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We headed to lunch at the Huaca Pucllana Ruins Restaurant for traditional Peruvian cuisine of fresh seafood and our first pisco sour of the week. Everyone enjoyed the view of the ruins during the first group lunch. After lunch, we went to Miraflores to photograph the brilliant colors in a traditional market setting. When we arrived the festival and parade of “The Lord of Miracles” was in progress. It is a 24-hour procession through the cities of Lima. The festival began when prisoners painted an image of Christ on a colonial prison wall and the wall remained standing during the major earthquake of 1746 that leveled all surrounding buildings. During the procession men, dressed in purple, carry a large painting of Christ on their shoulders to symbolize the original drawing. The men’s faces told the true story of how heavy the weight of the painting was on their shoulders. One man stood out in my mind because his eyes remained closed in prayer and pain as he walked. Women and children lead the procession singing and praying with white veils and purple dresses. A band playing follows the procession through the streets. As they move along the streets, offerings of flowers are added to the platform where the painting rests on the men’s shoulders. Refreshments of Inca Cola and snacks are also prepared by local women and given out to participants in the procession as they pass through the towns. It was amazing to participate in this festival and see the faith of all the participants.

After the festival, we visited the market and took advantage of the photo opportunities of the people in this colorful environment. It was also our first opportunity of many to buy the local crafts of Peru. Crafts include wood carvings and colorful textiles in the form of blankets, scarves, hats, and gloves.

The Plaza de Armas was our last stop of the day in the city center of Lima. Our first stop in the plaza was La Cathedral where a bride and groom were arriving for a Saturday afternoon wedding. The square is also home to the President’s mansion and several museums highlighting Lima’s history. A large fountain is in the center of the square where locals come to socialize. Doting couples can be seen on park benches deep in conversation.

Sunday November 12
Our local guides, Odon, Mitch and Mario arrived from Cusco and shared the history and traditions of their homeland. They proved to be excellent guides for our trip to the Sacred Valley. As you fly into the city, you can see the sea of bright orange tile roofs that line the entire city. When we got off the plane we quickly found coca leaves to chew to avoid altitude sickness.
We drove to 13,000 feet on a switchback road to visit the city of Chinchero.
The village of Willoq was our next stop. This is the only village of pure Incans that remain. On the road to Willoq, we saw many original Incan terraces on the side of the mountains. These terraces served three main purposes: To prevent erosion on the mountain, to plant and harvest crops and to be decorative. The village was celebrating their anniversary with dancing and socializing while drinking large cups of chicha, the locally brewed corn beer. We danced with the children and gave them an offering of bread and fruits that are not easily accessible from their village for hosting our visit. We were also able to see their brightly colored red and orange textiles made by hand using ancient weaving techniques to tell stories with mountains, animals, and flowers. These textiles told the story of their history since they had no written language until after the Spanish arrived.
We stayed overnight at the Casa Andina hotel near the ruins of Ollantaytambo.

Monday November 13
On Monday morning we drove to the ancient site of Ollantaytambo. Along the way we stopped to see an Incan cemetery on the side of the mountain.
In the village of Ollantaytambo, the group had the choice of climbing the ruins to see the Temple of the Sun or visiting the town. Those who climbed to the top got a spectacular view of the ruins. The group that visited the village got a unique experience of being invited into a local family’s home. The family dwelling gave them a glimpse into traditional Andean life.

We took the train from Ollantaytambo to the town of Aqua Calientes where we get off at the Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel. The ride took about 2 hours with a few stops because of the cows that came onto the tracks. From the train station, we walked to the local bus stop and took a 30-minute ride to the Machu Picchu Sanctuary Hotel where we enjoyed lunch before entering the site.

Machu Picchu is the best known name of this famous site, but it is simply the name of one of the mountains in the area and means “Old Mountain.” Wayna Picchu is the mountain that is pictured in most of the traditional pictures of the site and means “Young Mountain.”  Machu Picchu is known as the “Lost City of the Incas.” The ancient people would climb to the top of the mountains to be closer to the Gods and make offerings. We climbed to the Caretaker’s Hut to get an overview of the entire site. As you reached the top it was amazing to look out and see the ruins. Sitting on the top of the hill and looking out, it is easy to imagine the people that once lived and worked in this beautiful place.

Tuesday November 14
We rose at 4:00 AM to travel to Machu Picchu for sunrise over the lost city. We made our way to the Caretaker’s Hut to see the sunrise through the mist. After sunrise one group of hikers climbed Wayna Picchu to see a very different view of Machu Picchu. The hike began at the Machu Picchu citadel on a steep switch back trail that takes you up the mountain to the Temple of the Moon. The hike takes about three hours round trip. When you arrive at the top there is a cave that you crawl through to reach the rocky summit where worship took place. The view is fantastic atop the rocks and well worth the steep trek. The architecture is simply amazing and it is hard to imagine how the construction took place with large stones being carried to the top of the mountain to form the buildings for worship.

Some of the group stayed at the Pueblo Hotel and went on nature walks to photograph the natural wildlife of the area. The highlight was seeing birds and orchids native to the rainforest.

We traveled by train back to Cusco in the late afternoon to end our visit to Machu Picchu. The highlight of our three hour train ride was a fashion show with beautiful textiles.

Wednesday November 15
We visited the site of Saqsaywaman just outside the city of Cusco. This site is often called a fortress, but actually it was built as a temple. From an aerial view, you can see that it is built in a zigzag shape. It is a Temple of Lightning. Incans believe that Lightning is a male God because lightning produces rain that fertilizes the earth. This site also contains one of the largest stones in any of the Incan sites weighing 128 tons. All of the stones are interlocked perfectly and earthquake proof.

Tambomachay is another site outside the city that was our next stop. It was an Incan bath that was a water temple where purification rituals could take place to mother earth.

We had our farewell dinner in Cusco that evening, where we walked through the beautiful Plaza des Armas and saw the famous cathedrals illuminated at night as we walked to the restaurant. It was the perfect ending to our adventure in the Sacred Valley.

Thursday November 16
In the morning, many people visited the local market in Cusco to see the vibrant colors of the local food and craft products. We flew back to Lima in the afternoon and finished our trip with a slide show of the pictures taken throughout the week. The pictures were amazing and told the story of everyone’s individual Peruvian experiences from the week.