Journey in Peru's 'Living Inca Museum'

Seeking a stronger connection with a time and a culture rich in knowledge and wisdom in every aspect of living, I travelled to Peru to spend time in Cuzco's Sacred Valley.

The town of Ollantaytambo became my home for a short period in 2013, after my graduation. A town steeped in Inca heritage, where, for many of its people, Quechua is their first language.

At that time, walking through the town's plaza meant you bent your knees a bit more while navigating broad cobbled stones underfoot. Water from towering heights, gushed earnestly through stone cut via-ducts wrapping the perimeters of the kanchas; walled residential compounds.

This town is known as 'a living Inca museum'. Traditions survive here, manifest in the colourful attire of inhabitants, highly nutritious foods, ritual dances and other customs.

On my first day in Ollantaytambo, I provided reflexology to my host Queta (Hospedaje Kusiqoyllor). It was her first time to receive any kind of holistic therapy, my first time to provide healing as a recent graduate.

Qeta's son Carlos was our translator. I knew by Qeta's smile how much she was enjoying the experience, when done she expressed her gratitude 'I love you!' - it was the only time I heard her speak in English. I was rewarded by a healthy meals, mainly dishes of organic vegetables.

Visitors and inhabitants all speak of the special energy of Ollantaytambo in Peru's Sacred Valley. My writing and therapy practice has been deeply inspired by my journey in Peru and the people that befriended me there.

In 2024, I retired as a therapist, after almost 11 years of practice. The wisdom and inspiration I received lives on in my books and my creative practices. Deepen your connection with universal wisdom by exploring my books, available online.