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Peru

October, 2006

 

    On the afternoon of October 10th, we arrived at in Puno, Peru.  The Peru portion of our trip lasted about three weeks.  We visited Puno, traveled to Cusco via the Inka Express bus, stopped in Cusco, toured the Sacred Valley with an overnight in Urubamba, took a train to Aquas Caliente where we hiked Wayna Picchu and Machu Picchu, then continued our travels to Arequipa and finally hiked down Colca Canyon before we returned to Panama.   There are some great photographs of our travels, so either click on the links above or scroll down.  Remember, if you slide your mouse across the photo you should see a description and if you click on the picture it will enlarge.  We want to thank our friends Pat and Walt on the sailing vessel Centime for contributing some of these photographs.

Puno

17th Century Catedral located on the Plaza de Armas    Pedestrianized street Jiron Lima    Church of San Juan

Uros Floating Islands ... these man made islands which are constructed from totora reeds    A reed boat like the island is constructed with totora reeds

Another village among the Uros Floating Islands. There are 42 islands which are located in Lake Titicaca

Rankin standing near a chullpa which is a tomb built above ground in tower-like structure.    I am inside the chullpa which were shaped like a woman's uterus, and corpses were mummified in a fetal position to recreate their birth.     The only openings to the buildings face east, where it was believed the Sun was reborn by Mother Earth each day.

Many of the tombs have been dynamited by grave robbers, while others were left unfinished    Guinnea Pig which is considered a delicacy in Peru and served on holidays or special occasions

 

Inka Express   

Wiracocha temple ... according to the old chroniclers was built by the Inca Wiracocha in honour to the Superior God invisible for the Andean people: "Apu Kon Titi Wiracocha".     Wiracocha temple ... Architectonically it is classified as "Kallanka", that is, a high building completely covered with straw (wood and "ichu").

Wiracocha temple ... There were round columns that we can still find in the bases between the central wall and the lateral one to support the ceiling.

 

Cusco

Plaza de Armas ... the heart of Cusco        Plaza de Armas    

Parade in Plaza de Armas        Parade in Plaza de Armas        Parade in Plaza de Armas

Catedral located in Plaza de Armas sits solidly on the foundations of the Inca Viracocha's palace.    Inglesia de la Compania de Jesus ... first built in 1570s, it was resurrected after the terrible earthquake of 1650    

Hathun Rumiyoq, the most famous Inca passageway...within its impressive walls lies the celebrated Inca stone.        Twelve cornered block fits perfectly into the lower wall of the Inca Roca's old imperial palace  

Traditional dress of the Peruvian women and children    We toured several of the ruins via horseback

Puca Pucara ... meaning red fort. It is thought to have been built by the Emperor Pachacutec

Sacsayhuaman ... it was Emperor Pachacuti who began work on Sacsayhuaman in the 1440s.        Sacsayhuaman ... the strength of the mortar-less stonework -- one block weighs more than 300 tonnes -- is matched by the brilliance of its design.

Tambo Machay ... an Inca bath or temple of the waters, a place for ritual as well as physical cleansing and purification.

A woman and her child stand with llama's for a picture        Traditional dress ... notice the difference in the hats

Santo Domingo Church        Santo Domingo Church    

Museo Arqueologicio de Qoricancha     Museo Arqueologicio de Qoricancha

Museo Arqueologicio de Qoricancha

Museo de Arte Popular     Museo de Arte Popular     Museo de Arte Popular

Rankin tried on a traditional beaded hat which men wore when searching for a wife    Streets of Cusco    Streets of Cusco

 

Sacred Valley/Urubamba

Pisac        Pisac

We stopped during our travel from Pisac to Ollentaytambo        For a small price, this little lady let me take her picture ... it was well worth the price

Ollantaytambo        Ollantaytambo    

Ollantaytambo        Ollantaytambo

Pablo Seminario Pottery located in Urubamba is an excellent place to purchase pottery and various pieces of art        Pablo Seminario Pottery ... various pieces drying in the sun        Pablo Seminario Pottery ... every person working here has been trained by Pablo or his wife

Pablo Seminario Pottery ... Pablo was kind enough to permit a picture with us and the artwork we purchased        Pablo Seminario Pottery ... Pablo was holding a piece of artwork we purchased for Rankin's mother

 

Aquas Caliente

Aquas Caliente ... a town on the Urubamba River in Peru    Aquas Caliente ... it is best known as the closest town to Machu Picchu    Aquas Caliente ... It has many hotels and restaurants as well as natural hot baths and of course a market

 

Wayna Picchu

Wayna Picchu is a mountain in Peru around which the Urubamba River bends.    Wayna Picchu ... after an hour hike up, Rankin relaxes is at peace on top of Wayna Picchu

Wayna Picchu ... we begin our hike down a different trail and found the Wayna Picchu sign

Wayna Picchu ... posing for a picture with Machu Picchu far below    Wayna Picchu ... the terraces and you can see the winding road which leads to Machu Picchu

Rankin still very content on top of Wayna Picchu

Rankin and Walt ... two peas in a pod on top of Wayna Picchu    Walt and Pat from Centime pose with Machu Picchu in the background

After arriving at the top of Wayna Picchu, we wait about an hour or so for the morning fog to burn off and we finally got our first glimpse of Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu ... Wayna Picchu in the background    Machu Picchu is sometimes called the "Lost City of the Incas")

Machu Picchu is a well-preserved pre-Columbian Inca ruin located at 7,970 ft on a mountain ridge.

Machu Picchu ... forgotten for centuries by the outside world, although not by locals, it was brought back to international attention by Yale archaeologist Hiram Bingham who rediscovered it in 1911    Machu Picchu ... we pose amongst the ruins

Machu Picchu ... Peru is pursuing legal efforts to retrieve thousands of artifacts that Bingham removed from the site.

 

Arequipa

Cathedral built in 17th century    Cathedral ... an view of the inside

La Compania has an extraordinary sillar stone doorway    La Compania inside by the alter hangs a Virgin and Child by Bernardo Bitto which arrived from Italy in 1575

Monastery of Santa Catalina housed almost 200 secluded nuns and 300 servants until it opened to the public in 1970    Monastery of Santa Catalina ... there are 20 halved earthware jars alongside a water channel for washing clothes

Monastery of Santa Catalina ... a nuns position at the monastery was based upon the families contribution to the church ... the better the contribution the higher the position

   

Colca Canyon

During our trip from Arequipa to Cabanaconde (where we hiked Colca Canyon), we posed for a photo opt

Church located in Cabanaconde        Rankin's ready for the hike down Colca Canyon ... I decided to skip this hike

Colca Canyon

The guide, Pat (Centime) and Rankin rest during their hike down Colca Canyon    The hike down Colca Canyon leads to their destination called Oasis and they're within reach

A photograph of their loding for the night in the Oasis    Oasis located at the bottom of Colca Canyon

Oasis

It's time to hike back up the canyon ... well, maybe not. The group decided to rent donkeys for the trip up the canyon ... good idea        Donkey ride up the canyon

Cruz de Condor ... a location to spot condors flying about ... we did see a condor but couldn't get a picture    At the Cruz de Condor, many people were selling their wares so we purchased this hat for Rankin's mother

Another view of Colca Canyon

A delicacy in Peru is guinnea pig so near the end of our trip ... we tried it    At first, Rankin is a bit surprised when the plate of guinnea pig arrives

As usual, he quickly gets into the spirit of the adventure ... in this case it's eating guinnea pig

    By October 31st our travels throughout Peru were over and we were back in Panama.  We thoroughly enjoyed our trip to Peru and hope that you enjoyed traveling along with us.  If you wish to continue the adventure, take a look at What's Happening.  Don't forget ... keep coming back. 

 

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