PERU: Lima, Machu Picchu, Cuzco, Guest Post by Scott Chandler

Machu Picchu, Peru

For two weeks in September, Art’s colleague Scott Chandler and his wife Sonja traveled to South America, visiting sites in Peru and in the Galapagos in Ecuador. Scott is an excellent photographer and has graciously given me permission to share some of his photos. Scott's photos were taken with an Olympus digital camera. For more of his photos of this trip and of his other adventures, you can go to his website: www.shcphotography.com/Landscapes . Here is his report on the Peru half of his South America trip. The Galapagos report will post next week.

The Andes

We went to Machu Picchu and the Galapagos September 6 through the 22nd of this year, spending our first week in Peru. We started in Lima then went high up in the Andes where we visited the Sacred Valley.

Machu Picchu

Then we spent a day or so overnight at Machu Picchu and stayed in the famous sanctuary lodge which is fabulous and across the street from the entrance to the ruins.

Cuzco, Plaza de Armas

From there we went to Cuzco, the capital of the Inca empire. We visited numerous archaeological sites and were schooled on how precise they built their structures.

Cuzco at night: Fountain in front of the  Iglesia La Compañía de Jesús

We went on this trip with the tour company Tauck. First part of the trip was on land and we had excellent accommodations and food; the Galapagos part was on a yacht/ship that held 40 people. We would sail during the night to different islands and disembark to visit each island during the morning; the day would also include snorkeling. It is fair to say the trip was totally fantastic. I would love to do it again.

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