Today was an adventure, for sure! Our PLAN for today was to take public transportation to the Salineras salt terraces, and then make our way to Pisac to volunteer at a local after school program in the afternoon.

Heading to the main square in Ollantay, it was very obvious something was amiss. The town looked asleep and vacant. Stores were closed, the markets were empty and the streets were surprisingly clear. And then we found out the real kicker....

PERU was on STRIKE. Workers in all government agencies were on strike, and transportation was halted. Everyone told us that we're weren't going to have any luck getting anywhere. However, "ain't no strike gonna get us down.."

So... After haggling a private driver, we got him to take us to Salineras using backroads and a promise to get us "as close as possible" to Urubamba. 115 sola later were were loaded and driving through the hills high above town. Not gonna lie, kinda felt like a fugitive.

We made it to the salt flats and HOLY SHNIKIES.. What a cool site! The only one like it on the country, Salineras harnesses a small salinated hot spring and trickles it out over 500 terraced salt flats. The flats are shallow which allows for the water to evaporate, leaving natural salt behind. The salt is used for cooking, farming and medicinal purposes. The area looked like a mosaic of pinks, browns and yellows. It was pretty surreal and unlike anything I have seen, not to mention there was no one here because if the strike.

We loaded back up and made our way to Urubamba. As we approached the town, our driver kept slowing down and asking locals he conditions of the roads. Finally, it was obvious that we woul need to get out and walk. The road was covered with boulders, burning tires and debris. Ill post pics... We slowly made our way down the main road on foot. Heading through town, it was apparent that no one was going anywhere, and there was going to be no school visit for us today, and so... We drank.

Stopping in a local Chichera, we opted for beer and hung out while some time passed. After a while, we noticed a few cars making their way Inge direction of Pisac. A smart and daring taxi stopped and agreed to take us to Pisac, again, along the back roads. He charged us about 3 times what the trip should cost, but it was a win win. the last hurdle we hit was in a smal town where the backroads ran out and we were forced to drive on the main road. Once there, a large log barrier manned by a crowd was not letting anyone through. Our taxi killed his engine and we waited. After a while, our taxi headed to the crowd, found a friend and apparently, did some magic. The logs were separated for us, and we were once again on our way and in 10 minutes were were in Pisac!!!!

No, I don't think we were ever in ANY trouble, mom. Don't worry. It was a class III adventure.
The other piece of info we learned is that the train to Machu Pichu was suspended. Huge bummer for people that had reservations months in advance.... Glad we were able to see it two days ago.