I can’t remember where I put my phone, how to do long division, or the password to LATAM airlines, or the name of this hummingbird, yet alone how to pronounce Ollantayambo. It’s an ancient city outside of Machu Picchu, Peru.
But in the middle of the ancient ruins in the Ollantay-something, I AM able to remember a face I hadn’t seen for years, a face that didn’t belong in the ruins, or in Peru, or this decade of my life, but in a music studio in Chicago back when shoulder pads were as big as adult diapers.
“Bob?”
He looked stunned, like an alpaca in headlights, as I wandered over waving my hiking sticks. His wife Carol, hadn’t aged in thirty years, was at his side.
I’ve run into people everywhere. Train stations in Bangkok. Airports in Beijing. Elevators on the Eiffel tower and now here, Ollantaytambo. So why can I remember their faces and names at these happenstance moments, but I can’t remember the weight limit on a carry-on piece of luggage? Or when daylight savings time starts? Or if I packed my charging cord? Or the password to Netflix in Peru, which is different than Netflix USA?
The ruins of Ollantayambo are fascinating even if you don’t bump into an old friend. No one knows how these huge hunks of stone were moved or chiseled to create these massive structures, that look like three-dimensional lego pieces that someone forgot to put away.
You can burn off the morning empanadas you devour climbing the ancient paths. Then afterwards? You can wander streets full of ancient Crate and Barrel crafts. I don’t need Inca placemats or pot holders, that I do remember.
Ollantayambo and other cities in Peru are super colorful this week because it’s Semana Santa, or holy week. Streets are shut down for parades where the pious people purple wave incense, march in bands or carry Virgin Mary, but some forget to smile.
Not that far from Ollantayambo is Chinchero, another ancient city with cool old stuff.
You’ll find handmade crafts and dogs wanting their belly scratched.
How to get to Chinchero? Remember to turn at the Inca outside of Urubamba…
…the Inca is right next to the giant corn cob.
So if you go to the city that I can’t remember how to pronounce in Peru, don’t forget to see the hummingbirds at Ensifara. I actually took this photo of a white bellied hummingbird, just one of dozens of bird species you can see.
But don’t expect to see any pelicans…
Unless of course, you knew those pelicans from a different decade of your life.