Hello all! It is a beautiful morning in Cusco and Beau and I are getting ready to depart for la selva (the jungle) to a town called Puerto Maldonado. We had a marvelous little breakfast at a cafe right across the street from our hostal. We are staying in the arts district of Cusco, which consists of lots of little shops, narrow streets, and cafes galor. We are looking forward to exploring the area further during our last few days in Peru next week.
Our trip to Machu Picchu was amazing. We started off in a town called Ollantaytambo which is where the Incas fled when the Spanish invaded the ruins of Machu Picchu. This is probably one of our favorite places so far. The hillside is taken up by a series of ruins, rich with the intelligence of the incas and their history. Beau and I were proud of ourselves because our tour was in Spanish and we could understand almost all of it. Of course, there was quite a bit of pantomiming and Beau and I will probably now be spreading false information about the Incas, but what can you do.
The next day we traveled to Aguas Calientes, which is the base town for Machu Picchu. We embarked on a hike up a mountain called Patacusi, which ascends up from the river out of Aguas Calientes. The ¨hike¨consisted of scaling several ladders and innumberable steps to reach the top. However, it was all worth it as we were graced with an amazing view of Machu Picchu on one of the opposite peaks. Not a bad way to experience a viewing of this jaw dropping site. We soaked our tired bodies in the hot springs that night and prepared to see the ruins the next day.
We left early Wednesday morning to get to the ruins. We had a short tour, then did a few hikes around the area. Machu Picchu is beautiful and mysterious. The ruins consist of water systems, temples, a pyramid, a compass, sculpture, etc. We spent some time in the afternoon, just sitting on one of the terraces trying to take it all in. One of the hikes we did was up to the first sun gate, which is on the original Inca Trail. This trail connected all of the Inca cities spanning the western coast of South America. It is truly an amazing place.
That´s all for now. We´ve had a little trouble finding good internet connections outside of Cusco, but we´ll keep you updated as we can.
Love to all,
Deedra and Beau
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3 comments:
i can't believe you guys are almost home... i've missed you so much, glad it's gone by as fast as it has. the nubbins misses you, bean. in fact he was telling me yesterday he doesn't remember what you look like so you'd better come home soon. stay safe, you are in my thoughts daily.
much love
Hola Beau and Deedra,
Glad you had an amazing time in cuzco and machu picchu. Be safe in the rest of your travels.
By the way, thanks for the trivia bit about the meaning of lake titicaca.
Ray
Miss you guys back here at the funny farm, both of you hurry home safe
tammy :)
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