Tag: Nature

Our Climb Up Huayna Picchu At Machu Picchu

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View of Huayna Picchu mountain at Machu Picchu, in Urubamba Province, Peru.

Over a quick breakfast in Agua Calientes, Bob and I debated whether or not to actually tackle climbing up Huayna Picchu Mountain, which sits overlooking Machu Picchu.  The hiking trail up this mountain follows another ancient Inca path with an ascent up steep stony pathways, through tunnels, and along sheer cliff edges that offer no protection for hikers.  We both decided that it would be an exhilarating and challenging trek, but I was unsure if I would have the courage.  I have to tell you that I am very afraid of heights. Read more

Arequipa, the White Stone City

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Cathedral, Plaza de Armas, Arequipa, Peru

Bright sunshine greeted us when Bob and I awoke in Arequipa, Peru at 6:30 a.m.  It is amazing how a little sunlight can change the face of a place.  When we emerged from our hotel with a city map in hand, the cobbled streets and high walls seemed less daunting than when we arrived in the dark the night before. Read more

Our Drive On The Pan American Highway to Arequipa

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desert along pan american highway near nazca peru - frame to frame

Our destination heading south from Nazca on the Pan American Highway in Peru was the city of Arequipa.  At 556 kilometers from Nazca, we figured the drive should take us about 6 hours and put us in Arequipa well before dark.  The day’s drive, however, sure proved that calculation to be wrong.

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The Mummies of Chauchilla Cemetery near Nazca, Peru

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Chauchilla Cemetery south of the city of Nazca in Peru, South America.

The Mummies of Chauchilla Cemetery in Peru, are the mummified bodies of ancient pre-hispanic Nazca people.   As we soon learned on our tour, their bodies have been preserved because of the dry climate of the Nazca valley.  Archaeologists have dated these grave sites to somewhere around 1000 AD, and it is believed the burials occurred here over the course of 600 years. Read more

Our flight over the Nazca Lines of Peru

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lineas de nazca sign - nazca desert - peru

Our drive from the town of Pisco, in Peru, towards the town of Nazca and the world-famous Nazca Lines of Peru took us away from the coastline and gradually entered an area of totally different terrain. Read more

Our Drive To Paracas On The Pan American Highway

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Pan American Highway south of Lima, Peru

With our rental car topped up with gas, Bob and I headed south from Lima into the desert along the Pan American Highway towards our next stop at the village of Paracas located 15 kilometres south of the town of Pisco, in Peru.  The Pan American Highway runs along the Pacific Ocean coastline and is bordered on the left by sweeping desert landscape.   Huge hills, dare I say mountains, of sand, bisected by valleys and gullies, dominate the countryside. Read more