"Baby Alpaca, Natural! Handmade!"

These are the words most used by the Andean sales people. We just got back from a wonderful trip to Peru in which we were amazed and delighted. The people of Peru are warm and humble. They seriously have the cutest kids! We first flew into Lima and spent a total of two days there. The Gold Museum was incredible. It had all sorts of artifacts, mummies, trophy heads, gold, silver, copper and jeweled items as well as woven textiles and feathered crowns. There were a lot of knives, cloak pins and necklaces but also little idles and nose rings, huge earrings and pots. A wonderful collection! We toured the Plaza Mayor and the crypts of the Cathedral there. We saw ancient Inca walls right in the heart of Lima! We walked along the shore and watched paragliding and lovers at Lover's Beach. We saw extreme poverty as well as gorgeous Tudor style homes with leaded windows and colonial jewels. We past an old olive orchard that is a park in itself with trees that were planted by the Spaniards when they settled in that area. We saw ancient sites still being excavated. We had one of the best dinners and a Peruvian dance show right on the coast in a great restaurant. We spent a couple days in the Sacred Valley of the Incas at an old monastery/hotel. There we really got to experience the Peruvian people at their best. We went to the Market at Pisac and bartered with the locals for all kinds of trinkets and crafts. We went to a few different ancient sites, (Ollantaytambo was my favorite) saw a Mormon church with missionaries and everything in Urubamba, had lunch at a gorgeous restaurant, and met great tourists from all over the world. Kelly went for a few runs into town to get money from an ATM and loved passing the people on the street stopping and staring at him. The Sacred Valley has a dramatic look-surrounded by huge, steep mountain ranges with a river running down the middle and Inca farming terraces covering the mountainside, some of them almost at the top! They are still used by the Andean people for farming! We went to a Llama and Alpaca Farm where we got to feed, pet and then buy fine Alpaca wears. There were women weaving, kids playing, and a bunch of tourist taking way too many pictures of the famous Alpaca!!!! We got suckered in too! We knew we were in trouble when we saw and petted the baby Alpaca! Talk about cute and soooo soft! Worth every penny! The highlight of this trip was of course our journey and exploration of Machu Picchu! We took a train ride through the Sacred Valley and watched the surrounding change dramatically as we made our way into the jungle and then into Agua Caliente where we took a bus ride up switch backs to the top of Machu Picchu. It was AMAZING! We were a little dizzy at the top (12,000 feet above sea level) but oh what a view! It was better than the pictures! So big! We had watched a few batches of people get off the train before arriving so they could hike the famous Inca Trail. We actually walked a little of it from Machu Picchu so we could experience a taste. Kelly wanted to climb Huayna Picchu the next day but I was a little intimidated by the shear steep, intimidation of it. It is the mountain in all the postcards that looks almost impossible to climb. Fortunately Kelly changed his mind and I got a massage and he went bird watching and bear watching. (The spectacled bear) We found out later that there had been a death 4 days earlier when a hiker fell off the trail. So...the hotel was GREAT set in the most beautiful jungle with the river running by and the green mountain cliffs. The following day we went back on the train to the Sacred Valley and on that train ride we had a "fashion show" that was in-ter-est-ing!!!! They had a guy and a girl doing the cat walk down the isle to some sort of music that probably was made in the 80's. Then this guy with a mask and a stuffed llama came by and would make high pitch noise like an animal talking and holding his llama out to us to- pet? Then at the end of the "show" they all stopped and posed. It was strange to say the least. After the Sacred Valley we journeyed to Cuzco, the Inca capitol. We loved Cuzco! It is a beautiful place. The Spaniards of course left little of the ancient walls and buildings but the Spanish influence and architecture is stunning with arches galore, quaint courtyards, tile roofs, and colorful plastered buildings. The iron balconies, carved wood doors, cobbled streets and vibrant blue trimmed walls made it seem like we were in Europe. It is a safe place with lots of great shops and alleys. It was warm in the day to about 4:00 and then it would get freezing cold like winter. The city's main plaza is overlooked by a huge white statue of Christ that is lit at night and looks like it is floating over the city. There are I think 14 churches right there surrounding the plaza area. The Cathedral is spectacular! I just loved the architecture! We had superb meals at every restaurant we ate at. Kelly and I both had some trouble digesting at 10,000 ft above sea level. We also had some weakness-sort of like the flu-which was of course altitude related. Luckily there is an abundance of coca leaf products such as coca tea (which isn't too bad), coca candy, the actual leaf, chewed, we even saw coca creme brulee at one restaurant! I got to test my Spanglish when visiting the pharmacy to get a prescription (which, by the way, they hand out like it's Tylenol!) I took my chances with the RX and ended up with a rash so I had to go back and get the one I wasn't allergic to! It all worked out, thank heavens! One of the most important sites was Sacsayhuaman. It is a huge site with huge stones! The biggest used on a structure in that area. This is where the Spaniards trapped the Incan warriors until they ran out of food. This place was once the temple/strong hold but the Spaniards took the stones and built their buildings with them. Darn Spaniards! A few shocking things that we noticed: The driving!!! They use their horn instead of breaks. There is no speed limit. A stop light or sign means yield and pedestrians do not have the right away! I almost got clipped a couple times. Kelly would just dart out and say, "If they hit me, they just get a dent in their car!" I always crossed alone. Another thing, they don't flush their toilet paper down because it will clog the toilet so there is a little garbage pale next to the lou for that! Takes some getting use to! I accidentally flushed a few pieces out of habit. There was a day in the Sacred Valley that was having a parade and we just happened to land right in the middle of it which was really cool. Well I had to go to the bathroom really, really bad! I knew we were in a rougher part of town so I figured the bathroom would be dirty. I told myself it didn't matter, I had to go NOW! But, when I went into this one, I walked right back out! In each stall, instead of a toilet, there is a hole with squatting blocks! The floor was a river and I walked out thinking peeing my pants might be OK! The last shocking thing out of many, was that the people never stop selling their goods! They are up really early and they are out in the dark, cold night still trying to get a customer! At the archaeological sites they are there with their stuff spread out or they come after you and try. They even follow you home after you've said NO! We had two different boys follow us for blocks trying to talk us into gum or finger puppets! They never give up! Then in Lima, they sell in the middle of traffic! They come up to your car and tap on the window and try to sell you candy! They are really good barterers! You have to walk away if you want a really good deal. We noticed that you can look most of the time without getting harassed but as soon as you touch something they are all over you! It was fun..for a while. By the end of the trip we just ignored them and didn't make eye contact! I'm sure you are wondering if we ate guinea pig or Alpaca. No, we wouldn't be able to come home if Bailey found out that we ate her dream pet. So, we passed. We heard it tastes like chicken-just kidding- actually it tastes like rabbit. (Another favored pet.) Alpaca supposedly tastes like Venison. We'll never know for sure! Sorry this post is sooo long but this trip was sooo great, I just had to write it all down for my own sake.