PERU MARCH 2009

March 8, Lima arrival

Pacific Ocean at Miraflores area of Lima

Lovers Park

Lunch on Patio at "Mangos"

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March 9, Lima city tour

Plaza San Martin (where Peru declared independence)

Hotel Bolivar

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Plaza de Mayor (or de Armas)

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Catedral y Plaza de Armas de Lima

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Iglesia de San Fransisco (monastary with catacombs)

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March 10,  Arrive Cuzco begin Inca site visits

Santo Domingo Church (archeological site; chuch built on Inca ruin of "Temple of the Sun" in Cuzco

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Sacsayhuaman (archeological national reserve)

The imperial city Cusco, meaning ‘navel of the earth,’ was laid out in the form of a puma,
 the animal that symbolized the Inca dynasty. The belly of the puma was the main plaza,
the river Tullumayo formed its spine, and the hill of Sacsayhuaman its head.
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Originally there were three "walls" or "bulwarks" which foundations are still seen today;
they are the most spectacular remains of that fabulous building that
according to chroniclers did not have any comparison in the old world.
 They are three parallel walls built in different levels with lime-stones
of enormous sizes; zigzagging walls that because of their appearance
 it is suggested that they represent the "teeth" of the puma's head that the complex represented.
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Luncheon stop with view of Cuzco


Q'enko Grande / place of worship

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Village of Pisac with Market

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At the northern end of the Sacred Valley, Ollantaytambo is rare if not unique in Peru. 
Ollantaytambo is a massive citadel located 50 kilometers from Machu Picchu.
The citadel served as both a temple and a fortress. At some time unknown, and for
reasons unknown, work mysteriously stopped on this huge project.
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Photographs courtesy of SacredSites.com

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March 11,  Train to Aguas Calientes

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Visiting Machu Picchu

The ruins of Machu Picchu, rediscovered in 1911 by Yale archaeologist Hiram Bingham, are one of the most beautiful
and enigmatic ancient sites in the world. While the Inca people certainly used the Andean
 mountain top (9060 feet elevation), erecting many hundreds of stone structures from
 the early 1400's, legends and myths indicate that Machu Picchu
(meaning 'Old Peak' in the Quechua language) was revered as a sacred place from a far earlier time.
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Also From Post Cards

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March 12,  Day of rest / walking visit of Aguas Calientas

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March 13,  Bus trip back to Cuzco

Chinchero has a beautiful colonial church of adobe
bricks, built on the foundations of an old Inca temple.

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Centro Qosqo de Arte Nativo

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March 14,  Morning Walk in Cuzco

Plaza de Armas with Catedral de Cuzco

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March 14-15,  Air Travel from Cuzco to USA

THE END

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