Team Witchin Kitchen Flew to Peru and we all met up in Cuzco,the ancient capital, to discover for ourselves the sacred places of the Inca's with a side trip through Peru's Amazon. On our first day and evening we explored this beautiful and ancient city. Chocolatl, who is familiar with Peru served as our guide and lead us through residential areas and local markets.
We loved the beautiful faces of Peru.
We also saw the beauties of Cuzco at night
The Cathedral of Santo Domingo, also known as Cuzco Cathedral, is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cuzco. The cathedral is located on the main square of Cuzco, called the Plaza de Armas. The building was completed in 1654, almost a hundred years after construction began. It was built on the foundations and incorporated the remains of Corichancha, an Incan temple torn down by Spanish colonists. Both sections are visible at the back of the cathedral.
The city of Cuzco itself represents the center of indigenous Quechua culture in the Andes, and by merely walking the streets one sees the layers of history. Spanish colonial buildings erected directly atop Inca walls line the square, while the modern tourist nightlife flourishes in their midst.
The Music of the Night, Peru Style. Chocolatl snapped this photo as the rest of us danced
Our hotel and the final stop of the night was much enjoyed by us all. Our Parsley had a special evening and we almost had a bartender for company on the rest of the trip!
From Cuzco it was on the mystery and majesty of Machu Piccu.
After debating the virtues of hiking the Inca Trail vs taking the train we decided that the train won out. Chocolatl got a photo of the Machu Piccu station.
The central buildings of Machu Picchu use the classical Inca architectural style of polished dry-stone walls of regular shape. The Incas were masters of this technique, called ashlar, in which blocks of stone are cut to fit together tightly without mortar. The Incas were among the best stone masons the world has seen, and many junctions in the central city are so perfect that it is said not even a blade of grass fits between the stones.
Some Inca buildings were constructed using mortar, but by Inca standards this was quick, shoddy construction, and was not used in the building of important structures. Peru is a highly seismic land, and mortar-free construction was more earthquake-resistant than using mortar. The stones of the dry-stone walls built by the Incas can move slightly and resettle without the walls collapsing.
Machu Piccu is where Kellychris and Marcasite Queen just
had to climb the pyramid of the Temple of the Sun
They were almost arrested for defiling an historical site! With some fast talk from Captain Maven and promises to never return they were eventually released. That was a close call.
Views taken from Machu Piccu snapped by Chocolatl
Urubamba, Sacred Valley of the Inca's. In colonial documents it is referred to as the "Valley of Yucay", according to recent researches it encompasses the heartland of the Inca Empire.
While there are many intriguing stops that can be made in the Sacred Vally we chose to visit Maras. To reach the village of Maras, we had to take a colectivo. A colectivo is normally a station wagon, a taxi, which takes several passengers on a more or less fixed route. In this case we were ten passengers plus luggage. Our driver even tried to sell us one promising that it was "TOTALMENTE RESTAURADO!". As fine as it may have been awalde convinced us to pass on his great deal.
Our goal here was the Salineras near Maras. At the Salineras there are natural volcanic springs which pass through salt deposits before coming to the surface and delivering the waters saturated with salt. For thousands of years the inhabitants of the area have collected those waters in several thousand basins where the water evaporates leaving the salt. Today it is still collected without machines and carried away on donkeys. I bought enough for the the whole team to take a bag home home.
The next stop for our magical ladies was Lake Titicaca and cruise on our private yacht
to the Las Islas de Uros that are a collection of islands off of the port town of Puno, Peru that are entirely made out of floating mud and totora reeds, and each island actually has its own anchor so that it doesn't’t float away. Little more than a 45 minute boat journey from Puno (which is a total dump, by the way), the islands are a special aspect of the lake that was well worth the couple of hours that we spend away from shore... Who would have expected flamingo's!
The floating reed islands are amazing and make you feel as if you really have traveled back in time. I got into full dress and with the help of California Jan, a lovely deep tan make up in order to try out one of the charming reed boats still in daily use there in historic style.
Once back on the shore it was getting quite dark and we were all hungery. Our Baby Kato became camp cook. What a wonderful job she did with
Pollo a La Brasa (Peruvian Grilled Chicken) By NorthwestGal
.
She managed some "on the sly" shooting of a couple of the village birds with the little bow and arrow that she has bought in the Cuzco market the day before. Gosh that was fun to watch and we were so glad that she didn't shoot herself. Captain Maven ended up paying the owner of the chickens for our lunch because he was a little peeved.
Next day we had a drive along Lake Titicaca and to ancient and mysterious monuments, such as the millennial-old pilgrimage site of Inka Anatawi, the anciently carved rock face known as the Puerta de Amaru Muru, the place that Dr Jenny swears is a door for alien visitations!
Well, who knows, she might be right.
Ollantaytambo ruins seen from afar.
Children still herd Llamas wearing traditional clothing.
For the last of our trip we all wanted to see the Peruvian Amazon and early morning treated us to the rain forest through the mist
As well as the gorgeous and abundant jungle orchids
to Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge. When the morning sun cleared the Amazon tree line in southeastern Peru and struck a gray-pink clay bank on the upper Tambopata River, one of the world's most dazzling wildlife spectacles was nearing its riotous peak. The steep bank had become a pulsing, 130 foot high palette of red, blue, yellow and green as more than a thousand parrots squabbled over choice perches to grab a beak full of clay, a vital part of their diet. More than a dozen parrot species visit the clay lick throughout the day, but that midmorning crush belonged to the giants of the parrot world, the macaws
Our dear awalde who has done so much for Witchin Kitchen became so entranced with the beauty of the wild scene before us that it brought tears to her lovely eyes. I think we all quietly shed a tear or two to be leaving this country of ancient and wild wonders along with it's modern hot spots.
~Leslie~
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PanNan
Hi Nan! I had posted this on page two, but forgot to give you your little cheerleader!
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