MI Travelers: More of our visit to Peru

Our last blog took you through the early days of our Peru trip. We went from Lima to Ica, on the coast of Peru. There we went to a vineyard that specializes in Pisco (Pisco Sour is Peru's national drink---yummy and strong!), visited their Regional Museum with lots of pre-Inca pottery, and traversed the dunes with a dune buggy and by sandboarding (belly down on a snowboard!) From Ica we went to Paracas and the Ballestra Islands to see penguins, sea lions, cormorants and boobies. Then it was off to Nasca to see the Nasca lines from the sky. Below is one of the designs we saw there.

Nasca Lines: There are many theories about these lines that extend for miles. Who made them? Why are they here? What do you think?

Pre-Inca pottery

Colco Canyon

After Nasca, we went to Arequipa, a lovely town....We were also getting acclimatize to Peru's highlands. Arequipa is 2800 meters (over 9100 feet) above sea level. From here we went to Colco Valley and stayed at a small town called Chivay. We loved Colco Valley. It is a smaller version of Sacred Valley which is situated near Cusco. We saw condors, and the valley is lovely.

Colco Canyon woman

Peruvian girl

From Colco Valley we headed to Puno and Lake Titicaca. Lake Titicaca is the highest commercially navigable lake in the world. At an altitude of 3810 meters (12,500 feet) the lake borders Peru and Bolivia. There are two main islands on Lake Titicaca, one of which we visited, Taquile. Taquile has no cars and only recently have solar panels been introduced. The Taquileños run their society based on community collectivism and on the Inca moral code ama sua, ama llulla, ama qhilla, (do not steal, do not lie, do not be lazy). Lake Titicaca also has the Uros, a group of artificial islands made of floating reeds, hence the name Floating Islands. These islands were established by the Amaras as a defense because they could be moved if a threat arose.

Lake Titicaca with the reeds used to make the Uros islands

Women from a floating island (Uros) in Lake Titicaca

Lunch time view from Taquile Island in Lake Titicaca

Unfortunately, we had to leave Puno (the main town on the mainland) early due to an impending miners' strike. We were whisked off to Cusco on an 8 hour bus ride at 6PM after a full day tour of the lake. We were exhausted when we arrived in Cusco but happy not to get delayed by the strike.

Llama, llamas everywhere

Studying the Incas is fascinating and our guide Daniel really helped us appreciate their genius for statesmanship, engineering, architecture, mathematics and astronomy. Rather than slaying their enemies, the Incas coerced them into submission and then placed their idols in Inca temples. Hence if they later decided to fight the Incas, the Incas had their gods and also the power they received from their gods. Moreover, the Inca hierarchy had deformed heads (bounded with bands and wood at a young age—similar to foot binding in China) that gave the leaders an “other worldly” appearance. That, in combination with their architectural and astronomically precise temples, awed their enemies into submission.

Cusco, the Inca's capital and a beautiful Andean city.
We hiked to the Jesus statue and had a marvelous view of the city. The hike was pretty grueling due to the altitude. We were at 11,000 feet.

To the Incas this circle marked the center of the world

Skulls of Inca royalty. A board was placed around their heads at a young age to elongate their skulls. This deformation made them appear to be other-worldly and different from the rest of the population.

After Cusco we headed to the Sacred Valley. This area is aptly named because it can produce almost everything. The soil is fertile and provides most of Peru’s food. It is also beautiful. We had the great good fortune to spend a night in Maras, a small village in the Sacred Valley with a Peruvian family. Without running water and heat, we experienced life in Peru. Despite the restrictions, we were well fed and entertained

The flutist was our host in Maras and he brought his music students together to entertain us.

Mark, sharing the road in Maras

As I mentioned, the Incas were remarkable in engineering, architecture, astronomy, and agricultural. The ruins of Moray reflect the Inca's interest in exploiting their kingdom's various agricultural microclimates.

Moray: scientific agriculture

Ollantaytambo: a site of pre-Inca and Inca ruins

The Inca jewel: Machu Picchu

We made it to Machu Picchu. Yes, it is incredible.

Our last stop in Peru required a short flight over the Andes to Puerto Maldonado. From here we boarded a small boat for our adventure into the Madre de Dios jungle.