Humming Birds, Potatoes and Salt Mines

I started off the morning feeding baby alpacas but as I was going back to my room I tripped up the steps, fell and cut my nose and bruised my forehead.  The hotel staff were very concerned and called a doctor to come to the hotel and examine me.  It was not a deep cut so only a bandaid but the bump concerned them.  The doctors returned later in the day to make sure I was okay.  I love being pampered.

Our first stop of the day was at a hummingbird sanctuary where we spied a Giant Hummingbird, a long tail hummingbird, tanagers, turtle doves, a thrush and many small green and orange hummers. The sanctuary is run by a local man who is concerned about the birds and the environment.

Our next stop was at the home of a milliner, a lady who makes hats for women of Incan descent.  Each hat reflects the education of the wearer or her marital status.  Her husband works the salt mines so they are fairly well off and able to help others in their community.

On our way to the salt mines we stopped to see Moray (pronounced Mo rye) which was discovered by a plane flying over it.  The three circles resemble crop circles from above but are actually deep, terraced holes built by the Incas to experiment with growing crops, mainly potatoes, at different elevations and different temperatures.  We saw the largest hole and were told that the temperature from the top to the bottom can vary by as much as 52 degrees.  Over 3,000 varieties of potatoes are grown in Peru and it is believed that the Incas created many hybrids by using this terracing. 

A short drive up the hill took us to an overlook for the salt mines.  A salt water spring feeds the 3,000 pools where the water is evaporated and then the salt removed to begin the process again.  Because this is so open, when the rainy season begins in late October the mines are closed and the miners become farmers. Each pool is owned by individuals or coops. The area of the pools is over 800 years old and is thought to have been established by the Moras who conquered the Incas.

Lunch was at a Hacienda established in 1572.  The building was beautiful with many antiques and the food was very good, with lots of local foods including llama.