Lima itself (population approx. 10 million) has a UNESCO World Heritage site downtown …… tho’ it is an oasis in a rather bleak and run-down city
….. and the shanty towns are ever-growing ….. this one seems to be climbing a mountain
Cuzco was definitely our preferred hang-out spot with a great central square
And plenty of neat alleys to explore
Even modest villages had some fine buildings
And the Moorish influence was self-evident
My theory that Fatimah’s Hand door knockers define the limits of Moorish architecture held up quite nicely
Agriculture was often quite retro ….. here ploughing with oxen
And here winnowing the chaff
Markets were predictably colourful
Rural Indian women often practiced weaving
While the men crocheted
Children often have hard lives
But a smile is always round the corner
And our activities always produced shy curiosity
Food was uniformly good, except perhaps, Mike’s fried guinea pig tho’ he said it tasted “just like squirrel” – as if I would know.
Amazing what you could find !!!!
Switching now to the Incas themselves. Of course their masonry skills are legendary … how they fitted huge diorite building stones together is quite remarkable, shown here with Dave doing his best to look Inca-like
And even the natural curve of outcropping rock was accomodated ..
And the huge experimental terraced greenhouse in Moray was also unique. To get an idea of size, look at the tiny humans in the centre of the complex
And here they are ....
Even more curious were the salinas, fed by naturally occurring salt-rich streams
That are fed into terraced pools where the water evaporates
Leaving the salt to be ‘mined”
And then transported to the customers
The first leg of the trip was to the rain forest where the new lodge proved to be no hardship whatsoever
Here, Becky examines the “walking palm” which can move 80 cm per year
While the leaf-cutter ants chomp away
And then cart of the prize to their underground compost heaps
Of course much of the vegetation was spectacular, especially the orchids
Phase two was the mountain biking
All the terrain was so arid …. the only snow was on the very high peaks in the distance
Easy to start with …
But then the last third was all downhill with narrow trails, hairpin bends, clouds of dust and plenty of pretty big rocks to circumnavigate
Next came the Inca Trail
Oh so steep
Though the afternoon was in semi-tropical jungle
But still so much climbing
And yet more steps
But all worthwhile in the end. This shot of Machu Picchu has to be one of the most photographed views in the world.
For me, the highlight of the whole trip was probably Lake Titicaca. Sorry, Machu Picchu – is that heresy? But it is so very blue
With the Bolivian Andes in the distance
Being our anniversary, Sharon got a symbolic flower behind her ear
Accommodation was quite delightful with extraordinarily gracious families
And I was introduced to the mean-spirited Pepe
But fortunately, Maggie decided not to bring her own new-found friend back to the US
The Uro Aymara floating villages were very special
Everything was made of reeds; not only the islands themselves but also the houses ……..
……… and the boats
Finally back to Lima for the culinary tour which included a lesson on how to make Peruvian cerviche.
And for now, good-bye and good luck ......
