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June 2011
June 30, 2011
June 29, 2011
Mirabella V
I've always have to say something about these super yachts when I see one docked in St. Georges. Holy moly.
This boat is huge. I found this picture online (I obviously didn't take it.) The only pictures I can get are behind the gate at the St. Georges dock and only of the back of the boat. 247 feet long. Crazy big. Largest single mast sloop ever built and estimated to be worth $50M.
June 27, 2011
Emergency Peru
You don't see hospitals and fire stations much in Peru. You rarely hear sirens either. I don't know if people just take care of things at home or what, but not what I was used to. We did see a fire truck in Cuzco. Not that reassuring if your adobe house was burning to the ground, huh?!
June 26, 2011
June 25, 2011
Inca Trail to Machu Picchu (a short photo tour)
Okay, here is the Inca Trail trip to Machu Picchu in a nutshell. The site dates back to 1400 AD. The site is located at 2,430 metres (7,970 ft). The site was never finished and luckily it was never discovered by the Spanish so it wasn't destroyed like other Inca ruins in Peru. It was a cool time to be there because it was the 100th anniversary of the "discovery" of Machu Picchu. In 1911, American historian Hiram Bingham found the site and brought it to the attention of the word. There are 3 primary buildings: the Intihuatana, the Temple of the Sun, and the Room of the Three Windows.
Here we go. A 4 day, 3 camping night trek...
Inca Trail leading to Machu Picchu. This stretch was reasonably flat and I had enough energy to actually pull out my camera and take a photo.
The views of the Andes were remarkable...
The clouds were lower than the tops of the mountains...
There were a few tunnels along the way...
Exploring Inca ruins along the trail...
Example of some Inca terraced farming later on that same day...
And a cute llama along the way...
Bright and early, arriving at the Sun Gate on the last stretch to Machu Picchu (you can see it behind me)...
Sun rising over the Andes and onto Machu Picchu. Breath taking sight...
The approach from another angle...
Exploring the ruins..
It was really impressive. Some terraced farming ruins at Machu Picchu.
What a day.
June 24, 2011
At the top of Dead Woman's Pass on the Inca Trail...
After a morning of a grueling uphill hike at +4000 meters, victory!
June 23, 2011
Two of my favorite things in Peru...
Ceviche, this was a mixed seafood combination with plenty of chili to give it a nice, hot kick...
and Inca Kola (don't let the yellow color turn you off. It is bubble gum flavored soda - yum!)...
And I got a tee shirt with Inca Kola on it. Way cool.
June 21, 2011
Back from Peru
Back in the saddle again. Got in last night and at my desk first thing this morning. Of course there are tons of emails to go through and work to catch up on.
The trip was amazing. I forgot my camera today, so pictures will have to wait until tomorrow. But, you can get a good idea of the 4 day hike by the two maps below. Since none of this is in 3D, it is difficult to get an idea of how much up and down there was or how great the views were.
This is what the trek looked like according to the altitude. Keep in mind this is in meters, not feet. So times everything by 3! Let's just say the Warmiwanusca Pass or Dead Woman's Pass was a very tough day!!
We also had a good time in the Amazon. Very humid but very peaceful. Lots of little monkeys swinging about. And very cool to see Macaws living in their natural environment and not in a cage in someone's house!
June 20, 2011
Maxing and Relaxing
One nice thing about Typepad is that you can compose an entry and have it post in the future. So, even though I've been away in Peru since Wednesday, June 8th - I've been able to get some posts up here so the blog doesn't go quiet. Just posting some pictures I had on my camera that I hadn't gotten around to posting earlier. Kind of a neat thing. I return tomorrow and I am sure I will have some exciting things to write about and pictures to post. So, stay tuned.
