Peru, part 3

Happy Friday!  Next week, I will get back to "my regularly scheduled program" with the blog...maybe.  Until then, this is the last Peru update. Avery had spent 3 weeks in Cusco, Peru before the girls & I arrived.  He went to work with one of our MTW team leaders there on a construction project.

Kids during the church service

Avery with one of our leaders, Keith, in front of where he worked for the week.  Keith & his family hosted Avery for 3 weeks.

This will be the new Josephine house, which is a house for orphans in Cusco.

This is the current Josephine house, which is next door to the new location.

We went to visit the kids Sunday afternoon.

They were quite cuddly & loving :) 

Walking back to Keith's house, we came upon some sheep in the road.  

Just a Sunday walk in Peru!

This is Keith's house, where Avery stayed for 3 weeks.

After spending the afternoon with Keith & his family & visiting the Josephine house, we went to a church service with Peruvians & the other MTW missionaries in Cusco.  When I was in Lima at the Thrive retreat in April, I met 3 women who are on the team in Cusco.  We stayed with one family Sunday night.  They have 3 kids & were very hospitable to us.  

Our girls with the 3 kids where we stayed Sunday night.  

These are 2 of the women I met at Thrive who are also MTW missionaries.  They are super sweet & we enjoyed hanging out with them.  We stayed with Brooke (the girl to the left) & her family.

Random Starbucks picture during our time in Cusco.

Flying over the mountains of Peru back to Peru

And a short video that I forgot to show yesterday from Machu Picchu to conclude the Peru blog:

I had a rough night last night, not feeling well, but seem to be better at the moment.  Hopefully, I will continue to improve because we are having some teammates over tomorrow to celebrate the 4th.  

Happy Independence DayWeekend!

Peru, part 2

Today's blog is all about Machu Picchu.  Here is some background history of this amazing place (borrowed from another site):

Machu Picchu has long been the top visitor attraction in Peru. Lately, it has increased in popularity and is becoming recognized as one of the leading landmark attractions in the world. In 1981, Machu Picchu was declared a Peruvian Historical Sanctuary. Then in 1983, it was adopted a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its cultural and physical significance.
In 2007, a worldwide internet poll, with more than 100 million votes tallied, concluded that Machu Picchu is one of the “New Seven Wonders of the World”. Most recently, this historical site was voted as the “Traveler´s Choice, #1 Landmark Attraction in the World” by Trip Advisor.
Since this citadel can only be accessed on foot or by train, Machu Picchu travel begins with a striking scenic journey through the Urubamba or Sacred Valley. The valley then descends into a lush, mountainous sub-tropical forest where the site was strategically built by the ancient Incas.

The citadel of Machu Picchu was constructed under the direction of the Inca emperor Pachacuti during his reign between 1438–1472. Most scholars agree that its purpose was to serve as his personal estate, as well as his ceremonial religious center. It was abandoned a century later when the Spanish infiltrated the area during the Spanish Conquest. Remarkably, the Spanish did not discover the miraculous estate. Therefore, it was never plundered. Despite the jungle overgrowth, this cultural site remains relatively intact, and its artifacts preserved.
Often referred to as the “Lost City of the Incas”, in truth, Machu Picchu was never lost. The ruins have always been well known to the locals, with many families living in the area. Machu Picchu was formally re-discovered and presented to the modern world in 1911 by Hiram Bingham, an American explorer and historian.  The American explorer then brought Machu Picchu to international attention, and it has since become an important tourist attraction.

Here are pictures from our adventure to this wonder of the world. And one more interesting fact....Machu Picchu limits its visitors to 2500 people per day, so it does require getting tickets in advance.

Our ride came to pick us up at 5am.  We rode in a van for an hour and a half to get to the train station.

We then took an hour and a half train ride.

A guide met us outside the station with this sign :).

We then got in green buses, like pictured above, for about a 20 minute ride up to the entrance of Machu Picchu. 

The first thing you see is a marker with Hiram Bingham's name on it.  He is the American explorer who came there in 1911.

The mountains were stunning.  I have never seen mountains of these shapes before.

It is easy to understand why this is called a wonder of the world.

We made it!

This is an avocado tree. I would love to plant one in my backyard!

Llama

After spending around 2 1/2 hours there, we ate lunch at this restaurant.

As you leave, there is a market displaying the beautiful handmade souvenirs from Peru.

This was such a privilege to see this sight in the world.  It did require a lot of walking, & with each step, I was grateful I was able to put one foot in front of the other.  It was beautiful.

Peru, part 1

Greetings back from Bogota!  For the first time in 7 weeks, we are all 4 back here at the same time. Our travels were wonderful, but it does feel good to be back in our home.  The rest of this week, I will blog about our recent trip to Cusco, Peru.  All of these will be full of photos!!

Our trip started very early Thursday morning.  We arrived at the Bogota airport at 3:30 am for our 5:30 flight to Lima, then on to our final destination, Cusco.

We ate Papa John's pizza at 9:30 at the Lima, Peru airport.  Hey, it felt like lunch time to us!  No shame :)

This is outside the Cusco airport.  We were reunited with Avery after being apart 3 weeks.

We stayed at this Wyndham hotel our first 3 nights.

After I took the picture above, I turned around 180 & took this picture.  Cusco is a very poor city.

A view of a snow capped mountain in the distance from our hotel room.

Thankfully, there was a heater in the room.  It is very cold in the mornings & evenings.

We took a double decker bus tour of the city.

The sun is very intense in the afternoons, so we got hats that say "Machu Picchu Cusco, Peru". Thins are cheap here...we bought 3 hats for $9 USD.

The town square of Cusco

There are many markets like this we saw.  The colors in Peru are beautiful & we got some souvenirs.

Alpacas at the Sacsayhuman fortress

Women dress very traditional throughout the city.

Isabella in Cusco

Christo Blanco is the name of this statue behind Isabella.

The street signs were very ornate & there was a countdown at each traffic light indicating how many seconds until the light turns red or green.

This is a very poor city & this is a view of homes.  The one in the center has clothes hanging out to dry in the courtyard area.  That is also a very common sight, & thankfully, it is dry season for them right now.  I am thankful to have a dryer!

To close today's post, just remember, if you ever travel to South America (or anywhere really), don't leave home without a package of tissue.  It is common to not have toilet paper in public restrooms.  And all toilet paper goes into the garbage can instead of the toilet in the country of Peru.  Good times.