Blogs from Peru, South America - page 21

Fresh off a trip to Machu Picchu, my travel companions and I decide to go out and explore Cusco. We were here briefly before we spent the day in Machu Picchu, but we really didn't get to take in the city and surrounding area. Now is our time. We make our way to Sacsayhuamán, a beautiful old site that looks like an archeological dig, and we walk around. We walk up and down these rock walls and just explore to the best of our abilities. The best known zone of Sacsayhuamán includes its great plaza and its adjacent three massive terrace walls. The stones used in the construction of these terraces are among the largest used in any building in pre-Hispanic America. They display a precision of cutting and fitting that is unmatched in the Americas. ... read more

There is no way you can sleep in when there are no curtains, temperatures of over 25 overnight and lots of bird noises so I was up early to have a wander around the grounds and take some photos before we headed back downstream to Puerto Maldonado. After a change of clothes at the bus station we were on the pane back to the heights of Cusco. It is a lovely city with a population of about 1 million. It was the capital of the Incan Empire before the Spanish came in 1532 or so and took over. The Incan temples and shrines were overbuilt with Catholic churches and cathedrals and they dominate the city. However there are many signs of the original religion, the bulls on the rooftops facing the sun, the signs on some ... read more

I was contacted by a friend of mine concerning travel to South America. I was a little hesitant, for I had already had a vacation this year, but then I thought about it, and I said why not. Saying that, now I was on a journey to this wonderous location which was quite unexpected. There were two others and me that decided to take this journey. I was so excited, and for our main reason for the travel, we were going to one of the worlds wonders, Machu Picchu. To get there we were going to fly into Lima, Peru, then take transportation to Cusco, and make our way to Machu Picchu. Now Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the central coastal part of the country, overlooking the ... read more

We finished our breakfast and spent some time in the hotel lobby chatting with some local folks who set up their small display of merchandise for sale. I suppose, it is part of the hotel ritual to create the ambience that promotes the Inca culture. In my view, that is great…a multicultural mosaic! We spent some time with the folks. The bus came on time to pick us up from the hotel. It would be a day trip to visit the close by interests; Sacsayhuaman and of course, Pisac and the Sacred Valley in Ollantaytambo. It’s a double deck bus with open top. The day was nice and warm and we chose to sit on the open deck for a 360 view of the beautiful landscape around us. Of course I have another interest to grab ... read more

The Cañon de Colca, the 2nd deepest canyon in the world (the first being only a few hundred kms away from here in Peru), dropping by at times 3000 meters from top to bottom! Arequipa is the place where people base themselves to get there either by organised tour or as we did, by ourselves. Arequipa in its self was quite nice although we didn't think there was too much to see and do from our perspective. We used it as a place to relax and take a breather after some busy weeks on the move. The main plaza was a nice place to sit and people watch and the city has a nice back drop of El Misti volcano. The following day we got a bus to Chivay, the main starting point for the canyon. ... read more