Peru

We have some more photos to share from our travels through Peru in January. We arrived in Cusco from Bolivia. We traveled to and from Machu Pichu, then went to Lima, Iquitos, and finally Trujillo to study Spanish for two weeks. Unfortunately we had a bag stolen from a bus station towards the end of our break. Because we are lazy, all of our pictures were not backed-up properly.  Consequently, we lost most of our images from Lima as well as numerous pre-Columbian ruins, gorgeous Peruvian beaches, and the Peruvian amazon. 

In the hills directly above Cusco lie a series of partially reconstructed ruins.  They are called Saksaywaman, but most tourists refer to them simply as sexy woman.

 Cusco is an interesting destination in itself.  The city was the center of the Inca empire in the 13th century and has been continuously inhabited ever since. Despite being incredibly touristy, we enjoyed spending a couple days in the old part of the city.

We especially enjoyed the municipal market which sold  great looking produce, meat, hot meals, textiles, and hallucinogenic plants for shamanistic rituals.  This friendly lady made really good juices. 

Pork vendor

Purple corn, the main ingredient in a refreshing drink called chicha morada.  Coca leaves in the green bag to the right are commonly chewed for a high altitude energy boost.

Inside Quirkancha, the most sacred temple in the Incan empire.  It was converted into a Catholic Convent during conquest by the Spanish.

Kristi poses shamelessly with some people selling baby llama photos.

Really tasty bowl of soup from a Cusco street vendor.

The Sacred Valley en route to Machu Pichu.

 Kristi taking in the ancient terraces and an old road at two pre-Colombian sites in the Sacred Valley.

Stopping for a snack at a small town in the Sacred Valley: choclo and chicha, a traditional beer made of corn.

On the train to Aguas Calientes

Machu Pichu

We ate a ridiculous amount of ceviche once we arrived on the coast.  We made a few trips to specialty cevicherias which feature a variety of amazing ceviches. We also ate a typical ceviche on an almost daily basis consisting of nothing more than white fish, lime juice, onions, and chili.

Futbol (soccer) in Paraguay

Futbol fever is a real thing here in Paraguay.  Asuncion is home to Conmebol, the South American Football Federation.  The federation has legal powers similar to the Vatican. It's the only football entity with diplomatic immunity. That means inside its grounds, Paraguayan law does not apply.  NPR did a great story on what that means:

Hear the story here