Author Archives: roxanne

Rich with history and full of ruins to remind us of the past.  Many stones left in place, which the Spaniards could not take down nor replicate.

The Spanish influence of catholicism is left partially intact, but Inca battles to remain leave etched in our minds.
The Temple of the Sun is one such example.  The Spaniards built a church over their temple, but they couldn’t destroy the beauty nor the magnificence of their Temple.

The churches are beautiful intertwining  Inca, Spanish and baroque. 

The streets are lined with old inca walls replaced with Spanish attempts at reproducing the walls. 
The rock streets and alleyways scream ancient times. 

Inside the church is the statue of black Jesus.  He was white, but the candlelight smoke turned him black. 

The Inca worshiped the sun, moon and earth.  The Condor represents the heavens, snake represents knowledge and the underworld and the puma represents abaptabilty and strength.
Those symbols you can see in the paintings and etched in the designs. 

I had no real conception on how the islands on Lake Titicaca would be.  The Uros Islands are floating islands made out of reeds.  Every 20 days or so they need to replace some of the reeds.  Only 5 or 6 families live on each island. There are over 100 floating islands on Lake Titicaca.   We landed on one such island.

The ground was soft and a little wobbly.  There are huts made out of reeds that families live in.  They sleep on the ground.  They have solar panels for electricity and live very simply. 

Much of their livelihood is made by selling their wares and hosting tours.  They live off the sea and the reeds that grow in the Lake as well as supplies brought in from Puno. 

We also visited the islands of Taquile and Amantani.  Both are mountain islands and we trekked up each one. 

We hiked up to the temple and watched the sunset.

On Taquile we had a homestay for one night.  mama fed us mostly quinoa soup and carrots, potatoes, rice and cheese.  Very simple food, but sufficient. After dinner we went to a party.  Mama surprised us by dressing us in traditional wear.  We looked a little strange. 

Then the party was over and trekking back to sleep for an early morning boat ride to Amantani.  

Arrival on Amantani meant another hilly trek to the plaza.  We got our passport stamped then watched traditional dancing. 

For lunch we had fried trout, rice and vegetables.   The trout was good. 

Then back on the boat to Puno.  Lake Titicaca is huge.  Covering 8300 square km, lake Titicaca is the highest navigable body of water in the world.  There are many stories of the lake, including the story of the lost city deep in the waters.

All said and done… Lake Titicaca is a memorable place and it’s people are genuinely living life at its simplest.

Deeper that the Grand Canyon, Colca Canyon is impressive and is one of the deepest canyons in the world. Close to Arequipa, I took the bus to Colca Canyon. Also in search of the Andrean Condor I was not disappointed.

In the Inca culture the Condor is sacred and represents the heavens. The puma represents strength, adaptability and the middle world of earth. The snake represents knowledge and the underword.

We can appreciate the beauty of this country. Notice the snow capped mountains in the back.

A very beautiful city in Peru.  Loved the Plaza de Armas and all the excitement around it.
Went on a walking tour visited a Alpaca farm and the churches and cathedrals.  Ended up on a rooftop for the sunset. 

One of the most exciting this I did in this city was the rafting.
Never been white water rafting before and I asked the young strong men to do the hard work for me.  Putting on the wetsuit, helmet and life jacket I felt alittle constricted to say the least. 

Well, getting into the boat was not too much trouble. The guide explains that he would give directions for paddling like forward, backward, stop, inside and outside.  Inside meaning to drop to the bottom of the boat and outside to go back to the side where we are suppose to be.  Well easy enough, but sliding inside is alittle difficult with my knees not able to bend fully. I try the best I can.

Anyway… off we go… what a ride!

Omg… I thought I might fall out, but I held on as tight as I could!  We go through level 1, 2, 3 and 4.  Me, not knowing what that means, but I do know that 4 is the biggest number!

Finally to some calm water.  Then they ask if anyone wants to jump from the rocks.  First I said no, but as I watched, I realized it was not high.  I’ve jumped off much higher places in Alaska and in Hawaii, so I said “I’m going” and climbed out and made my way to the top. 

On the count of 3… I’m off.  With the life jacket and helmet coming up and swimming was difficult, but the guide just grabbed me and threw me into the boat like a 200 lb halibut. 

Oh … that was fun.  I really liked that… very exhilarating. 

Don’t know if I’ll ever do it again but it was great.  The guide was a pro and did everything for us. I know I wasn’t much help.

A city in Peru that is access way to Ballesteros Island otherwise known as poor man’s Galapagos. 

There I took this beautiful late afternoon hike through the National Reserves.  It was beautiful.

They call the tour the Golden shadows hike.  Indeed it was that… the sunset was magnificent. The land turned golden with the sunset. 

Went again during the day. Some say the terrain looks like Mars and I was blown away.  If I ever get to Mars I will love it.

Ballesteros Island did not disappoint with sea lions and birds.  Can wait for Galapagos!

Huacachino

Huacachino , a desert oasis. 
Right smack dab in the middle of the sand dunes lies this oasis where you and sandboard and dune buggy. 

Went for a wild dune buggy ride. Just like a roller coaster.

Went sand boarding. Somewhat scary and tried not to fall off…

We rode off some more then watched the sunset…

Nazca

Everyone has heard of the Nazca lines.  Those geometric lines found that some say were made by aliens.  Who knows, but some here think the ancient civilization made the forms to point the way to water.  This ancient civilization is pre – Inca and dates over 2000 years ago.

You can see the shapes from the tower, but you can also fly in a small plane for the best view.

I saw the lines from the air. But my stomach was alittle queasy so didn’t manage to get good pictures.

Water was essential and they found a way to retrieve it by building aqueducts by hand… they are spiral holes that find their way to water.  They found 46 aqueducts in the area and 20 still used today.

Cahuachi overlooks the Nazca Lines and is thought to have been a ceremonial site. The site is believed to have been built over 2000 years ago. They had a 20 year drought that is thought to have lead to the abandonment about 500 years later. They have found mummies and other artifacts. They are still excavating there.

Among these ancient civilizations, the Chavin Tiwanaku and Wari had 3 figures they revered… the snake, representing land and under, the puma, representing strength, abaptability and power and the Condor representing soaring to the stars…

Water was of utmost importance to them. They could not live without it. They worshiped things of nature including the sun, stars and the moon.

Most believe that the Nazca Lines have to do with pointing where water could be found or pleasing the gods with water figures.

Whatever, we can only look in awe and wonder on how they could have done such feats. What is it that makes us think the ancient civilizations could not have possibly done these things on their own? Is it our own arrogance or lack of faith.