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Machu Picchu &
Amazon area /
Peru |
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The private part of our trip to Galapagos, Machu
Picchu and the Amazon began in ancient city of Cusco. This historic city is the
gateway to get to Machu Picchu. International Expeditions arranged this private
tour for us. It was not all that much more money and it was worth every bit of
it. We had our own private driver and guide the entire time. Therefore, we were
able to go where larger tours were unable to. For example, on the way to Machu
Picchu we visited a community that are descendants of the Incas, they live similar
to the Incas and they use the ancient Inca language. This is a spoken language
not a written language. We were about 12,000 feet in the Peruvian Andes. It was
very remote and very beautiful. This picture (see # 1B )shows the inside of a
family's home. They cook in an open fire inside the home, there is one electrical
wire coming into the home for the radio and notice the plastic pail. |
1 B | |
2 A | |
These ladies continue to weave their beautiful
blankets. The colors are vibrant. |
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The railroad station is alive and vibrant at
the base of Machu Picchu. To get to Machu Picchu takes amazing patience and time.
From Cusco it is a 4 hour train ride. The train gradually weaves its way along
a wild river gorge. The Andes are on both sides of you. The train is slow and
the rails are narrow. One wonders how they every built this railroad into the
Andes like they did. Once you reach the end station below Machu Picchu then there
is an exciting bus ride to the top. We stayed one night in this village and our
hotel was individual " casitas " in an orchid forest with a river running
through it. Amazingly beautiful. |
3 B | |
4 A | |
All around machu Picchu there are Inca ruins.
This pictures shows a burial place of the Incas built into a huge mountain top.
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| One
can not describe the first sight of Machu Picchu. It is like seeing the Grand
Canyon for the first time, huge, daunting, powerfully beautiful. We spent hours
slowly walking along and through the site. We climbed to the top of the "
Sun God's Gate ". We reached the top of the Guard's Gate and went about 100
meters on the "Inca Trail". It was so high and steep I could not go
on and ended up keeping the lamas company. |
5 B | |
6 A | |
Archaeologists say that only 1/2 of Machu Picchu
has been discovered. Hard to believe that this could have been built in such a
remote area of the world. |
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Off to one of the tributaries of the Amazon.
Again, not easy to reach. We took a flight from Cusco to Puerto Maladonato, we
were picked up and brought to a clay bank to take a dug out canoe 2.5 hours up
the river to this amazing eco-lodge in the rain forest. There was no electricity.
Open air everything including our bedrooms. The lodge was beautiful, silent and
very comfortable. You are told where you can go ( no where ) when you get to the
lodge and a guides take you everywhere. The Peruvians are training the natives
that there is more money in eco-tourism than there is in killing the animals and
destroying the rain forest. This seems to be working. The people could not have
been nicer and we had tremendous confidence with our guides. |
7 B | |
8 A | |
Our dining room in the rain forest at the Posada
Amazonas Lodge. Along with tourism this is also a research lodge. |
| I had
a magnificent afternoon reading in the hammocks listening to the forest. It was
so still and peaceful and the fragrances were wonderful. |
9 B | |
10 A | |
After visiting with the rare, giant otters at
3:30 am we arrived to the conference room to plan for the next excursion. |
| The library
and meeting area of the lodge. It is dark by 6 pm and the lodge is lit with gas
lanterns. Very eerie and peaceful. This
trip was by far the best, most exciting that we have taken. It was invigorating,
mentally and physically challenging and it stretched us in so may ways. We started
loving South/Central American with Costa Rica and we fell in love even more with
the people and the cultures of Peru and Equador. We can not wait to explore more.
Until that time we have our memories and they are the best. |
11 B | |
