A Merry Machu Picchu Christmas!

Yuko & I made it to Machu Picchu last summer and shared some egg nog with these cute little critters.




Starting out on the trek at Ollantaytambo - three nights along the Inca trail.

We had every kind of weather - sun, rain, mist and as it was August (winter in Peru) even snow. Here we are looking like a couple of gnomes who wandered away from the garden.




It was an amazing feeling to behold this first thing in the morning. The Incas knew how to use the natural world to produce living spaces that were both awe-inspiring and practical in their design.

Andean Explorer: Puno To Cusco

If one of the sweetest ways to travel is by train then one of the very best journeys must be in Peru. When we were there we chose to ride the Andean Explorer from Puno, near the Bolivian border, to Cusco, the old capital of the Incas.

The entire trip took 10 hours, leaving from Puno at 8am and arriving in Cusco at 6pm. The weather was perfect - blue skies and mild temperatures. We were treated to two delicious meals and a free concert in the bar car!

We stopped once for a break to buy souvenirs and soak up the air of the Andes...

Much of the landscape was barren and beautiful...

The wine flowed...

...and the alpacas roamed...

It was a highlight of our trip to South America and a great way to see the Andes...

Nazca Astronaut: Come Fly With Me

"Come fly with me, let's float down to Peru
In lama land, there's a one man band
And he'll toot his flute for you"

This is a photo Yuko shot to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the first moon landing. It's the Nazca "Astronaut" from southern Peru predating the 1969 Apollo landing by about 1500 years or so...


Everywhere you go, everyone wants to fly!