The cab ride from Cuzco to Ollantaytambo was full of drama not only due to the fact that we had no wiggle room to make our train, but that the scenery just got better and better as we wound our way into the Sacred Valley.

As we left Cuzco, the entire city was spread out before us and I managed to snap this shot out the window. I love the “Viva El Peru” carved into the side of the mountain.

When we entered Chinchero (about 45 minutes into the trip), our cab had to navigate around several micro-taxis. He explained that these were very popular with locals because it was very hot and who wants to walk in the sun with all their belongings on their back?

(yes, we are driving in the middle of the road)

Our limited time frame didn’t prevent our driver from stopping at a gas station for a bottled water or driving us up a steep pullover area for a fantastic shot of the Andes.

(worth missing the train for this photo?)

One of my favorite bits of knowledge from our cab driver was finding out about the South American custom of placing a cross and two calves on the roof of your finished house for good luck. Perhaps I could look into that.

(not a bad shot considering the speed of the cab)