Before you even get to Machu Picchu, Peru offers some amazing vistas.
Lima is BIG. Stretches for miles. 10 million people. City lights, ocean-side cliffs, buildings, graffiti, museums, shops, gardens, apartments and hotels...The earthquakes and erosion sometimes topple boulders down the bluffs onto highways or beaches, so you see gigantic nets holding everything in. This place is literally bursting at the seams.
 |
| Giant cacti at Museo Larco, Lima |
 |
| Pacific Ocean at Lima (by the docks you can see the black nets holding rocks in). |
Cuzco, even stripped of its gold, has a way of glowing in the sun. It's nested in a see-saw of rosy mountains with steps, slopes and staggered buildings mimicking the landscape. Even before the Inca, the Lake Titicaca cultures had planned cities based on textile designs. Incan roads survive in Cuzco, so narrow only one car can pass through and pedestrians hug the walls to avoid cars. On top of century-old stones, Spanish stucco forms churches, restaurants and a very visible layer of history.
 |
| Cuzco seen from the outskirts |
 |
| Incan walls under Spanish plaster, Cuzco |
The Sacred Valley was my favorite region of Peru. It felt like springtime, driving past rows of quinoa fields, watching animals graze, smelling the eucalyptus trees in the misty morning air. Villages, little brick houses, donkeys, alpacas, children and icecream, mud and straw, guinea pig pens...it's a sensory experience better lived than described. This region includes Písac, Ollayntaytambo, Maras, Sacsayhuamán, and the underground labyrinth of Qenko. Of course, Machu Picchu will have its own post.
The sacred valley is full of ruins, green mountains, patchwork-quilt agriculture, fresh air and sunny vistas quickly overtaken with luminescent clouds. Ancient huts, uninhabited for centuries, are not an uncommon sight as they climb upward toward mountaintop granaries. The mountains disrupt wind currents so much that rain can fly upside-down in your face. All in all, you can't separate geography from the experience.
 |
Above: Ancient fortress of Sacsayhuamán (no, not pronounced "sexy woman").
Below: Rock slide outside of Sacsayhuamán. Don't start till the second dip or you'll have trouble sitting for a few days! |
 |
Above: The "patchwork" of the Sacred Valley by Ollantaytambo
Below: Our awesome trilingual tour guide for the Sacred Valley, Magali. She taught us fun Quechua words. |
Post a Comment