Magic Water Circuit

In addition to visiting Cusco and the Sacred Valley, our visitors checked out La Molina and the Temple (brunch with the Pres. and Sister Gillespie of the Temple and Daniel's former mission president) and Miraflores and the Malecon. This is  Daniel and Sydnee in Miraflores on the coast. The Paddington Bear statute is behind.  The Malecon in Miraflores goes on for several miles of continual parks, green spaces and trails -- all along the cliffs above the Pacific Ocean. It is a favorite place for us!. 

 The night before they left we went to the Magic Water Circuit (a water park) in central Lima. This was new to us and I'm glad we went. Here are a few of the cool things.

There are pools, water slides and several splash pads, but we went in the evening, the best time to see all the water fountains and lights. This is an interesting one. It is a maze made from water and, somewhat like the maze in Harry Potter, it changes, meaning you´re not going to get out without getting wet.

This water tunnel is a little eerie to walk through.

At regular intervals they have a special show with fountains, lights and music all combined. This is a short clip.

They are also able to project images on the water. This is photo from the web. (I wasn't in the right place to get a good picture). 

It was the kind of place that kept you thinking about how much kids enjoy something as simple as water, and what magic can be created from it!  This water park was only built a few years ago, but it is now at or near  the top of all the "top things to do in Lima" lists.

Visitors

Daniel and Sydnee came to visit! First item on the itinerary was a trip to Cusco, the Sacred Valley and, of course, Machu Picchu. This is Daniel and Syndee at a plaza on our first night in Cusco. They were conscientiously photo-documenting their visit, so look to them for the best account. We just enjoyed being with them.

In Cusco, the locals refer to the “Inca,” the masterbuilders, and the “Incapables,“ or the Spaniards. This is Evie in a little  and very old street with the classic Inca stone walls - huge rocks cut to fit perfectly and securely without mortar. Unlike most buildings later built by the Spaniards, these have survived wars and earthquakes and are still in place and used. The picture does not show it clearly, but the wall includes a stone with twelve angles.

We went to the market in Cusco, a big affair with lots of stuff - clothes, souvenirs, foods of all kinds, including fruits, vegetables, meats (including some we don´t normally eat, such as cow´s head). This photo is meant to pay  homage to the dairymen among the Hyers.  This is butter, with some cheese at the back.

Cusco was the center of the Inca empire, and the most important and sacred place in the Inca religion was not Machu Picchu, but the Temple of the Sun (or Qurikancha) in Cusco. The Spanish largely tore it down and used the stones to build the church and convent of Santo Domingo, but a fair amount of the original still remains. We are standing in the grounds of Quikancha, what at one time was the center of one of the world´s largest empires. 

Overlooking Cusco is the ancient walled complex of Sacsayhuaman. It is impressive, but only a small part of what was once there, as the Spanish hauled most of the rocks down to Cusco to build homes and churches.  The picture is not of Sacsayhuaman, however, which is behind me, but of the quarry for the rocks used to build it and a herd of llamas enjoying a pleasant afternoon in the green grass (something hardly ever seen in Lima)

This is Awanakancha in the Sacred Valley not far from Pisac. It is a small farm dedicated to llamas, alpacas and vicuñas and the intricate textiles produced from their wool. Daniel and Evie are helping with the feeding.

More llamas (or these may be alpacas,I forgot how to tell the difference), but look at the ones in the background above. Those are vicuñas, which are relatives to alpacas and llamas, but not really domesticated. There are only a few herds of them left, but their wool is very fine (the Inca king wore clothing made from vicuna wool). It is also very expensive. The vicuñas don´t really get along that well with the other camelids, hence in a different and more open fenced area. Make note of the house in the background.

The place also hosts native weavers from various villages in Peru, who using traditional dyeing and weaving techniques make tapestries, clothing and other textile products from the wool from these animals. Their products can be purchased in a very nice (but expensive) store on site.  Note the weaver´s hat. The weavers wear hats indicating the village they´re from. They stay in that house while working there. This is a way to preserve the high quality and unique ancient weaving techniques that were being lost.

At Pisac in the Sacred Valley



Inca Rail - the train to Aguas Calientes

Evie and Sydnee having breakfast in the hotel in Aguas Calientes, at the base of the mountain with Machu Picchu



The bus from Augas Calientes to Machu Picchu (with big windows)



The road up to Machu Picchu. Thanks to the nice big windows there were some great views down that could really grab your attention, especially when the bus backs up to allow another bus pass on the narrow dirt road.

Some classic photos from Machu Picchu.  Even though we were there in the "rainy season",  our visit of Machu Picchu started early in the morning, and we were blessed with dry weather and even some sunshine!



Evie´s new trekking companion

A few words about dogs. We were a little surprised by the number of apparently stray dogs in Cusco and Aguas Calientes. They were strays in the sense that they had no collars, leashes or owners (as far as we could determine), but were nevertheless well fed, healthy, well behaved (didn’t seem to bother anyone or even other dogs) and walked around with a bit of an attitude, like this was their place and they didn’t particularly need or notice you. I'm told dogs were important to the Incas and so there is  a tradition to like and care for the dogs. 

We were even more surprised to see the same thing at Machu Picchu, a lot of stray dogs. In fact, Evie believes she saw one of the dogs on the streets of Aguas Calientes the night before. Her theory is that they all come up to Machu Picchu in the morning and basically hang out, all take nice long naps together in the afternoon before heading back down to town. These dogs scored comfy black rubber mats for the afternoon nap. (This is the entrance to the only bathrooms onsite, which are packed in the morning, but not in the late afternoon.) Machu Picchu was fantastic. It would also be a good place to be a dog.