Nearby Peruvians towns offer a living culture. Machu Picchu was
impressive, even worthy of its billing, but there are also
larger collections of Incan ruins elsewhere. As we scrambled
down from some ruins high above the Peruvian village of
Ollantaytambo, a 13-year-old boy approached. With his obsidian-
black bangs, ruddy face and green stone necklace, he could have
been a time traveler, except for his zippered jacket and jeans.
His purpose was to sell us a woven bracelet or two, but his mind
took a quick turn into the past. “The Incas,” he said abruptly,
“were very big people.” That is a widely held opinion in Peru’s
Sacred Valley. Understandably. Whether those who once ruled much
of South America were physically big is a matter of conjecture,
but even now, almost 500 years later, their presence in this
valley is enormous and their descendents are proud of it. Nearly
all tourists who enter the valley are headed for Machu Picchu,
the best-preserved Inca city and deservedly touted as one of the
New Seven Wonders