Rachi Ruins

Here are some more picts from our trip out to Chivay. Drank Coca Tea for the first time. Said to help with altitute sickness because of its aspirin-like medicinal properties Same stuff Coca Cola was originally made with, but they pulled it out of the ingredients because of its relation to the more famous form of the leaf--cocaine.

Saw some ruins along the road and the guides brought us to this great little buffet along the way. Set up for travellers, they had an array of Peruvian food. A little high priced for the economy, but very yummy. Tthe first tourist thing we did in Peru was visit some more famous ruins. The van pulled into a little village name Rachi. Like most touristy towns, the main square was covered with little market stands. Of course since we hadn't seen tons of crafts and Peruvian items for sale, it was fun to wander the stands and bargain for something we liked. Kristof found an Incan calendar carved into stone with the three major animals of Peru--condor, jaguar and snake. They represent the heavens, earth and underworld. I really liked the circular calendar and bought one for a decent price. After a little market hunting, we actually made it into the ruins. The main wall that you see in the first picture is a wall of the main temple inside the city. The short stumps beside it used to be great columns.

I really liked the cow in the next picture. Not so sure he liked me that much. I was interrupting his grass breakfast.





This is one of the doorways into the grain huts. They had circular stone walls and grass thatched roofs. The couple that had a rebuilt roof did stay very cool.