Machu Picchu

 Machu Picchu from the front gate

 Through an Inca window

 An aqueduct where the Incas would gather water for drinking and bathing (they bathed 3 times a day)

The many terraces in Machu Picchu

Hello
Yes, we have finally made it to Machu Picchu.  It is amazing, this Inca city on top of a mountain surrounded by large green craggy peaks, overlooking valleys.  Today there were clouds floating in and out, giving it a real mystical quality.  Everytime you look at a building or a terrace, you wonder, how did they do this.  The city was built from approx 1420 to 1530, it was never finished, no one knows why.  Fortunately, the Spanish never found it or they would have destroyed it, although I don't know how they could have attacked it.  It sits on top of a mountain, so it would have been easy to defend.  They have found 9 Inca trails leading up to it as it was a trading centre.  The city is divided into agriculture, living areas and sacred areas.
There are many terraces on the east side of the mountain they used for farming potatoes, corn, beans.  The living areas were divided into the upper and lower areas.  The scholars and more important Incas lived in the upper area and the workers, like farmers lived in the lower area.  The Inca chose their important people based on ability and merit, not social status, if you were a chief's son and not too bright, you were a worker.  The average Inca family had 8 to 10 people which lived in the house, the scholars and priests had their own living quarters.
The engineering is amazing, they created an aqueduct which carried water at the rate so it continue running constantly (to prevent contamination) but at a rate to provide water for drinking and bathing for the 1000 inhabitants of the city.  They had underground aqueducts which carried the excess and rainwater away, so it did not cause erosion or undermine the city.  The buildings are made of stone found on top of the mountain, they used the natural fracture lines to fracture the granite and polished it.  The construction is amazing.  The  important buildings are made of sculpted stones which are dry fitted perfectly.  You still cannot get a knifeblade between the stones.  They sloped the walls and built foundations to give the buildings strength during earthquakes.  They also filled in around the foundations with gravel and sand to help absorb the shocks.  They used the trapazoid shape and alcoves to help provide strength and flexibility to the walls.  The Inca buildings survived the the 1950's earthquake in Cuzco when all the other buildings crumbled.  During the floods 2 years ago, modern buildings were washed away while the Inca terraces stood strong.
They also built numerous terraces around the city of Machu Picchu for structural reasons to support and protect the city.  It is still standing after 500 years, it really says something about their building skills and technology.  They were also into astronomy, their calender is more accurate than ours, they don't need leap years.  They built temples so the sun would enter certain windows during the June and December solstices as these were important to them.  They helped them decided when to plant their crops.
In its heyday, the Inca empire included Peru, Boliva, Equador, Chile and Argentina.  All connected with roads and trails, 45000 km, they have found over half of them now.
The Inca were tall, about 5 ft 5 inches, they towered over the Spanish when they came.  The Inca were well nourished and knew the importance of spreading out the gene pool.  They sent all the males who were becoming men to other villages or cities, to stop interbreeding.  Women were responsible for keeping  and passing on the history and important facts.  The Spanish did not like that and labelled them witches.  So much for progress.
I hope you found this interesting, I could bore you all day with facts about this amazing civilization and the incredible pre Inca civilizations in this area, it really is amazing what these cultures built and figured out.  Makes current science and technology look pretty lame at times.
Kim and Dan

Peru-Sacred Valley

Hi
Well we left Buenos Aires just in time, the evening before we left a huge front moved in, high winds bending trees and the rain pouring down all evening.  "We" went shopping, I bought a nice lambskin coat, which had to be made to measure (no extra charge) and a nice briefcase.  I had to stop there, but it was hard.  Mind you, trying on leather coats in 32C humid weather is not easy work!  We had a nice dinner at one of the more popular restaurants, they serve you champagne (sparkling wine) and cheese and meat) while you are waiting, we had to watch what we consumed or we would not have been able to eat our meal, which we shared, as the portions are so large.
We were up at 530 to catch our flight to Lima then Cuzco.  We went from sea level to 3300m, thank god for diamox, although I am still feeling the altitude, hopefully, I will acclimatize in another day.  Drinking lots of coca tea  (related to cocaine, but no high).  We travelled from Cuzco through the Sacred Valley to Urubamba, where we stayed the night.  The landscape is beautiful, sharp green hills, it looks like they are covered in velvet and snow capped dark blue Andes.  The hills are terraced, many of the current farmers still use the Inca terraces which are still standing.   The hills look like a patchwork quilt, light green, dark green, white, yellow, purple.  The main income here is tourism and farming.  They farm mostly corn, potatoes, a bean from the lupin, grains.  It is very hard work. Many of the fields are on the side of the hill and are not level.  Most of the fields are tilled by hand, if they are lucky, they can rent someone with a tractor to do the first tilling.  Then the rest of the work is done by hand.   We watched them harvest potatoes with a pick axe, spending most of their time bent over.  These are not young people either, life here is very hard.  Hard work, they have to depend on market values for their crops.  Often, they have to use someone else's truck to get their produce to market, so they need to sell it all.  No running water or electricity.  Outside of the bigger hotels, its hard to find cold drinks as electricity is scarce and expensive.
Our guide was telling us that many want to move to the city and work for 300 sols (125 dollars) a month, as they can have an easier life with electricity and TV.  Not every town has a school, so the kids have to walk miles to school, as a result, a lot of children do not go to school or past primary school.  You would never know how hard they have it as they always stop and say hello and have a smile for you.  The Peruvians as wonderful people.

 The Gold Hall in the Colon Theatre, modelled after Versailles

 A vintage subway car still in use

Recoletta cemetary from above
Pictures from BA, no Peru pictures downloaded yet

We are off to the train to Aguas Calientes which is the main town outside of Machu Picchu.  Tomorrow, hopefully, we will be there.
Kim and Dan

Buenos Aires

Ola
We are now in BA, what a city!  It is beautiful, busy and completely overwhelming!  The weather here has been hot (30C) and sunny, so the shade from the thousands of trees and parks is very welcome.  The only way to tackle the city is to break it up into the neighbourhoods  or barrios.  We are in Recoletta, right beside the Recoletta cemetary where Eva Peron (Evita ) is buried.  It is a city all unto itself, you could easily spend a day there, we spent several hours looking at all the different architectural styles of the mausoleums, anything goes, gothic, art nouveau, modern.  Lots of angels and stained glass.  Most only have two coffins on the ground floor and the rest are underneath.  There are lots of ex-presidents, generals and famous families buried there, along with "ordinary" but rich citizens.   Some tombs are in immaculate condition, while others are falling apart (the city is supposed to take care of them if there is no family left).
We have been enjoying the fine Argentine wines and great steaks, most restaurants list the cut and then the size, 400g and 600g are the common sizes!  The average Argentine eats 1 pound of meat per day, not much in the way of vegetables.  I don't know how they stay so thin.
We visited La Boca, which is the area famous for the coloured houses and tango, not too much to see, lots of cruise ship tourists.  You don't want to wander off the beaten path there or you could be in trouble.  We visited Colona, Uruaguay yesterday.  Its a colonial town/fort colonized by the Spanish and Portuguese.  Its just a one hour fast ferry ride across the  Rio Plate, so lots of people make the day trip.  Lots of old cars and houses.
We have spent a lot of time walking around the neighbourhoods and admiring the architecture.  It is a real mix.  One building can be a beautiful French neoclassical building with rounded balconies and intricate wrought iron railings and the next can be an ugly concrete box built during the time of the dictatorship.
You have to look up as there are beautiful balconies and cupolas everywhere.  Some buildings are in great shape and others are falling apart.  There are hundreds of beautiful little parks, most have a statue of someone or another.  The Argentines love their statues and monuments.
We saw many of the dog walkers.  They can handle 10-20 or more dogs at a time.  They are very well behaved and all walk well on their leashes.  No pulling, barking or stepping out of line.  It is quite a sight to see.
The streets range from the 22 lane Ave of July 9 (independence day)  to skinny little side streets.  They paint lines on the roads, but we are not sure why as the cars drive whereever they like!  Some straddle the lines, others fit two in a lane, most do not drive in a straight line!   It's crazy.  They turn right from the left lane or the right, and left from the right or whatever they feel like.  Surprizingly, there are very few accidents.  The drivers have nerves of steel and they could drive anywhere, hopefully not in PEC.
We visited the Colon Theatre which was built in the early 1900's in the grand French style and was just restored, it took 4 years.  It was the place to be seen in the early 1900's in BA.  They also have a metro which dates back to the early 1900's, they still have some of the trains from that time.  The inside is all wood with leather straps.  some of the stations are not been refurbished since then either.
Off to do some shopping, Dan can't wait!

 One of the many dog walkers

 One of the many streets in BA, this one is off the main square

Colon Theatre

Kim and Dan

Argentina

We are now in Buenos Aires.  We spent our last day in the northwest visiting the salt flats.  They were once lakes that have dried and left the salt behind.  The area has had lots of rain, so some of the salt flats were under water, they looked like a lake with snow covering it and little icebergs.  The sky was so blue and hills pink, it was an amazing site to see the bright white, clear blue and hazy pink mountains.  The road up to the flats (which is the road which connects Argentina to Chile) is quite a drive.  It is a switchback which is amazingly well maintained, a real treat after Brazil.  They have crews which live in trailers which move up and down the road to clear landslides (there were a few after the torrential rains they had in mid Jan) and shore up the road when it gets washed down the hills.  It climbs to 3130m, and the views of the foothills and snow covered Andes are beyond description.  The landscape changes as you drive along.
We started in Purmamarca which is a little town that is known for the seven coloured hills.  The hills in this area are multicoloured due to the minerals found in the rock.  Since it was once under water and there were active volcanos, and tectonic plates and all that other geological stuff, they have ended up with these amazing multicoloured hills throughout the area.  As we travelled up, the hills became green, lost their trees and then pink.
We passed isolated places where the natives live on the side of these mountains and use the water from the runoff and solar panels.  It is a hard existence.  A bus does travel along the road, so they can come into town to get supplies, but its not easy.  Sheep and goats graze on the steep slopes, a few cows, but they are not suited to the inclines and often become "flying cows".
We then went to a little town where at noon, a wooden priest comes out of the town  tower and blesses all the people standing in the square.  They play Ava Maria to it, but the sound system needs some work or blessing.  It 's the first time I have been blessed, and probably the last.  It was quite quaint.  We then visited a preInca fort on top of the hill where 4 rivers meets, the views were amazing.
We are now in Buenos Aires, what a lovely city, but that's for another day

 Yes, I can walk on water!

 One of the many multi -coloured hills in the valley

 The road to the salt flats and Chile, not for the people who suffer from motion sickness

 Salindes Grande

 One of the many hills

 

Kim and Dan

Salta

 Los Caldones, the silent sentinels of the desert (one of the Argentine generals dressed in ponchos and hats to fool the army)

 The lovely painted rocks which are everywhere in the valley, very beautiful

The valley of arrow

Buenos dias
We are now in the northwest corner of Argentina, in the province of Salta, which lies close to the borders of Chile and Bolivia.  The area is semi arid in most places, but some areas receive a lot of rain, like Salta, the city.  Right now, its the rainy season, so everything is green and lush and their are lots of crops growing.  The main crops are tobacco, grapes (some awesome high altitude wines), peppers, corn and soy beans, onions and garlic are big too.  So are cattle and goats.
We started in Salta city which was one of the main trade cities for the Spanish as it was close to Peru, Bolivia, Chile and natural resources.  It has a very nice main square with well preserved colonial buildings and even a church or two!  The MAAM is here, which is the museum which houses the Inca children that were found buried on top on of one the the mountains which forms the border with Peru.  The Inca picked the most perfect children, fed them beer to make them sleep and then buried them at 20,000 feet.  They are perfectly preserved.  We saw the Lightening Girl who was struck by lightening while she was buried.  It looks like she is sleeping.  She is perfectly cryogenically preserved.  Sorry, no pictures, but if you google her, I am sure you can see an awesome picture of her.  They also found ( on a National Geographic expedition in 1999) a young boy and a teenaged girl.  It was a great honour to be chosen and the Inca did not think that they died but ascended to the next life.
Early the next morning, we headed south to visit some colonial small towns and see some amazing natural rock formations.   Every little town has a main square and yes, a church.  They are quite pretty and peaceful.  This is the area where the indigenous peoples live, they look a lot like the Peruvians, which is not surprising as at one time the whole area from Bolivia to the bottom of Argentina where under Inca rule.  They are lovely friendly people who live a simple life of mostly farming.  They always have a smile and a wave for you.  This area produces some of the finest weavings and sliver craft.
It is famous for the red poncho, which is a sign of resistance against the Spanish rule.
We have visited a few great wineries, one Colome is the highest altitude vineyard in the world, one of their vineyards is at 3100 m.  It was also the first winery dating from 1831.  The area is known for the Torrentes grape, which produces a sweet dry wine (like a dry riesling).  They also produce some awesome cab sav and malbecs.
We have been following the famous routa 40 which travels from north to south Argentina.  Luckily, we have a 4x4 because alot of the roads have been washed away or flooded by the torrential rains last week.  Sometimes, routa 40 is a lovely paved highway and othertimes its a goat track.  It passes through some of the most amazing landscapes.  The park of Los Coldones ( a type of cactus) where the road follows a dead straight Inca road.  The Incas built their roads at night with torches in order to make them perfectly straight.  We stopped in a patch of cacti and it was like standing amongst a group of silent sentinels watching over the desert, it was eerie and awe inspiring at the same time.  The hills are many colours,, red, green, brown, beige, yellow and all different shapes and sizes.  We drove through the valley of arrows today, named for the arrow shaped rocks which rise out of the earth.  This is a geologist's dream!
WE follow the Calchaqui river which at times is a trickle and other times quite mighty.  WE have traveled over bridges that were under water last week.  Other times we have to ford the river our vehicle.
Its a great place!
Kim and Dan
Lots of problems with the internet connections, sorry no pictures.  I will add them when I get a better connection

Iguazu Falls

That's what they call it in Argentina, in Brazil it is Iguassu Falls.  Most of the falls are on the Argentinine side but the Brazilian national park is larger and more commercial.  The falls are amazing, there is an average amount of water in them now, but in 2007 or 8, they were dry and the year before they were flooded and covered the boardwalks.  They say they are not as spectacular as they normally are this time of year because there is a drought, but yes, you guessed it, it rained yesterday after we got here.  No floods, though.
The falls are huge, they are much bigger than Niagara Falls, at its peak there are 275 falls.  The main falls are the Devil's throat where the water drops 74 m and the water rises so it looks like steam.  There is so much spray that we were soaked after overlooking the area, twice, once from the Brazilian side and once from the Argentine.  It is so heavy, its like being rained on.  All the falls stretch over 2.7 km and you can view them from both sides, although, the Argentines have built a long walkway over some of the falls.    You can view them from above and below and on each side.  We took a boat ride to the falls and the Devil's throat where we saw them up close before being soaked by the falls.  The water was surprisingly warm, the guide said about 25C.  We were dripping wet when we got off the boat.  It was quite an experience, it makes the maid of the mist look pretty tame.
The falls are surrounded by subtropical rainforest and there are lots of butterflies and some wildlife.  They have  coati which are very much like raccoons and can be found wherever there is food, apparently they can be quite aggressive when it comes to food.
They have a spider, the golden orb spider, which spins a golden web.  We visited a bird park where they had dozens of species of birds, including colourful parrots, flamingos, macaws, hummingbirds, scarlet ibis and many others.  They had a butterfly house also, it was really well done.
We are now relaxing at our hotel, which is very lovely with three swimming pools and decks which overlook the rainforest.  Its nice to be back in the land of reasonably priced good wine.  We visited a wine boutique yesterday and picked up some really nice wine and are sipping it on our deck.  Life is hard.
Off to Salta and the Northwest tomorrow for a new adventure!

 Some of the many falls which make up Iguazu falls

 The cloud of mist rising from the falls, a hint of the awesome power

 A toucan (toco tucan)

 A blue macaw

Our friends Kalline and Pablo and one of their twin daughters (in Salvador)
Kim and Dan

Carnaval!

How do you describe Carnaval.....crazy!
Thousands of people partying, drinking, dancing, playing music, men dressed as women, drums, horns, dancers.  Adults and kids alike, the parents like to dress their kids up-fairies, bahian dress, indian chiefs, spider man and whatever else they can find.  This is the time of the year when men love to dress as women, wrap their heads in specially designed towels and wear togas, they call themselves "filo de Ghandy"  (sons of Ghadi-I think Ghandy is Ghandi mispelled and never corrected).
Carnaval takes place in three main areas or blocos, and they differ.  Pelourhino, the historic district is quieter (its all relative), no amplifiers or electronics, just local bands and dancers.  It is much more grassroots, with the costurmes often being homemade.  Dozens of bands of all sizes and shapes, drum bands, horns, horns and drums, the Japanese drum band is amazing-the energy and performance is high octane!  Many bands have costumed dancers which lead them, some in fancy dress, some in traditional Bahian dress, lots of men dressed as women, gladiators, natives, and whatever else they can think of.  Some, I am not sure what they are supposed to be, but they have alot of fun.
In Campo Grande and the Barra, it is more flashy.  They have huge trucks with dozens of massive speakers which amplify the band's music called trio electrico.  They are so loud that you can feel it thumping in your chest, no one suffers from V fib here!  There are alot of big names, yesterday, we went to the Barra and several of the bands had huge followings.  First there is the large (bigger than a tractor trailer)  all fitted out for the band, they play on the top and have stages which move up and down for the main singer.  And tons of speakers.  It is followed by abada, who are followers who pay to follow the trio, they wear "uniform" shirts, each trio has their own followers who wear a different shirt.  They are called pipoca or popcorn as they jump up and down like popcorn.  They dance in an area behind the trio which is roped off, and only those in the shirts can dance there.  If you want to pay more, then you can follow in another trio just for fans, no band.  They drink and dance and often throw scarves and other beer sponsored souvenirs to the crowds.  If that is not your thing, then you can watch from the streets and dance away or pay to stay in a grandstand type area to watch the trios go by.  They move very slowly and it takes hours to see them all, they usually start mid afternoon and go until midnight.  Then there are live bands are multiple venues around the area, which often start at midnight.

 A typical band in the Pelourhino

 They love to dress their kids up, they are quite cute, unlike the men who dress up

 Police presence is everywhere, at times, it feels like you are in a war zone, armed police and police helicopters constantly flying overhead, sometimes it seems like they were going to land on the rooftop bar of our hotel

 A small trio electrico

Women in traditional Bahian dress

Of course, there are all the vendors selling food, souvenirs, and all kind of neon gear, lots of masks, headdresses, pom poms, etc.  Of course there is beer and other drinks, everywhere, cerveza is 3 for 5 Real!  cheaper than water.  You can buy anything.
Sorry not alot of pictures, as you don't carry your camera or anything of value when you go out into the street.
Ciao
Kim and Dan