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What Exactly Is This Sacred Valley Thing?

It's a real thing, not a made-up marketing phrase.

Walk into an average natural foods store, and you'll encounter many a product label lavishly employing such terms as "enchanted," "spiritual," "mystical," "aura," "kharma," and so on. Far be it from us to judge, but for our part, we don't really...

Quechua 101

From Star Wars to Clothing Brands, Quechua Just Keeps Showing Up.

What do Star Wars and the Sacred Valley have in common?To start with, I invite you to enjoy this controversial little clip from the original Star Wars episode. If you can set aside you existential angst about who actually fired first, you might...

The Story Of The Khewra Salt Mine

Where does Himalayan pink salt come from? Hint: Not the Himalayas!

If you've visited our "No Hype Zone," you know what we think of wildly exaggerated or even blatantly false claims about the supposed curative properties of certain types of fancy salt. We specifically mention Himalayan salt, simply because no other...

What do Jack Daniels and the Sacred Valley Have in Common?

If you haven't drunk chicha, then you haven't experienced the Sacred Valley

After some posts centered on the socioeconomic conditions in rural Peru, it's now time to address a topic of real importance.What do they drink in Peru?To begin with, sugar is the name of the game down here. Few beverages can be viewed as complete...

The Little House on the Prairie has Moved to Peru

The Family Farm, Once a Symbol of America, Can Now be Found in Peru

What ever happened to the little family farm anyway? You know, the Laura Ingalls Wilder style that we all like to picture in our minds when we hear the word ‘farm.’ Put simply, this is what happened to it.Thanks to modernfarmer.com for...

Adobe was a Construction Material Long Before it was a Tech Company

From mud pies to mansions: all about adobe

Adobe wall eroded by rainWhile concrete and brick construction is growing more and more popular in the Sacred Valley, the mainstay for nearly all construction has remained essentially unchanged for the past 500 years. This bread and butter of...

The Simplest Recipe

Only two things that money can't buy. . . that's true love and home grown tomatoes

Only two things that money can’t buy…that’s true love and homegrown tomatoes. – Guy ClarkSo it’s August. In Peru, it’s the dead of winter. But for the 88 percent of the world’s population that lives north...

Salt and other flavors

Salt does a lot more than just make things salty

Before refrigeration, salt’s #1 use was to preserve food. Nowadays, it’s most commonly used, instead, as a flavor enhancer. This is common knowledge. But it’s also pretty remarkable how universally it works. Whether you’re...

Salt vs. Gold

The Intriguing History of the West African Salt/Gold Trade

You’ve probably heard the oft-quoted fun fact: “Back in ancient times, salt was worth its weight in gold!”But is it true?The answer is a definite “maybe,” but only in very specific places under very specific...

The good the bad and the ugly. . . especially the ugly

With a face only an Inca emperor could love

Every year, in Petaluma California, a contest is held. It receives extensive media coverage, and over the years has even featured scandal related to hacking and vote tampering. What, you may ask, is so important that it drives contestants to such...

The Consistent Inconsistency Of Democracy In Peru (And Everywhere Else)

Why is it so hard to agree on anything?

I am stuck inside today due to a strike. This makes it a good day to write a blog; especially a blog about a strike. For the next 48 hours the entireprovencia(roughly equivalent to a county) of Urubamba is on strike. (Additionally theprovenciasof...