Moray and Chinchero

The concentric circles at Moray were different from anything we´d seen so far.  The current theory is that they were used as an agricultural laboratory, to experimentwith what crops (wheat, quinoa, other grains, potatoes, etc.) would grow best at different temperatures and under different conditions.  It has been proved that the temperature varies at different levels; [...]

Tambomachay, Pukapukara, Qenqo and Saqsaywamán

The site Tambomachay is only about 5 miles outside Cuzco.  A local bus heading toward Pisaq dropped us off right in front.  The area was used as a resting place, and is most known for its fountains and baths. The Inca Bath is created by two aqueducts that provide clear water year round, making the most of [...]

Machu Picchu

The train ride from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes (aka Machu Picchu Pueblo) was like entering the jungle.  Everything got more and more lush,green and wet.  There was less agriculture, and more wild.  Aguas Calientes itself (named for thermal springs on the edge of town) was another kind of jungle, the tourist kind.  Obviously this is [...]

Sacred Valley

 
To travel to Pisac from Cusco is about an hour by local bus, 2.40 soles about 70 cents US.  We sat next to two women who were having a conversation in Quechua and trading goods.  One had bread and the other bananas and they seem to have made an agreeable and tasty trade.  Native Quechua [...]

Cuzco

Cuzco is located in the heart of the Andes, at about 11,000 feet, a bit lower than Puno.  We were glad to have arrived by land and had a chance to adjust to the altitude.  There are a number of stories about Cuzco´s founding, but one of the most common is that the first Inca was [...]

Nazca Lines

The world famous Nazca Lines are said to have been created by the Nazca and maybe by the earlier Paracas people between 200 BC and 700 AD.  No one knows exactly why they were drawn, but there are many theories.  Maria Reiche, the German mathematician, and others proposed that they were an astronomical calendar.  Others [...]

Mérida In-Town

Mérida is the principal city of the Venezuelan Andes.  It was founded in 1558, and is known today for its high population of university and other students as well as a wide variety of attractions for tourists.  The temperature is generally mild, and at higher altitudes downright cool.   The highest peak in the country, Pico Bolivar [...]

Colonia Tovar

In  1843, a group of mostly German colonists (240 men and 151 women), arrived to establish a colony.  After spending some time in quarantine due to a disease that had broken out on board, the group made the long walk up into the mountains outside Caracas.  Most of them were from the Kaiserstuhl region, and the [...]

Akaroa

The Banks Peninsula was created by violent volcanic eruptions long, long ago.  The result today is rolling green hills with vistas of the sea and picturesque bays from their summits.  We stayed just outside Akaroa, originally a French Settlement (though the British jumped in just before the settlers arrived and officially claimed the area under [...]

Sweet Penguin

We woke up in the Bay of Islands. There are 144 of them or so total, and they make up an amazing aquatic playground with opportunities for sailing, swimming, diving (a bit too chilly still for us), dolphin spotting, etc. Yesterday we stumbled upon a great self-contained apartment available for a couple of [...]