Day 4 The Sacred Valley

WOW. What a beautiful and enchanting day. The weather was warm and sunny as we started our journey through the sacred valley and up, up, up on a winding mountain road to 11,502 ft. The vistas along the way were incredible with jutting green mountain sides and the wildly flowing Urubamba river in the valley. Andean women and children were tending their gardens and their livestock and looked surprised to see us as we rounded each bend. After about an hour, we arrived at a village. The children on the playground of the school came running over to see us and they waved and smiled. We stopped for a while and took photos and learned about their village life. Several of the women came nearby and set up shop.

After descending the mountain we stopped at Ollantaytambo, the second most important Incan site. Our guide Pedro did a great job of explaining the historical significance of the site. Many in our group climbed to the top, but I felt that I should keep the stragglers company in the Inca Coca Cafe. Afterwards we stopped for a huge buffet lunch at a lovely colonial hacienda with beautiful gardens. They had coca tea, coca buns and coca cookies. I decided that it was my duty to try all three. It´s official, I am now addicted.

Another early morning tomorrow as we check out from our hotel and board the vistadome train to Aguas Caliente, the town at the base of Machu Picchu. We will then motorcoach our way up to the top and spend the day at the summit. Can´t wait!

Well, it is time to climb the mountain to my hotel room again. Luckily the walkway winds through pretty gardens with fountains. The sky is clear tonight so we might get to see the Southern Cross. I better get one more cup of coca tea to help me make it to the top.

Day 3 Lima to Cusco

Our flight into Cusco was quick and the descent through the clouds was amazing!

I felt the high altitude as soon as we got off of the plane and had to take it really slow. I bought some coca tea right away. There are ladies right outside of the airport that sell it.

We drove through several small Andean villages and into the Sacred Valley. What an incredible drive! All of the local people have been very nice. The children seem very happy and playful. There are dogs running loose everywhere and apparently run the place.

Our hotel, the Casa Andina, is nestled against a mountain and is surrounded by green terraces and beautiful flower gardens. It was difficult to sleep last night, but I understand that is normal while acclimating to the high altitudes. We leave in just a few minutes for a visit to an Andean family and to see the Ollyantambo ruins. Tomorrow, it´s Machu Picchu!

Day 2 Lima

Yesterday, we all went to dinner at a very beautiful seaside restaurant called Rosa' Nautica. I tried the Peruvian national dish 'ceviche' which is fresh seafood that is 'cooked' by marinating in lime juice and chilis. It was refreshing and delicious. The taxi ride to the restaurant was quite exciting *yikes!} and the cobblestone roads gave us a great massage.

Today it is a beautiful sunny day here in Lima. We enjoyed a city tour by motorcoach through this very huge city. We also toured a very old convent called "San Francisco" and went down in the catacombs, which are not designed for tall people, and saw a lot of bones. This is where the poor people were buried for hundreds of years. They were thrown down there and covered with lime. The artful rearrangement in the photo was done for the sake of the tourists.

The traffic is quite crazy and reminds me a lot of Rome, where the saying is 'when in Rome, run!'. A couple of us went for a long walk to the artisans market this afternoon where we saw a sampling of all of the beautiful handiwork that is available in this country.

Tonight we will see a folklorico show along with our dinner. It will be early to bed because we must arise for an early morning plane ride to Cusco. After arrival in Cusco, we will descend immediately to our hotel in the Sacred Valley. This will allow us a chance to acclimate to the high elevations before going to Machu Picchu. Can't wait to try that coca tea!

sj

Greetings from Lima, Peru!

Hola!

It was a long day and a night of travel from KC to Atlanta to Miami to Lima, but everything went smoothly. I am happy to report that Lan Airlines does a great job. They are very courteous and the flight ran on time and even arrived a little early.

Our guide, Tina, is also wonderful. Very knowledgeable and friendly. Her English is excellent and we have no trouble in understanding her. The hotel is bright and cheery and the staff are very helpful. We've had our orientation meeting and will be heading out to a nice seafood restaurant along the beach.

The weather is overcast and pleasantly warm. We spend one more night here and then fly to Cusco on Wednesday!

Interactive Map of Machu Picchu

http://www.sanctuarylodge.net/web/omac/omac_machu_picchu_tours_excursions.jsp

Look at the road that leads up to Machu Picchu!

Cuzco, Peru named '2007 Cultural Capital of the Americas'

http://filer.livinginperu.com/news/img/cuzco_discovery.jpg747495

Downtown Cuzco at night

© LIP

(LivinginPeru News) -- The Cultural Capital of the Americas Organization has chosen Cuzco, Peru as its representative city in 2007.

http://www.livinginperu.com/news/peru

Peruvian Citadel Is Site Of Earliest Ancient Solar Observatory In The Americas

Science Daily — Archeologists from Yale and the University of Leicester have identified an ancient solar observatory at Chankillo, Peru as the oldest in the Americas with alignments covering the entire solar year, according to an article in the March 2 issue of Science.

Read the article