My in-laws really spoiled us for Christmas. Our trip to Peru was a once in a lifetime experience, and I'll never forget it. It was a whirlwind from day one.
Our flight left Guayaquil super early the day after Christmas, so we had plenty of time to explore on the first day. We stayed in the darling Mamasara Hotel (which apparently means Mother Corn Hotel), very close to the city square. We got to explore and eat before our official tour started.
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| Most Famous Incan King: Pachacuti |
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| Aji de Gallina |
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| Lomo Saltado |
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| Llamas!! |
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| Our Favorite Local Salesman |
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| Llama Sweater! |
And then we were off! Our first stop was the cathedral and the Koricancha temple.
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| Walls of Koricancha Temple |
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| Incan Legos |
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| View of Cusco |
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| My Rain Gear |
Our next stop was Saqsayhuaman, a small habitation on the hill overlooking Cusco. We learned from our local guide that the Incas didn't use slaves, since all the workers were unpaid, but they were fed. Needless to say, we have our doubts about how these amazing structures were actually built, but we tried to keep those to ourselves.
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| Levels of Saqsayhuaman |
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| Cusco from Afar |
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| The Rocks Were Huge! |
We saw so many other ruins that day, but I thought these were some of the most stunning. I was baffled at how ancient people, with ancient tools were able to construct monuments and buildings like this.
The following day was Sunday, so we were able to convince our guide to take us to sacrament meeting before we went on our other tours. The Peruvian members were amazing! I learned so much at sacrament meeting and was amazed by the humility and strong spirit of these people. I, unfortunately, didn't snap a picture in front of the chapel though.
After church, we headed out to the Awanacancha Textile Center (which means the Weavers Courtyard) and Llama Farm. This was absolutely stunning. The way they harvest the wool and dye and weave the fabrics is breathtaking. And feeding the llamas was one of my life highlights.
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| How Many Llamas Can I Adopt? |
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| Hair Goals |
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| Feeling It |
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| Favorite! So Sassy! |
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| Phil and the Alpacas |
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| Weaving |
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| Natural Dying Materials |
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| Clay Oven for Dying Wool |
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| Weaving Round Two |
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| Wool on Wool on Wool |
Isn't it all so beautiful? I could've stayed there for hours.
Our next stop was a beautiful drive through the Sacred Valley and to the Pisac Market. I'm always a sucker for a good market.
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| Sacred Valley |
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| Stunning Mountains |
After a quick stop at the market, we were off to the Pisac Archaeological Site. The way the Incas managed to construct these cities on mountains like this, I will never know.
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| Leveled Farm Land for Crops |
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| Water Fountain |
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| Isn't He a Cutie? |
Our guide wasted no time whisking us from Pisac to the Ollantaytambo Fortress.
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| View from the Fortress |
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| How Did They Do It? |
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| Admiring the Scenery |
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| Fresh Water and That View Though |
As you can tell, Sunday was a busy day! We were exhausted by the time we got back to our hotel. Unfortunately, we didn't get a very good night's sleep.
Fortunately, we didn't sleep well because we had to get up early for the main event: Machu Picchu. We took a train from the city out to the city of Machupicchu. Phil and I sat across from a Japanese couple that, we were pretty positive, kept making fun of us the entire time. They snapped pictures of our in-laws when they were all sleeping.
After we arrived, we ditched our new Asian groupies and took a bus up the mountain. I'm not afraid of heights, but that bus got pretty dang close to the edge sometimes. However, I must say, totally worth it. I'm not sure if it was just seeing the majestic Andes Mountains, or the amazing ruined city, or a combination of all the factors, but looking at Machu Picchu for the first time actually brought tears to my eyes.
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| Ah-Mazing! |
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| Tribute to Our Asian Friends |
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| Photo Cred: Papa Crepeau |
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| Inca Temple |
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| Still Can't Get Enough of These Guys |
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| The Andes |
We spent hours walking around the ruins. There's so much to learn and know about them, and I'm sad I don't remember more. This place stole our hearts and brought tears to our eyes. I only wish the sun wouldn't have baked my white skin so much. Wishful thinking...
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| Phil and King Pachacuti |
I want to thank my amazing in-laws for this trip. Maarn and John, we love you so much and are so grateful that you made this possible for us! Christmas 2015 is one we'll never forget.
