# A Trip To Peru



## merlin (Aug 18, 2017)

I spent 3 weeks with Lisa in Peru last month and here are some photos:

An interesting welcome 








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The view from the window, it's in a residential area near the airport...






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The main square in Cuzco our first stop after flying into Lima.....











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Here is a KFC are on the main square 






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Lisa in happier time drinking a coca tea infusion (which sadly didn't work) a few hours later the altitude sickness began...






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Our junk food meals of the day....cheeseburger and lasagne...











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## merlin (Aug 18, 2017)

Here are a few snapshots I took of Lisa, the wedding and the lunch, which we had at a restaurant directly opposite the church ...


































The view from the bell tower of the church which we had to climb of course  
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	











​The Lunch






​Alpaca kebabs 







Stuffed peppers with a dark beer which was lovely, I know alcohol is not advisable at high altitudes, but I thought it worth the small risk...  
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	






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## merlin (Aug 18, 2017)

*We spent a night in an old Inca town called Pisaq, this is our place for the night:*







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The view from our bedroom window..*







​*These women are apparently collecting seeds from what look like corn on the cob*







​*We passed an alpaca/llama farm on the way here....*





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*Here I am feeding some*











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*The important Inca site here which is vast, we only walked on a small part of it:*














​*The approach road....*.





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## CeeCee (Aug 18, 2017)

Great pics!  You just don't go on a vacation, you go on an adventure.

My neice was in Ecuador this summer for a biology class credit....she took lots of photos of the Galápagos Islands...maybe I'll post them one day.

i was born in South America but never had the chance to go back...wish I had.


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## Jackie22 (Aug 18, 2017)

Wonderful photos, I enjoyed very much.....thanks for sharing.


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## merlin (Aug 18, 2017)

It become a real Peruvian adventure here, 



  due to teachers protesting, they had blocked all the roads into Ollantaytambo (the town where we were staying ready to take the train for Machu Picchu, but because the track was blocked with stones all services had been cancelled for two days.

The only other way to get there is take a taxi from here to Santa Maria in the mountains, then walk the train tracks for around 3 hours to reach Machu Picchu 

We had to walk the last couple of miles to our hotel on this day because of the blocked roads ....























​*....anyway we spent a great day in the end climbing the ruins here right to the very top, which was a lot easier than it first looked..*















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## merlin (Aug 18, 2017)

We took the taxi into the mountains and walked to the town at the foot of Machu Picchu, it has no road to it only a rail link....

The start of our 10 mile trek....
















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A few stopped off for a dip in the river...





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I felt sorry for these porters taking some peoples luggage the whole ten miles in wheelbarrows  
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




















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One of several snack bars on the route, a lot of backpackers walk the tracks to save the train fare




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## merlin (Aug 18, 2017)

*Here are a few photos of Machu Picchu which though unfortunate for many was special for us in that it was virtually empty. nearly 7,000 people a day visit but because of the train stoppage only those that walked made it.

It is an amazing place, impossible to capture on a photo really, we did hire a guide who gave us a lot of information about the history of the place, and the current situation regarding religion etc.























​This carved stone reflecting the outline of the mountain is interesting..






























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A couple of rodents sunbathing..



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## Falcon (Aug 18, 2017)

Thank you,   thank you,  thank you,   For  all the beautiful photos and the  story.  What a vacation !  Merlin

I learned a lot.


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## NancyNGA (Aug 18, 2017)

Amazing scenery, Merlin.  Thanks for posting your pictures.


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## terry123 (Aug 18, 2017)

What an adventure.  Thanks for posting!!  One question, why were the teachers protesting? Great to see things I will never get to experience!


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## debbie in seattle (Aug 18, 2017)

Great pics, thanks for sharing.   We took a cruise through South American and spent a few days in Peru.   A lot of folks took a side trip to Manchu Picchu, we chose the Galapagos.     Loved the entire trip.


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## Skyking (Aug 18, 2017)

That was great! Good pics! While I've spent many weeks in Peru never made it to Machu. Thanks for getting me there nthego:


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## Ruth n Jersey (Aug 18, 2017)

Beautiful photos,food looks delicious and the Alpaca's look like they are smiling.


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## jujube (Aug 18, 2017)

WOW! Great pictures!  Loved the smiling Alpaca.  What an adventure you had walking down the tracks......I can't imagine 10 miles at that altitude.  

I've tried the coca tea....I couldn't get past the taste.  I took Diamox, too, which helped with the altitude in the Andes but the side effects were unacceptable.  

One of these days, I'm going to get there.


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## merlin (Aug 19, 2017)

Falcon said:


> Thank you,   thank you,  thank you,   For  all the beautiful photos and the  story.  What a vacation !  Merlin
> 
> I learned a lot.



You are welcome Falcon, it was a trip I never expected to take, but Lisa suggested it so finding a cheap flight on the internet we decided to go. I will post some more photos when I get a chance...


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## merlin (Aug 19, 2017)

terry123 said:


> What an adventure.  Thanks for posting!!  One question, why were the teachers protesting? Great to see things I will never get to experience!


 The teachers were protesting about poor pay the usual issue in Peru, talking to the locals the President is disliked and of course corruption and fraud are widespread there, and in general the people seem to be long suffering. Though the teachers caused us a lot of problems, I could sympathise with them in attacking tourism, because nothing else would affect the seemingly fixed attitude of the government. It's still going on see below:* LINK


**Peru's Interior Minister Calls for Calm as Teachers' Strike Escalates*​




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*Police clashed with the teachers in central Lima, Peru, August 17, 2017. | Photo: EFE*






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## merlin (Aug 19, 2017)

NancyNGA said:


> Amazing scenery, Merlin.  Thanks for posting your pictures.


Thanks Nancy yes the scenery was amazing and very varied, the people were lovely generally kind and helpful


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## merlin (Aug 19, 2017)

Ruth n Jersey said:


> Beautiful photos,food looks delicious and the Alpaca's look like they are smiling.



Yes the food was generally good Ruth, I had no expectations so it was all a surprise, red meat is in most of the main dishes, not good for vegetarians.  .....The alpaca meat is tasty and very low in cholesterol so healthy, we did try their classic dish of roast Guinea Pig once, it was ok a bit like pork, but it didn't look too appetising on the plate 

Lamb stew is another of their traditional dishes. 

Here is one with coriander/cilantro my all time favourite herb, it was delicious, the lamb was the melt in your mouth kind Mmmm





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Also chicken in sesame seeds with quinoa was a common dish we found, quinoa originated in Peru as did tomatoes and many vegetables, the Spanish brought them back to Europe during their occupation if Peru during the 16th century





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Here is the roast guinea pig dish


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## merlin (Aug 19, 2017)

jujube said:


> WOW! Great pictures!  Loved the smiling Alpaca.  What an adventure you had walking down the tracks......I can't imagine 10 miles at that altitude.
> 
> I've tried the coca tea....I couldn't get past the taste.  I took Diamox, too, which helped with the altitude in the Andes but the side effects were unacceptable.
> 
> One of these days, I'm going to get there.



Yes we took Diamox as well jujube but it didn't help Lisa and I may have been ok anyway, but who knows, I don't mind the coca tea taste and bought some back with me, they hand the leaves out at the airport in Lima when you arrive, but chewing it I didn't like  .... the alpacas were friendly especially when feeding them  but their reputation for spitting is true 

Here is a photo I took of a 4 day old Llama (according to a guide) born in Machu Picchu ..


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## merlin (Aug 19, 2017)

Here are a few photos taken during our one night stay on a floating island ...... Lake Titicaca... 

​_The Uros islands are a group of 70 man-made totora reed islands floating on Peru’s Lake Titicaca. Its inhabitants, the Uros tribe, pre-date Incan civilization and continue to hunt and fish the plentiful land and waters they occupy.
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​*This is our room for the night, one of four on this island* 


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_​*The room was cosy, though at night the temperature on the lake dropped to freezing point or below, but our hosts bought us water bottles so we kept warm...* 






​*The window overlooked the lake* 








​*Just after we arrived
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*It was very hot in the sun, and sitting on a deckchair which sank into the reeds could be a challenge.. — 
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*Three generations of our hosts family shared the island*


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*​*Soaking up the sun...*
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*​*The dining room where we had our meals..*
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Sunset over the lake from our room...

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## DaveA (Aug 19, 2017)

Wonderful group of photos.  Thanks for the posting.:encouragement:


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## debbie in seattle (Aug 19, 2017)

DaveA said:


> Wonderful group of photos.  Thanks for the posting.:encouragement:



ditto!


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## Katybug (Aug 20, 2017)

I love your pictures.  Thank you for posting these interesting photos.


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## SeaBreeze (Aug 20, 2017)

What a wonderful experience you had there, such interesting and colorful photos, you and Lisa looked great, I enjoyed seeing the animals and the sunset photo was just gorgeous!  Thanks for sharing your adventure!


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## merlin (Aug 26, 2017)

*While on the floating island we took a couple of boat trips in a traditional boat (mainly for tourists these days) with the owners younger brother Joel, who was a really nice guy though he didn't speak much English, so Lisa translated for me, I am so lazy with languages  
	

	
	
		
		

		
			






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* Here are some photos:

*​​*The boat*






































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A chapel on an island*




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Our second trip was to show us one way they fish and how they cut the reeds for island use:


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*Joel wearing his grandfathers jacket*






​*Fishing*











​*Reed cutting*














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A passing boat with a collection of reeds

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## merlin (Aug 27, 2017)

*This is the return train from Machu Picchu before it came to a sudden stop because the teachers were again blocking the track.... we had to walk a couple of miles to catch a bus for the remainder of the journey, it was quite an adventure really...
















** The incident*


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## RadishRose (Aug 27, 2017)

Amazing photos, Merlin! I love the way the plane's interior walls are painted.


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## merlin (Aug 28, 2017)

Thanks Rose interestingly the carriage we were in was full of Americans who were all very friendly and seemed to accept the disturbances without any complaints, and just got on with walking, you do get used to arrangements going awry in countries like Peru though....


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## hollydolly (Aug 28, 2017)

Ooooh there's a few pictures on here I haven't seen before.... lovely.... . That's a beautiful picture of you and Lisa on the boat... and I love the one with the guy and the reeds... . Are you still using the little Sony? .. I wish mine the next upgrade from yours with the viewfinder  had been any good but as you know it wasn't, I'm still looking for a better camera than my old Fuji....


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## RadishRose (Aug 28, 2017)

Merlin, that's a train, lol? Looks like a plane but it's still pretty. I haven't seen that one before either.


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## merlin (Aug 28, 2017)

Yes I am still using the Sony Holly, but it's coming to the end of it's life, the flash unit popped and died while I was in Peru   I am looking at a couple of Canon compacts which look good, but waiting for the price to come down a bit


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## drifter (Aug 29, 2017)

Cee Cee is right. This is an adventure, a vacation of a lifetime. And your photos are out of the park. Thanks for sharing.


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## merlin (Aug 29, 2017)

Thanks Drifter it was truly an adventure, but everything worked out well in the end, I am still sorting out hundreds of photos we took, I will post some more soon....


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## merlin (Sep 4, 2017)

*One of the places we visited on our tour was in Arequipa ... Santa Catalina Monastery....... I liked the history of the place:
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_The city of Arequipa set aside four plots of land for the monastery. Before it was completed, a wealthy young Doña María de Guzmán, the widow of Diego Hernández de Mendoza, decided to retire from the world and became the first resident of the monastery. In October 1580, the city fathers named her the prioress and acknowledged her as the founder. With her fortune now the monastery’s, work continued and attracted a number of women as novices. Many of these women were criollas and daughters of curacas, Indian chieftains. Other women entered the monastery to live as lay persons apart from the world
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Over time, the monastery grew and women of wealth and social standing entered the novitiate or as lay residents. Some of these new residents brought with them their servants and household goods and lived within the walls of the monastery as they had lived before. While outwardly renouncing the world and embracing a life of poverty, they enjoyed their luxurious English carpets, silk curtains, porcelain plates, damask tablecloths, silver cutlery, and lace sheets. They employed musicians to come and play for their parties.

When Arequipa's frequent earthquakes damaged portions of the monastery, the nuns' relatives repaired the damage, and with one of the restorations, built individual cells for the nuns. Occupancy of the monastery had outgrown the common dormitories. During the two hundred years of the ViceRoyalty of Peru, the monastery continued to grow and flourish. 

By the mid-1800's, word that the monastery functioned more as a social club than a religious convent reached Pope Pius IX who sent Sister Josefa Cadena, a strict Dominican nun, to investigate. She arrived at the Monasterio Santa Catalina in 1871 and promptly began reforms. She sent the rich dowries back to the motherhouse in Europe, dis-employed the servants and slaves while giving them the chance to leave the monastery or stay on as nuns. She instituted internal reforms and life in the monastery became as other religious institutions.

​_*We both loved the place and spent most of the day there, here are a few photos I took, as you can see it's a lot more plush than the usual monastery....*​








































































*One of the confession cubicles, there was a whole corridor of these maybe a dozen, a lot of sinning must have gone on  
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	


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The laundry area...

























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## HappyLuk (Mar 24, 2018)

Thank you for sharing your wonderful trip. Beautiful pictures. Hope we can visit Peru one day.


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