I'd love to check this place out. Nice blog Tara.
I\'ve never been to Cuzco before so reading this article has given me an insight to the wonders that await one\'s curiosity. If I ever manage to visit the place, I\'ll definitely check out the festivals.
Budgeting is a real problem that\'s getting in the way. I might have an opportunity to go there soon though, thanks to mystery shopping. If this can help anyone, take a look at SQM (link: http://goo.gl/jda1d7) which provides this service. I believe you can save up to 50% off on some trips. Will definitely check out Cuzco and its crazy colors and celebrations if it pops up in the roster list.
Cuzco on a budget You can make Cuzco more affordable than any shopping site can. Do as I did and stay in the cheapest dorm you can find, (Magic Hostel was great) and eat from produce you buy at the central market. Also, staying for awhile saves money (and lets you really know the place) since you're not paying for transport. Forget shopping sites!
When we can't be on the road..... we can live vicariously through you. Magnificent! Oh the wonderful people and the amazing colors. We'd love to be there for the winter solstice.
Winter solstice--yikes! Yes, people and colors were amazing, but I have to say, those solstice crowds were impressive. Then again, if you were willing to pay a small fortune--maybe $100, you could have a privileged place to sit for the festivities up at the ruins and a snack besides. That would be the way to go!
Thrilled by your blog Ah, what an amazing journey to step into your blog. You captured the magnificence and mystery of this sacred place perfectly. My favorite photos: those adorable llamas of course!
Llamas and Machu Picchu Yes, they were the perfect combo. This really is the land of amazing Incan ruins, their colorful descendents and camelids of all sorts. You'll have to meet an alpaca--they have the sweetest faces!
Being there Hi Tara,
Thank you for your splendid descriptive writing and dazzling photos!
I felt like I was there right with you, jostling through the crowds and showered with color and magic.
Great job!
Thanks, Sara That's high praise coming from a great writer like yourself! We'd always thought we'd be here together in Cusco and Machu Picchu, so I imagined you with me--glad you could feel it. Hope your back's better!
Awesome Tara....absolutely awesome pictures!....and just like you to make your visit into a spiritual journey....I am curious however...from the perspective of my armchair mind you...you say you spend a week, or a month, here or there, in some tiny village or other place....how do you spend your time from hour to hour or day to day while you are there?
Hanging out in tiny spots... Great question, Bernie, and it's great to hear from you. I often spend lots of time in places others visit for an hour on a tour bus. First, I'm really living down here, not just traveling, so I take a couple of hours a day, sitting in the plaza reading and chatting with people who approach me. Then, if I'm in a tiny town, i'll certainly take walks into the countryside for a couple of hours. Then there's the studying about the place and fussing with the tons of photos I take. I'm also quite good at just relaxing and being. Somehow, pleasant days just pass. Ciao!
Your blog was informative and the pictures are great as usual... Your blog builds our anticipation as we hope to go to Peru next year. A couple questions: When is the best time...no rain or tourists and lower prices...to go? I've heard recommendations from others not to bother with visiting the site in the early morning...too many people...but to go later in the day when the crowds dissipate...what do you think? .
Great that you're coming! I can't really deal with crowds, so I always think the shoulder season is best--maybe May or November. If you're not going to hike up to trails away from the ruins (Sun Gate, Inca Bridge), or linger a ridiculous amount of time as I do, it could be a great plan to go in the afternoon. Fewer crowds and low clouds. I look forward to reading of your adventures there!
Climate change Every place I've visited I've had chats with locals about how the weather has changed for the worse since they were young. It was a disaster this year in the Inca's Sacred Valley where harvested crops rotted from the lingering rainy season. So sad! Thanks for the kind words on the pics--what a spot it was for photos!
Nicely Done Tara I thoroughly enjoyed reading this blog as well as seeing the pictures. You are too correct about Aguas Calientes. That place was nothing special, but a necessary evil (well, not evil, but more irritating). It's good to see you blogging again. Hope to read more about Bolivia and Chile. Take care my friend.
Necessary evil Thanks Brendan, I hope to catch up on some blogs. Yes, Aquas Calientes was a necessary evil, but like most places, the longer I stayed, the more I found hidden nooks--waterfalls and peaceful places by the river. All a part of traveling.
Amazing! I love your blog. The only countries I have visited in South America are Venezuela, Columbia and Guyana. I am most intrigued by Brazil in particular but all of that continent is on my list for the future. I love your style so I will subscribe to your blog.
Thanks Roger I'm glad you like my style--thanks for the kind words. I love South America and will be heading up to your haunts in the north in a year or so. Hope you get to Brazil soon--it was fantastic! Happy travels!
I´m a one-way ticket, slow traveler, relishing the freedom of the open road and trusting serendipity to guide my journey. When I was younger, I used to travel for a year at a time. Then a few years ago, I roamed Europe and North Africa for three and a half years and liked that even better.
On August 1st, 2010, I left my peaceful Mission Canyon paradise in Santa Barbara's mellow summer and emerged from a couple of planes a day and a world later in the teeming, sub-zero streets of Buenos Aires´winter. Now, with the Andes, Amazon and Galapagos between here and home, will three years be enou... full info
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I'd love to check this place out.
Nice blog Tara. I\'ve never been to Cuzco before so reading this article has given me an insight to the wonders that await one\'s curiosity. If I ever manage to visit the place, I\'ll definitely check out the festivals. Budgeting is a real problem that\'s getting in the way. I might have an opportunity to go there soon though, thanks to mystery shopping. If this can help anyone, take a look at SQM (link: http://goo.gl/jda1d7) which provides this service. I believe you can save up to 50% off on some trips. Will definitely check out Cuzco and its crazy colors and celebrations if it pops up in the roster list.