Rolled out of bed at 5:30 this morning to get a run in before our 8 am departure for the Sacred Valley. Ran up into the hills above Cusco. Unfortunately, I left my running pack at home, so I didn´t have my camera with me. I´m planning to pick up a new one when I return to Cusco later this week as I seem to see some of the best scenery on my runs.
Had a good run of about 8 miles on the ridge above Cusco. Elevation 12,000´ Should be good an acclimated for the hike along the Inca trail which starts tomorrow.
After leaving our hotel, the tour group I´m with (14 total) headed toward the sacred valley to tour a small village known for it´s handmade alpaca weavings and clothing. Sounds like a way to get the tourists to spend money. But enjoyable none the less. I picked up a small alpaca mascot made of alpaca fur.
We then bypasses Pisco along some offroad routes to avoid the farmers who had blocked the roads with boulders rolled off the mountains.
After that we toured a Salt Mine and headed toward Ollyantumbo where we planned to spend the night.
Unfortunately, our plans were thwarted by the farmers who blocked the only bridge to Ollyantumbo with boulders and flaming trees. So we were forced to walk 20k to our hotel, passing protesters every mile or so. Each time we passed easily with a friendly "Hola" and an occasional explanation from our guide that we were in support of their cause.
So after about a 3 hour hike, we arrived into Ollyantumbo late, checked into our hotel, and hoped our porters, cooks and other support personnel could make it into town over night.
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