Back in 2010, Matt and I and five of our friends went to Peru with a very loose itinerary. In fact, the only set plan was to hike the Inca Trail. Here are some of my favorite shots from the trip:
After spending a restorative couple of hours in Aguas Calientes, we took the train back to Cuzco and woke up very early to catch a bus to Puno.
Raqchi – An archeological site on the way to Puno. The columns made of stone blocks in the background were part of a large Incan temple.La Raya – A gorgeous pit stop at 14,000 feet.After we arrived in Puno, we took a boat out to the floating islands on Lake Titicaca. The islands are built by hand using the floating reeds in the shallow part of the lake.The island’s inhabitants (Uros) also build their houses, their boats, and make their crafts out of the reeds.Arequipa – We stayed at La Casa de Melgar in the colonial part of town. This hostel is full of unique charm and is housed in an 18th century building made of white volcanic rock. So cool!Monasterio de Santa Catalina, Arequipa. Built in 1579 of sillar (white volcanic rock), this convent takes up an entire block! It’s a maze of beautiful architecture and bright, colorful surroundings. Hiring a guide for the very informative tour is the best way to see this place.Clay jar laundry at the convent.El Misti – This volcano is visible from Arequipa at an imposing 19,000 feet!On our bus ride to canyon country (not too far outside of Arequipa), we saw lots of llama and vicuna grazing at the side of the road.I don’t remember why there are cairns as far as you could see, but I do know that we were over 17,000 feet when our bus stopped to let us wander around this area.Ancient burial grounds outside of Chivay.Colca Canyon Panoramic. Matt took this one.Andean Condor at Colca Canyon.Nazca Lines – Not the best view but still pretty awesome. We stopped here on our way to the coast and saw creepy mummies and burial grounds and a couple of museums.Paracas. There isn’t too much going on in this small town, but you can easily walk to the boat dock to catch a tour of Islas Ballestas.Ballestas Islands. Do you know that all that guano is scraped up and sold as fertilizer?Ballestas IslandsHumboldt PenguinsSea LionsThat face!Lima completed our circle around southern Peru, unfortunately, we only had one day to explore.
One thing I wish I would have done during this trip to Peru was to have taken notes during our tours or written in a journal at the end of each day. We learned so much about the history and culture from various tour guides (and most of that information is not readily available on the internet).
We pieced together this three week trip as we went along and it was extremely exhausting at times, but we sure covered a lot of ground. There are so many little details about places we visited that I just cannot remember. So take my advice, if you want to retell the stories with accuracy or make a scrapbook of your journey, keep a journal, record things with your phone, take pictures of interpretive signs – whatever you need to do to remember the details.
What a fun trip! I hope there’s a part 3 coming. The picture of the Monasteria de Santa Catalina took me back to my architectural development classes some 30 years ago (when you were just a little little girl). We spent quite a bit of time discussing the structural systems used in these old structures. Thanks for another trip down memory lane. PHOTOROGR
K Dickinson Photography 
What a fun trip! I hope there’s a part 3 coming. The picture of the Monasteria de Santa Catalina took me back to my architectural development classes some 30 years ago (when you were just a little little girl). We spent quite a bit of time discussing the structural systems used in these old structures. Thanks for another trip down memory lane. PHOTOROGR
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