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Published: December 14th 2005
Machu Picchu
We're still amazed that we were actually there and took this picture!The ruins of Machu Picchu, rediscovered in 1911 by Yale archaeologist Hiram Bingham, are one of the most beautiful and enigmatic ancient sites in the world. Machu Picchu (meaning 'Old Peak' in the Quechua language) was revered as a sacred place from a far earlier time.
(from: http://www.sacredsites.com/americas/peru/machu_picchu.html)Our first country was Peru, land of the gallant Incas. Over 4 weeks we barnstormed the Nasca mystery lines; strolled through charming cities and monasteries; spotted parrots, crocodiles & leopards in the Amazon; sailed to the floating, reed villages of Lake Titicaca; and explored the sacred ruins of Machu Picchu.
To open the photo album, double click on the first photo. Nasca Mystery Lines Our 6 seater Cessna roared over the dusty, little town of Nasca to view the massive mystery lines etched in the desert. 2000 years ago, the Nasca people created a huge number of these enormous lines and pictures that can only be seen from the sky. Our pilot would tip the plane entirely on one side to use the wing to point out a symbol on the desert floor far below, and then swing the plane around, tip to the other side, and use the other wing to point out the same symbol to the other side of the plane. Whew! Now that was a dramatic flight!
The Amazon After a wonderful time in Arrequipa, we took a flight over the Andes into tiny Puerto Maldonado in the Amazon Basin. We ultimately ended
Nazca lines
Just call Robin the co-pilot. up traveling 8 hours up river deep into magic of the rain forest. Our expert local guide, Gerson, took us on jungle hikes, boat rides, canopy towers, and an ill-fated kayaking trip (well, not that ill, we just had to drag the kayaks a lot, the river was too dry). We spied loads of crazy colourful birds, wacky monkeys, giant river otters, crocs, the world’s largest rodents, and even the extremely elusive jaguar! We woke at 4 the first morning to red-howler monkeys bellowing their demonic sound through the darkened jungle. They are the loudest land mammal and they conclude each call with a deep, evil sounding “Ha ha haaaaa!” Freaky!
Machu Picchu Where the lush jungle reaches the towering mountains, in a saddle between two majestic peaks, the Incas built their most sacred city Machu Picchu. The first thing we noticed was that, not only is Machu Picchu fantastic, the whole panorama surrounding the famous ruins is absolutely breathtaking! The mist swirled around impossibly steep peaks dropping thousands of feet to the rushing Urubamba river below. We arrived early in the morning and were able to do some exploring before hoards of irreverent tourists and pouring rain hit
Nazca lines
Check out this Nazca line, it's called the astronaut. See the head and eyes in the middle of the pic? in the afternoon. Machu Picchu is truly one of the world’s most spectacular sites!
The Floating Islands of Lake Titicaca As the conquistadors entered Peru, villagers around Lake Titicaca concocted a very clever scheme- They created floating reed islands that they could live on far out in the lake, hidden from Spanish eyes. We took a tour to the very touristy remains of these islands. It was fascinating to think of the history, take squishy footsteps across the reads, and see the reed houses and boats. The tour then continued to a scenic rock island where the villagers practice a form of communist living. It was a beautiful sunny day, and warm for being at 12,000 feet!
We had a fantastic time in Peru, the people were fabulous, the food was delicious and the sites were amazing. It was very easy to travel there and we would recommend it to anyone.
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michael
non-member comment
wow
i can't believe all of the cool places and things you guys are seeing. Very jealous, but in due time i am sure i will do the same. Stay safe. pc mike k