Moray: Inca circlular ruins

I never carry much money with me in case of being robbed.  For the same reason I never carry any credit or bank cards, unless I am actually going to the bank. There is the risk of running short and this is what nearly happened to me on my trip to Moray!  After my excursion to Pisac yesterday (see previous blog – Pisac is amazing!), I found myself with a ticket to see other sites which was included in my entry to the Piscac ruins, so I got up early, jumped in a mototaxi to the bus terminal (which cost me one sole) and jumped on a minivan to Urubamba (1.5 S/.)  Initially there were only 3 people in the minivan that back home would be a standard 9 seater.  Here they are filled with 3 x 2 seaters in the back plus a bench seat at the very rear for 4, and a long thin side bench, plus a bench behind the driver’s and front passengers’ seats. So a 9 seater becomes a 19 seater.

 – but that is in theory only! We kept stopping and collecting more and more people. I stopped counting at 33 simply because I could not see anymore.  I kept telling myself that if we had an accident I was well insulated by human flesh on all sides, including above, as several people were standing over me, crammed into the tiny aisle, bent double creating a fleshy ceiling.  Unfortunately this thought did nothing to calm my escalating claustrophobia.

I really wanted to take another photo but it is not wise to take out your camera on a public bus!

Eventually we got to Urubamba and I clambered out, not knowing that I should have stayed on until the terminal in order to get a bus for the next leg of my journey.  Instead, after buy a delicious fresh cheese and avocado roll for 1 S/. I contemplated taking a taxi for the remainder of the journey.  When I asked a taxi parked nearby, he said what I thought was 16 Soles.  To be sure I asked  “una seis soles?” to which he said “si”.  I thought that was pretty cheap but have learnt you never accept a first offer without countering, so I said the usual “no – mucho!” and offered him “una cinco” (I forgot how to say 15!).  He accepted and off we drove up the mountainside. Half way up the taxi driver obligingly stopped for me to take a photo of the fantastic view looking down on Urubumba.

Once over the mountain we went off the main road and on to Maras, a very old village where time has stood still.  Maras is famous for its salt mines, and salt evaporation ponds that have been in use since Inca times – but unfortunately I did not get to see them  (something to do next time!)

Past Maras we continued across open farm fields, freshly ploughed and ended up at the archaeological site of Moray at 3500m elevation.

I thanked the driver and handed him two 10 Sole notes and waited for the change.  He just looked at me and said “faltando” (not enough).  Now I was confused!  He said Cinquenta and that is when I realized that was probably 50 – not 15! Yikes! That was what I had in total on me. We argued back and forth and I told him that I he had agreed to una cinco – but it was not much use. I rang Valerio who only confirmed that 50 was pretty much in line with the going rate for private taxis. In the end I gave the driver 40 soles and told him I would have to walk back to Calca!  He didn’t appear to have much sympathy and drove off and left me there.

I found myself standing in the middle of a big carpark, completely alone – not a soul in sight! Not even any little ladies selling hats!  That soon snapped me out of my downer as I realized what luck to be the only person there!  I was able to take photographs of the amazing Inca circular terraces without a single other tourist spoiling my shots. 

Apart from their wondrous shape, another fascinating feature is that the largest circular formation, being almost 90m deep, has a difference of as much as 15 degrees from the top to the bottom. It is speculated that the Incas used these circular terrace formations as an agricultural experiment in studying the effects of climate on crops.

In this photo below of the largest circular formation, you can see the wooden structures put in place in 2010 to stop further collapse after the terraces were extensively damaged in an unusually heavy rainy season earlier that year. Although there is evidence of ongoing repair work, the eastern side still looks rather precarious.

The other two circular formations photographed here are smaller and in different states of decay.

 My return journey was more rewarding.  My friends at Calca had told me about salt lakes and salt mines but I could not see them.  I walked back to the entrance and found a man cleaning the toilets who informed me they were closer to Maras.  I asked was it walking distance to which he replied yes – its only a 40 minute walk (!) so off I set.

After 10 minutes a car stopped expectantly, but I said to the gentleman “No gracias, señor, no tengo mucho dineros” ( I don’t have much money!).  He asked “Tenga dos soles?” (do I have 2 soles?) and I said si, but I need to get to Calca and I only have 10 soles.  He told me that was “sufficiente”, so I jumped in.  It turns out he was a “local” taxi driver or a “collective” taxi driver, as he stopped a few times, picking up and dropping off a school child or an old gentleman or a mum off to do shopping.

He drove me through Maras and all the way to the main road where I got a minivan (a nice modern one with seatbelts) back to Urubumba, which cost me 1 sole!! I then took another minivan to Calca and luckily this time I did not have to do the sardine routine.