Of particular note were these long necked people (the three kings, in this case)...
...and what seems like odd vegetable monsters (probably some kid's worst nightmare!).
Some people were sell dried corn on the cob of all different colours (yellow, white, red, blue).
As you travel throughout southern Peru, you will see many of these agricultural terraces (many of them still in present day use). They help to keep the rain from falling all the way down to the bottom of the valley.
At the top of this hill, lie the ruins of Pisac. An old fortress. The surrounding mountains make for a breathtaking view.
This is where we got our first taste of incan ruins. You'll notice that most doors and windows have a skewed shape. This, like the interlocking bricks, is to maximize the amount of resistance for the structure against earthquakes.
Zigzag channels were made to channel the water from one area of the ruin to another. This allowed the Incans to create dedicated areas for bathrooms, laundry facilities, etc.
This is a vast valley (in the Moray-Moras region) that was terraced to create a multitude of agricultural climates to grow a larger variety of products. This was absolutely massive in scale.
Another angle of the Moray-Moras terraced valleys.
The surrounding landscape... was oddly varied too. From desert scenery and snowcapped mountains, ...
...to red soil and low hills...
...to dusty brown lunar landscapes...
...to high incessant mountain ranges with deep river valleys.
And of course on the way, the road was taken over for a few minutes by a herd of sheep, goats, and donkeys.
Our next stop, the salt plains of Las Salineras.
Many moons ago, someone discovered that this mountain released a stream of salt water from deep within.
So, they found out that they could make salt out of it and went commercial. Now the salt plains are divided up in small pools to collect the water.
In the dry season, they let the water dry out and collect the salt. No additional processing required.
Even the borders of the surrounding small streams were caked in dried salt. You could even dip your finger in the warm stream for a little taste of the salty liquid.
It almost looked like snow!
Anyways, the whole place -- being white and wintery looking -- looked very much out of place in this desert region.
