Pisaque, Peru

 

While in Peru, we went to a town called Pisaque because we heard it had a great market.  We weren't disappointed when we got there.  The thing that really stood out to us were these women that were walking around the market in their traditional clothing with fabric cloths tied to their backs.  From what we could tell, this wasn't a show for the tourists, but this is how the people live on a daily basis.  These fabric cloths were so useful.  It seemed that almost every woman wore one, either carrying her purchases, her wares, or her child.

The women in the market sold fruits and vegetables or household items.

I liked the way that they would braid their hair and tie it together at the ends.

This woman is eating her lunch with her child tied to her back.  Very convenient. 

 



Here I am at the market.  I am trying to demonstrate how tall I am compared to the native woman.  Most of them came about up to my armpits.

The isles of this market went on and on and on.  Everything they sold was so colorful and beautiful.

 



This little girl was wandering through the market trying to get poeple to pay to get their picture taken with her.  In her little sachel she has a baby llama.  She did not speak Spanish to our surprise, she spoke Quechua, an aboriginal language still used in Peru.

There were other ladies in the market as well dressed in their native dress hoping to earn a little money by getting pictures with the tourists as well.

 



Shoppers heaven right?  Well, actually, unless you are well versed in the Spanish language and are good at haggling, it can be quite overwhelming.

Another great shot of a lady with her baby wrapped in a blanket on her back.

All the vendors seemed to be eating the same lunch, a few boiled potatoes and piece of meat.  Most just had the boiled potatoes with no meat.  They would peel them with thier fingernails and pop them in their mouths.

 

Here I am buying corn.  It had huge kernels and you would think it would be starchy, but it was sweet and delicious.  She salted it for me and threw in a little wedge of a soft, white cheese.

We were able to watch this lady demonstrate how to wrap the fabric so that could be used as a backpack.

This looked like a favorite place to grab some lunch it you were a local.  Peruvian food is quite delicious.

Walking down the streets of Pisaque, Peru.

Machu Picchu, Peru

I'm one of those people who live to eat.  As soon as I finish one meal, I am thinking about what I will get to eat for my next.  On our trip to Peru, I was afforded the opportunity to try some new dishes.  All were delicious.

This one is Causa Rellena con Pollo.  It is a yellow potato with chicken salad.

This purple corn is used to make a drink called Chincha Morada.  It is made by boiling the corn with pineapple, cinnamon, clove and sugar.  You can see the finished drink in the picture below.

This dish is called Lomo Saltado.  It is a traditional Peruvian dish made with sliced beef, hot chilies and french fries. 

Inka Cola is Peru's national drink.  It is make from the extract of lemon verbena and tastes like liquid bubble gum.

Here is the local bread that people buy to take with them when they travel.  It is very sweet like a Hawaiian roll.

The highlight of our trip to Peru was taking a train to Machu Picchu.  This trip was a surprise belated anniversary gift.  Dave made all the arrangements and it was so fabulous.

We took the first train out in the morning.  We were treated to a typical Peruvian breakfast on our way there.

Once at the base of the moutain, we bought a bus ticket up to the ruins site.  We were able get a deal on a private guide to take us around.  This place is amazing!  It was just as spectacular as I imagined it would be.  The government restricts the amount of tourist to 5000 a day.  There were about 3500 on the day were were there.  It seemed a little crowded at frist, but the numbers went down as the afternoon wore on.

Machu Picchu is located on a mountain ridge at about 8000 ft. above sea level above the Urubamba Valley.

Most archaeologists believe it was a retreat for the Inca king.

Built in the 1400's, it was abandoned during the Spanish invasion.  The Spanish never found Machu Picchu which left it nearly intact unlike most of the other Inca sites which were pilaged by the Spanish.

In 1911, Hyrum Bingham discovered Machu Picchu with the help of a local 12 year old boy.  He was actually looking for the lost city of Vilcabamba and dies thinking that this is what he had found.

This is the temple of the sun.  At the summer and winter solstice, the sunrise shines through the window casting a perfectly straight line across the altar.

The sundial at the Intihuatana stone, called the "Hitching Post of the Sun." At the spring and autumn equinoxes, the sun shines overhead and casts no shadow, another of the wonders of Machu Picchu.

Rocks were carved to allow for the thatched roofs to be securely attached.

A small llama family was roaming the ruins.  I am sure there were set there for the tourists, but it was a nice touch.

The uppermost fountain,  is one of the most beautifully constructed fountains.  This fountain, with its fine stone work and providing first access to the water-- before it has been used by anyone else-- is believed to have served the residence of the Emperor Pachacuti himself.

Our tour guide was kind to take many pictures of the two of us together, which can be difficult when traveling as a couple.

 

We had such a beautiful day.  The weather was perfect.  The company was the best.  It couldn't have been better.

It amazes me that I can say that I have been to Machu Picchu.  Peru is such a beautiful country.  Thanks Dave for bringing me here.

Machu Picchu June 30, 2012

This is the original view of Machu Picchu in 1911 before modern reconstruction work began.

Lima, Peru

Dave was invited to speak at a conference on grape production in Lima. Peru.  I was invited to come along and thanks to the help of wonderful grandparents, we were able to make a wonderful trip out of it.

We spent the first four days in Lima going on tours of local vineyards and participating in the conference.

While discovering downtown Lima, we came across a ceremony being held outside a church.  This is one of the many local youth groups that participated in the program.

We were so excited to see these girls because they were wearing very similar outfits like the ones that Emily wore when she participated in a celebration in Chile.

We just had to get a picture with the llama in sunglasses.

Here is another shot of the ceremony that was going on in front of a church in downtown Lima.

We also did a walk through China town in Lima.

After seeing all that meat, I seriously contemplated becoming a vegetarian.

We were put up in a very nice Ibis hotel with meals included.  This restaraunt lets you try different dishes from Peru.  The food was really wonderful.  We found in interesting how different the food was from what we had enjoyed in Chile.

Another fun find was the Parque de la Reserva, Circuito Magico del Agua.  This city park is built to teach water stewardship and has many amazing fountains.

The fountains really came to life at night when they were lit up.

We had fun with this lazer show projected against one of the big fountains.