I fell asleep for a moment on the train to Ollantaytambo. I asked a taxi driver if he knew where my hotel was and he said  $25. I said 'you're nuts'. I would have walked if it hadn't been uphill. I paid another driver $6. It was very windy in the valley. Spring is coming so peaches, pears and plums are blooming. The streets of Ollantaytambo are old inca roads. Some of the houses are built on Inca walls. There are aqueducts running down many of the streets. The Incas were great engineers. Water still runs down from the mountains through the streets after 550 years. At night you smell different wood burning and the aromas take you back in time. Brugmansia blooms, sometimes called Datura wrongly, are the most heavenly scent at night. I could stand by one for 20 minutes.
But before all that, Machu Pic'chu. I caught the bus at 6:15 am. How people climb this mountain, much less a bus is perplexing. You go through the gate and there it is in all its splendor. The sun started to peek over the mountain and light up Huyna Pic'chu. I can't describe it adequately. How and why did they abandon this marvelous city. Master engineers. Everyone should see this city. It was a clear sky and amazing views from every step I took. There were also 1800 other people, mostly from Europe. It was hard to get photos without people in them. It is sacred so the signs warn you of improper behavior. At one point the path narrows along the side of a 400 ft. cliff. I tried to turn around but the whistle blew and I heard "one way". I made it down to the next level. I would have been an ostracized Inca. This vertigo I have has gotten bad. I could't climb up to the ruins behind my hotel in Ollantaytambo. I would have fallen right through the roof of my hotel. A Canadian guy passed me and I told him 'good luck' -I bought him a beer when I saw him on the street later. Everywhere along the Sacred Valley are more ruins. Some are pre-Inca. Ollantaytambo is filled with ruins. I  was allowed to walk along the RR tracks and along the river to an old bridge. The Urubamba flows fast and the Torrent ducks loved it. I walked up to an old quarry and old mud house 3 or 4 hundred years old. All the hills are terraced. Most are not used as folks today aren't that agile, I suppose. I couldn't believe some of the terraces up so high on a steep slope. The snow capped peaks and glaciers stand in contrast to the dry mountains. The quintessential Andes vista. Spectacular  does not say enough. Giant hummingbirds everywhere. I forgot to take some water along and as Rozane Rozanadana said " I thought I was gonna die". It was about 35F when I left and it was 75F when I came down 4 hours later. A fantastic hike that I stumbled upon on my own.  The Pinkuylluna ruins were on my list to visit but it was to high up. The local people are direct descendants of the people who built all this marvel and I was in awe of them. Such beauty and spirit. Pura vida.
I had a drinking buddy named Bobby who met me each afternoon. I had a beer and he a bowl of water. I don't know why but dogs would look at me and come to me. Some would follow me everywhere. Bobby didn't run with the local gang of wild dogs. They took on the behavior of a wolf pack. I had to chase them away. Bobby sat under my feet or against my leg.
 An old hunch-backed man would carry a log past me then a few minutes later, another. For an hour this went on.People carry everything on their backs so when they reach old aged they are haunched over. I wanted to help that old man but soon a young boy with a wheel-barrow came and helped him. I got emotional.
My local bartender took kindly toward me. I showed up yesterday and told him I wanted to buy the dog a bowl of water. When I paid my tab he said the bowl of water was $20. I liked him.
I took a taxi from Ollantaytambo back tom Cusco. 1.5 hour drive. He told me $22 and I gave him $40. Along the way he stopped and turned around and I was puzzled. He got out of the car and I was a little nervous. He introduced me to his wife and 5 year-old son. Such smiles. He stopped along the route and pointed out nice scenery and gave me history lessons. He deserved the $40. We came upon an accident where a taxi hit a donkey. The animal lay in the road alive and the car was nearly totaled. Sad, someone depended upon that donkey for a lot of work. They haul heavy loads. Donkeys are a necessity.  I admire how the local folks live. I hate to leave Perú. Such majesty in everything.
My last night in Cusco. Off to Inka Grill for a drink. Back to dirty Guayaquil. Nit,nite.