Peru: Salt Mine

The day after we returned back from the Inca Trail we took a rest day to relax and to just do some sight seeing in Cusco.  After all we did it was nice to sleep in and take it slow. (this part is a little out of order since this was the day before we did the Skylodge, but I decided to combine this day with our last day since they were both smaller posts)

Saw this cute little lady outside our hotel and I just had too.  Look how tiny she is!  She makes me look tall!  The average Peruvian is 5 ft tall.  My kind of people!

Saw the 12 sided stone.  The most famous Inca stone due to its many edges.

We went to this cute little market where they were selling crafts and paintings.

We went to a couple museums that were on our city pass.  They were disappointing.  The "art" museum that we went to was more like an office building with a few pictures next to their offices.  Another museum that was at least decent had more artifacts from the Spanish conquest.

The last museum we went to was right by our hotel; the Koricanacha Museum. It showed the chronological evolution of civilization in Cusco. 

the only thing exciting about the museum.  The mummies.  Peru and Egypt were extremely similar in lots of ways, the obvious one is that they both used mummification. Peruvians were mummifying a thousand years before the Egyptians. Although unlike Egypt mummification was used for all members of society.

 these mummies were kept in pots and traveled on peoples backs from place to place

Peruvians also used the children as human sacrifices.  The children were messengers that would travel long distances (like to Ecuador) and then when they reached their destination the host would give them a hallucinogen and then bury them alive (while in a very relaxed state) however this mummy looks like the hallucinogen wore off and they realized they were buried alive.

one of the most popular places in Cusco was actually a French restaurant.  We got a meat, cheese, and potato platter.  You took the cheese, melted it and poured it over the potatoes and wrapped it in meat.  Yum! 

and then to cap off the night we got some much needed massages.  Although Brad and I were much more sore from getting our massages then from the Inca Trail. She really worked on those knots!

Walking the streets at night back to our hotel.

On our final day in Cusco we decided to see the salt mines, 4-wheeling style!  We drove through some beautiful scenery and some old Peruvian villages.  Brad and I were definitely glad that we did the 4-wheeling  vs. taking a bus because although the sites themselves were cool to see, there wasn't much else to do so the 4-wheeling added some adventure.

Never driven a 4-wheeler before.  Been the passenger lots of times, just never the driver.  It was loads of fun.

Our first stop was Moray Inca Ruins.

So cool!

The purpose of these are uncertain, but it is believed that the Inca's used this as an agricultural experiment station with their crops.

On the way to the salt mine we drove through the coolest little Peruvian village with an old catholic church that looked like it came straight from a movie.  I would have loved to have taken a picture, but we were riding in a group and I couldn't just stop.  Thankfully there is google and I was able to find a picture:

The Moras Salt Mine:

Taken from Wikipedia: Since pre-Inca times, salt has been obtained in Maras by evaporating salty water from a local subterranean stream. The highly salty water emerges at a spring, a natural outlet of the underground stream. The flow is directed into an intricate system of tiny channels constructed so that the water runs gradually down onto the several hundred ancient terraced ponds. It is agreed among local residents and pond workers that the cooperative system was established during the time of the Incas, if not earlier. As water evaporates from the sun-warmed ponds, the water becomes supersaturated and salt precipitates as various size crystals onto the inner surfaces of a pond's earthen walls and on the pond's earthen floor. The pond's keeper then closes the water-feeder notch and allows the pond to go dry. Within a few days the keeper carefully scrapes the dry salt from the sides and bottom, puts it into a suitable vessel, reopens the water-supply notch, and carries away the salt. Color of the salt varies from white to a light reddish or brownish tan, depending on the skill of an individual worker. Some salt is sold at a gift store nearby.

The salt mines traditionally have been available to any person wishing to harvest salt. The owners of the salt ponds must be members of the community, and families that are new to the community wishing to propitiate a salt pond get the one farthest from the community. The size of the salt pond assigned to a family depends on the family's size.

the little stream of salt water that flows to the pods.

It was only a half a day excursion, but it was a fun way to end our trip.  

Peru was absolutely amazing!  I'm so glad that Brad and I got to go.  It really was a once and a lifetime experience.  We ate the most yummy food, saw gorgeous and breathtaking views, hiking along an ancient trail to see one of the most fascinating ancient civilizations to ever walk the planet, and sleeping under the stars.  We  faced physical and mental challenges, made some fun friends and witnessed unreal beauty.  All with my most favorite person.  Couldn't have asked for a more perfect trip.

Flying home. It was so great to get away  with my love and to just have some fun!