Dream Trip 2009

Great Travel Moment

While traveling in Peru, I spent the afternoon visiting Ollantaytambo, a small town in the Sacred Valley. It is one of the few places where the streets and houses are still laid out as they were in Inca times. I spent the morning exploring the ancient ruins of an Inca fortress on the hills above the town, then returned to central plaza for lunch. I was fortunate to encounter a small parade of school children celebrating a local holiday. Along with trucks decorated as floats, a school band, including this drummer, marched across the plaza and then through the town's cobbled streets. The event was one of those special moments where I was lucky to experience a unique bit of the local culture, and witness a part of everyday life that isn?t always visible to a visitor.