The first stop of the day was the Maras Salt Mines (or salt evaporation ponds}.
The ponds were first put in place by pre-Inca civilizations. They are fed with water from an underground stream of mineral rich water that some describe as a ancient ocean that was trapped underground. The water travels through a network of small channels to the ponds and flow is controlled by blocking off sections of the channel with rocks.
Once the ponds are filled, they are left for a period of time so the sun can evaporate the water, leaving the salt behind. Families in the area own, tend, and ultimately harvest the pools. The salt is sold locally in the Sacred Valley as well as internationally. If you ever purchase Peruvian pink salt it may very well have come from these ponds.
I was not expecting the ponds to be impressive, but was pleasantly surprised. This is a another in a long list of items from the trip that must be experienced in person to truly understand how immense and magnificent the site really is. And, it has become a very popular destination. There was a traffic jam trying to get in/out of the parking area when we arrived.
Road leading to the salt mines 
Harvesting
By the time we left the salt pools, traffic had sorted itself out. We had a smooth trip to the Moray ruins which is the site we briefly stopped at during our first trip through the sacred valley.
The Moray ruins are a set of Inca cultivation terraces that were primarily used as an agricultural laboratory. The temperature difference between the lowest and highest point of the terraces can be as much as 27°F, which allowed testing of crops under different conditions in the same location. Genius!
The site consists of four different terraces in close proximity to each other.
1st Terrace 
1st & 2nd Terrace 
2nd & 3rd Terrace 
3rd Terrace 
4th Terrace 
In the first picture you can see people in the upper right corner if you look closely (and have clicked on the picture to get the larger view). That view provides at least some perspective of how large these terraces really are. Truly amazing!
After wrapping things up at the ruins we drove back through Moray again to reach the main road. True to form, the streets were not easily passable.
As we continued our journey back to Cusco, we took another drive through Chinchero. Election day was not far off, so there were some political organizations active that day. Tracy made another attempt to have her picture taken next to a llama or alpaca. They are very touchy about their personal space.
Political rally 
We eventually made it back to Cusco and checked into our hostel. We’ll hang out in Cusco for a couple of days and then we are off to the next country.
Will