussed the different types of salt that comes from the mines.

We bought several packages of chocolate and salt, and I took photos of the llamas and the photo that I shared last Friday before we got back in our cab and our driver took us to our next destination. I'll share that spot, tomorrow.

Stay tuned.