We ended up treating the name of this town like a tongue-twister: Ollantaytambo, ollantaytambo. It’s the “y” of the “olla”, you see. Very hard to get around.
But we made it to Ollantaytambo on the morning bus out of Pisac and found Hostal Ollanta without a problem. (Ollanta, it seems, was the Inca warrior the town was named after.) This time the ruins were right above the town, the main square had a fountain and the roads were cobbled. Ollantaytambo has the distinction of being the best surviving example of Incan architecture and city planning. Its streets have been continuously inhabited for 700 years.
Done with the ruins by 3pm, we went back to the hotel and read for the afternoon, delighting in quiet time and conserving our energy for the big adventure planned for the next day. We ventured out again, hoping to have a good time at the Quechua Blues Bar but it turned out to be atrocious. After the awful dinner and music, we started back in the rain and discovered a live band playing pan pipes and drums,so we stopped in for yummy chocolate caliente con rum.
An early night with plans for a crazy 5am start…