First trip to Willka Qhichwa

Who doesn't like a road trip?! If you don't then you can leave ;)

Today I tagged along with Taylor, Ange, Libertad, and their mum to a trip to Sacred Valley (Valle Sagrado de los Incas, Willka Qhichwa) in search of perfect wedding reception spot. So far during my stay here in Cusco I haven't travelleed much and this seemed like an awesome opportunity to see few places. 

The primary reason for the road trip was to inspect few places that Angela & Taylor are considering for their wedding reception.

Before we got to business we visited Pisac - well known for its ruins and Sunday market (I have to say I fell in love with all sorts of markets here!). The city was erected by the most important Sapa Inca Pachacútec who was responsible for transforming Kingdom of Cusco into the Incan Empire. He erected many royal estates along the valley to commemorate his victories and Pisac was one of them.  Unfortunately Spaniards destroyed the incan Pisac and it was rebuilt in the XVI century. Today it stands proud amogst the cities and villages in the valley and is also a very common weekend retreat for expats and tourists. 

While walking through numerous stalls with hand-made scarfs, fabrics, knives, and much more, I can't help but wanting to buy everything. The main difference between Pisac and Cusco was the amount of ceramics you can find in the markets including hand-coloured beads and many other objects, each with its own history of the maker and artist who created shapes and patterns.I have never played chess but the chess board with pieces Inkas vs Spaniards made me chuckle:  First stop was Lamay District, small village between Pisac and Calca where we viewed first establishment on our list. For some reason I really liked that place, probably because it wasn't nowhere near as crowded as Pisac/Calca and it has some beautiful sights around it. The Lamay Lodge - tucked away on the edge of the village has also been a place that despite its feeling of "poshiness" blends very well with the surroundings. Beautiful reception, garden, pool table(!), and especially the yoga room make quite an impression. Not to mention their display of vintage radios! I still don't know how they got their hands on on that Grunding and JVC!One of my favourite parts of the trip came afterwords when we visited a piece of land, which will hopefully become a home to the soon-to-be-married couple, just look at this view from one of the windows....Imagine waking up to such a spectacle outside? While we were walking through corn fields I realised that is what I want from life, a calm piece of land I can call my own, be surrounded by nature, not too many people in close proximty, and internet. After all one has to work one way or another but that would be the only thing I need. The only sounds you can hear would be wind and occasional thunder, no cars, no planes, no trains. 
 Second place we visited was an old house in Calca. At first sight it reminded me a little bit of an old-fashioned Polish manor houses. It is owned by the guy who wants to renovate it and rent it out, weddings be the one of many reasons for renting. Located a little bit from the centre it's another quiet place worth mentioning. With only two houses in sight a loud wedding party would not interrupt the most quiet-demanding neighbours.  The tree line by the river makes it a perfect spot for walks, photographic session or wedding reception. To me it looked like a magical path to another world - definitely favourite spot!

The interior is very simplistic but I fell in love with it straight away. Big living room with lots of natural light and big fire, and currently a bench, on which I sat and started reading a book with a chapter by Esther R. Hautzig - american writer born in Vilnius (while it was a Polish city in 1930) - the chapter was from her book The Endless Steppe (1968) - an autobiographical account of her years in Siberia. I could sit there and read and work all day long and then take a break, go for a walk by the river - yes I'm daydreaming!This trip was exactly what I needed after a not-so-great week due to health problems and other things. As Jen told me few months ago - reconnecting with nature is very important not only for kids but for us adults as well. Appreciating simplicity of nature was a therapy my soul needed.  As Thich Nhat Hanh once said: Walk as if you are kissing Earth with your feet.   , and he could not be more right! While we walked through so many villages and places we would stumble upon many animals and ever since I became vegetarian I learned to appreciate all forms of living and for example, looking at these little cuys makes the whole world better!