Textures & Vistas

A few more photos from my trip. The Andes have some amazing vistas and some amazing textures. We have such a beautiful world...

The animals

There were many opportunities to observe animals on my trip to Peru. I may have taken a few too many photos of the "wildlife"

Not a tractor in sight.
Why did the chicken cross the road? To get out of the way of those "tourists" walking through their yard. One even followed us to the edge of the property.
The dog was unfazed by the tourists walking through.
We visited Awana Kancha which is a llama preserve with different varieties. I loved the eyes on the first one and the unusually freckles on the other.

The llama's in Machu Picchu ignore the tourists.

Don't think too much about why so many guineas. The shot above is a "guinea condiminium". In the shot below these guineas live inside the one-room home with the family of six.

The walks...

Athleticism and coordination are not words you would associate with me. Yet, I managed to complete every walk and there were new sights to see every day. My photos don't do the Peruvian countryside justice, but here are some of the key vistas from each walk.

Day 2: Moray & Maras. Moray was a circular set of terraces that were used to experiment with growing crops at different altitudes. I made it down to the bottom and back out again.

The Saltinera of Maras. We walked across the salt ponds down into the Sacred Valley and the Urubamba river. I think this was my favorite of all of the hikes.

Day 3: Pisaq--We got up early to avoid the blocked roads due to a strike. So we took the "long" hike at 4+ hours including climbing to the top of these ruins.

Day 5: Camino Inka--I was so focused on breathing and successfully navigating the steep steps up the Inca trail that I didn't take many pictures along the way. This is shot of Wiñaywayna across the valley. It seemed so far away and impossible to reach when I took this shot. But 5 hours after the start we were there.

The first look at Macchu Picchu 8+ hours after the start of our trek. I was too tired to appreciate it fully.

Pushing the Limits

I've returned from my Peruvian adventure! I've pushed the limits in so many ways during the last week, it's hard to know where to begin except at the beginning.

Day 1--Cusco Peru
After 24 hours in the air or airports, a three hour nap was all I had to get me ready for our first meeting and first explorations in Peru.

Cusco is a city of narrow streets, 14 catholic churches including the one pictured above. The influence of the Spanish is evident everywhere in the colonial architecture of the hotels, the churches and the streets lined with ornate balconies.

After our city tour, we headed out to our first set of Incan ruins, Saqsaywaman, which overlooks Cusco and the first test of my walking preparation took place.

We arrived just before sunset, so the shadows soon deepened. Closest is a single rock is over 25 foot tall that was used in the formation of these walls.

This is only a small piece of day number one and the adventure...there was much more to come.

Summer is about...

Fun, family, friendship, food and vacations...ok I couldn't think of an "f" synonym for vacations.

My mother and I take an annual trip together each summer. This year we toured the Oregon Coast. Some awesome scenery to behold and picture postcard weather for the entire week.

You can't read the sign--but this was the traveling library case in the Yaquina Head Lighthouse Visitor Center. The Keeper's Log May 8, 1890 says: "...Keeper went to Newport and took the Whistle and Medicine chest over and brought Library No. 501 from Newport to the Cape"

Oodles of Octupi...the kite festival in Lincoln City, OR. June 29, 2008

Next, I'm headed for an adventure in Peru... I'll look for a library picture there, too.