A Walking and Eating Tour of Ollantaytambo, Peru
22 May 2014
This post should be called: Things I ate in Peru that did not make me sick and also streets, because they are narrow and awesome and I heart them. But that’s the kind of title that makes my web designer want to strangle me because it would be too long to fit in the little boxy thing and therefore would make his design look bad. And also he has this silly idea that titles should be concise and relevant. (LOL amirite?!) But since I sleep with my web designer, I try to keep him happy.
So. A walking and eating tour of Ollantaytambo, it is. And, it’s not a terrible title, because in the 10 days we spent in this adorable little Peruvian mountain town, all the time that wasn’t spent riding bikes or mastering the delicate dance that is puking and poo-ing at the same time, was spent walking around and eating. Concise. Relevant. Ka-ching.
And I’m going to be honest, I fell hard for this place. I think I’ve mentioned this before but I am the WORLD’S BIGGEST SUCKER for narrow streets. And Ollantaytambo (pronounced Oh-yan-tay-tam-bo, but Ollanta for short, in case that makes you want to rip your tongue out with a pair of salad tongs) has some fantastically sexy narrow streets. And it also has acequias, which I think are called aqueducts in English. Or small canals. Basically running water through all the streets. This is where we washed our bikes and where some of the locals washed their clothes. It’s also probably where the food cart that gave me food poisoning washed their utensils, but oh well…
The other cool thing about Ollanta is that it is literally surrounded by Incan ruins. Ruins are to Peru what waterfalls are to New Zealand. There are so many of them that if you’re not careful, it’s very easy to stop appreciating them and to start thinking I will cry if I have to go up one more unevenly spaced staircase. However, Ollanta is special. It’s tucked in a valley and there are ruins and terraces built into each hillside, which makes the little town seem like something out of a fairytale. It also means that, with about a half hour of hiking, you can find yourself with aerial views of the town.
But as much as I love narrow streets and ancient ruins, the thing that really cinched my love for Ollanta (and Peru in general) was the soup. Outside of the touristy plaza, life in Ollanta revolves around the market, which is basically just a three story concrete building, with fruits and veggies on the first floor, kitchen and house supplies on the second and little restaurant stalls on the third. At these little restaurant stalls you can get “menú” for five soles, or basically two dollars. In Spanish, menú is not something you read–it’s soup plus a main course, which is called “segundo.” In sum, it is a TON of food for two dollars. And this obviously made us extremely happy. My god, I love a culture that appreciates soup.
Have you been to Ollantaytambo? What did you think? Do you prefer my original title?
Love the idea of water rushing through the narrow streets. Hate the idea of what goes on in there and that I’d eventually imbibe it.
Hahaha yeaaaaaah, it’s best not to think about that one too hard! lol
It seems like an amazing place, most definitely. Also, I never realized it until you wrote it, but I’m also a sucker for narrow streets. There’s just something about them!
So true!
Haha, oh the things us bloggers do to keep our blogs pretty hey? The place looks pretty. My friend lived in Peru with her on/off boyfriend for a while. I had hoped to visit, but the whole on/off thing put me off haha.
Ollantaytambo looks super beautiful, too. I, too, love the water running down the streets. Have you visited Seville, that’s certaintly a city for narrow streets. The centre is like a maze, and after a walking tour through it, I vowed not to land up there alone.
I have been to Sevilla and it is beautiful, although I prefer small towns like Ollanta. I stayed in an awesome little hostel in Sevilla, though, that was on a street that was literally three feet wide and everyone had their laundry hanging across it. Looooved it.
Those typical menús rock. And they have nothing to do with the puking and poo-ing dance. (In most cases.) And only marginally related: y’all need to come to Ljubljana where there are narrow streets aplenty, MINUS the canals.
Yeah the menus were great and didn’t make me sick at all. It was the food cart choripan that did me in. (I know, I know, what was I thinking…)
I can’t think of anything better than to travel and explore on a full stomach of delicious local food
Exactly! :)
Cuy frito!!..Chicharron de Pollo, chicarron de cerdo..chicarron everything!! lomo saltado, aji de gallina, ufff..amazing food al over!!…except for the bread..whats that about, do you guys in ollanta dont get salt?…funky tasting thing…but everything else…a ma zing!!!
jajaj no probe el cuy al palo….tenia miedo ver la carita asi mirandome jeje…pero voy a ponerme los huevos y probarlo la proxima vez, te juro! Y tenes razon, el chicharron y el aji de gallina son increibles!
I hiked to the ruins from Ollantaytambo. I wasn’t there long, but it was a great town with the cutest narrow streets! I agree with using titles you want to use :)
Wow! I came across this blog today after reading “After Crested Butte” . Peru and South America blew my mind. I spent 6 weeks kicking around and went here, climbed Montana Picchu, Snowboarded in Nevados de chillan, wandered through the wonderful streets of Valparaiso, watched the 2014 soccer world cup in a funky restaurant in Santiago, rode the streets of Buenos Aires,Rio de Janiero and the Death Rd, Bolivia and was blown away by Patagonia.
Many thanks for bringing these awesome memories back. Peru and Bolivia blew my mind. Keep up the good work.
Thanks for the comment. I fell in love with Peru in just a 10 day trip and Chile has had my heart for quite awhile. Maybe Bolivia will be my next adventure ;)