Almuerzo al fresco

December 31, 2010 was so pleasant that we had lunch in the back yard.

Christmas 2010

The nativity scenes appear in front yards or living rooms the eve of the Immaculate Conception in early December. The gift exchange takes place with a festive meal the 24th, the last night of the nine novenas with families praying and singing together. The child is the youngest great grand nephew. Next year with luck our first grand daughter will be here. Our Christmas holidays end with the Epiphany in early January. Bogota is partly empty as people have gone to the coast or the countryside to visit family or stay on farms or in resorts.

MachuPicchu

This is a must see. We took the train and stayed a night in Aguas Calientes listening to the first winter rains. The next morning was misty but the sun came out.

Cusco

The main impression in Cusco is of the placement of a Spanish colonial city on top of the Inca ruins. This includes the Iglesia de Santo Domingo and the fortress/battleground of Sacsayhuaman. There are contemporary craftsmen. The metal plate is of Inca constellations and their gods.

Lake Titicaca

We visited the extroverted Aymara speaking indians on their floating reed islands and the more reserved and elegant Quechua-speaking indians on the island of Taquile, where we had fresh trout and quinua soup for lunch in an open air restaurant.

Puno

The Cholas are acculturated indians with a little Spanish blood. Here they come in various occupations and levels of wealth/dress. I have included a picture of one of the alternatives to taxis, because they are so charming. Puno is the port to the Peruvian part of Lake Titicaca.

Arequipa

I have nearly a hundred pictures to choose from. I have made a tiny selection. One is of the relief carvings so typical of the White City, one is the picture of the Calle Cordoba in the Monastery of Santa Catalina that is on my wall in Bogota, and one is the library in the Franciscan Monastery.

Huanchaco

A pleasant fishing village near ChanChan

ChanChan

This site is shown in the Smithsonian Magazine. It is later than the Moche culture and was taken over by the Incas. It was an urban society with irrigation and harvesting of life from the sea. In the extensive ruins only one of many palaces has been restored. It must be protected from the rains of el Niño

Huaca de la Luna

This site is the same as that of the Moche ceramics and human sacrifice was practiced as the ceramics show (the leader, the shaman, the warrior and the prisoner). There were five layers in the pyramid, each with a different repeated design. The color is original.

Trujillo

Trujillo is a pleasant small city with a proud participation in Peru's independence. In the Plaza de Armas on Sunday, children participate in cultural events. The church tower was right outside our hotel window. The folk dancers are dancing the Marinera. The bed was one Bolivar slept in in a former mansion now a bank.

Pachacamac

Pachacamac has several layers of sites uncovered and work is ongoing. The oldest site has adobe bricks lined up like books in a shelf. The Inca areas include a temple to the sun and an area where women made luxury goods. There is a painted temple and a ceremonial plaza with remnants of posts for sun shades. Agricultural areas come right up to the edges of the site.

Barranca

This resort area used to be exclusively for the wealthy. Now it is full of hostels and restaurants.