The Sacred Valley of the Incas; Canadians, Brits and a Serb on a bus. Today we travelled from Cusco to Pisaq, Urubamba, Ollantaytambo and finally onto Aguas Calientes, a small town just outside Machu Picchu. Along the way we digested more information about the Inkas and their culture which was very interesting. However what is equally as interesting is the people you meet on your travels. Tours tend to throw together an odd combination of people, people that you wouldn't meet under normal circumstances. On the tour bus we met a lovely couple from Canada and an eccentric man called Vladimir Tosic from Serbia. Vladimir was originally from Russia where he grew up as a small boy and he now lived in Sydney with his family. In his teens he had moved to Nova Sad in Serbia. This was particularly interesting to me as my grandfather had come from Serbia. We spent quite a bit of time with Vladimir as we travelled from site to site. He struck both me and Ju as a warm caring character that would give you the shirt from his back. We learnt a lot about Russian culture and more interestingly Serbia's. He had a great sense of humour which was demonstrated on one occasion after he retuned from the local market with a scary looking mask which made Ju and myself chuckle.

Our first stop was Pisaq. We visited some ruins in the blazing sunshine high up in the mountains. The views from the top of the ruins were truly spectacular. We saw little tiny holes drilled into the side of the mountain - evidence of Inca graves where mummified bodies had been found. With no paths leading to the graves it remains a mystery to this day as to how the Incas buried their dead there.

For lunch we visited a small rural town called Urubamba which didn't have a lot to offer in the way of entertainment apart from a raging fire which engulfed the side of San Juan mountain - I have never seen a fire that size before. The locals didn't seem too bothered, perhaps this was a common sight in Peru?. At lunch we got to know Vladimir and Stephen the Canadian better. Stephen looked like a spitting image of Charlie Sheen. And according to Ju Vladimir could have been my long lost brother. The only comparison I could draw between us both was our bald heads!

After lunch we moved on to Ollantaytambo. I took great delight in sharing in my second visit to Ollantaytambo with Ju. This site was more significant than the others as it is where the Inca trail starts on it's 43km journey to Machu Picchu. It also hosts a set of 5 large worship stones each weighing 50 tons. The Incas had brought each stone to the top of the site by literally pulling them along using around five thousand men. They used a system of ropes made from woven grass and wooden rollers. They then polished the stones using the techniques described by Ju yesterday in wednesdays blog. On the opposite side of the valley high up in the mountain were Inca grain stores. The Incas used the prevailing winds to keep the stores well ventilated, and also to keep the crops out of reach from thieves. The only disappointment for me at Ollantaytambo this time was the amount of Peruvian children running wild. Apparently at this time of year the Children were on a pilgrimage to Machu Picchu as a reward for graduating from high school, I wonder what Machu Picchu will be like tomorrow?!

Ju was getting more excited at the prospect of visiting Machu Picchu. We shared our last cup of Coca tea in Ollantaytambo with Vladimir before catching the train at 7pm to Aguas Calientes. After two hours of travelling in the dark we reached our destination. It was getting late and we needed food and sleep as we had an early start at 4am. There wasn't much to see in Aguas Calientes as it was dark. This was a shame as I had enjoyed the the town on my previous visit. The town is dwarfed by three vertical mountains that amplify the sound of the rushing river which runs through the heart of the town. Unfortunately the town had suffered a similar fate to Boss Castle in 2010 costing Peru a million dollars a day in lost tourist revenue to Machu Picchu. We returned to our hotel after dinner tired and ready for bed. We hit the hay excited at the prospect of visiting one of the great wonders of the world... but little did we know we would also see a Rolling Stone!