Into the Andes

We flew from Lima to Cusco this morning.  Holy Week in Peru is filled with activities every day.   Schools have shorter days, business hours fluctuate, and there are many religious events.
We drove through Cusco, the center of the Incan World,  and then through miles and miles of scenic agricultural areas on our way into the spectacular Andes. The lush green mountains, shimmering glaciers and low - hanging clouds made for a memorable drive.
We stopped at the mountain weaving village of Chinchero at an elevation of 12,500 feet.  The weavers were most welcoming as they demonstrated each step of the weaving process they have developed over many generations. They encouraged us to participate as they showed us the
process.
Here are some photos from today.

A weaver at work

Mel accepts traditional potato and salsa from  a host

Looking ahead to the majestic Andes

Palm Sunday in Lima

Some interesting facts about Peru ' s capitol:

9 million of the country's 30 million people live here.
It is the driest capitol in the world with only .08" of rain annually.
The city is divided into 43 districts.  Each district has its own mayor, central church square, and municipal buildings.

Today was special in that it was Palm Sunday in a Catholic nation.  We saw thousands of people celebrating the feast day and a huge procession to the downtown church.

Here are a few photos from our day.

Janet and Dick are ready for the day

Marilyn watches Bob enjoy apple pie and ice cream for his first Peruvian lunch

Our guide Corina

Palm Sunday procession

Greetings from Lima!

Everyone arrived safe and sound---with luggage--at our hotel in Lima about midnight last night.  We will begin our day with an informational meeting with our Peruvian trip leader.  She will take us on a walking  tour of part of this city of 10 million later today.

Lima airport

Here we go again!

We will be doing some traveling over the next few months,  and I'll resume blogging from various locations.   If you have signed up for automatic email alerts for my posts, they will begin soon.

Cambodia 2014

Vietnam 2014

A Final Glimpse into Cambodia

Yesterday was another action - packed day visiting ancient Hindu temples with a lovely home - hosted lunch as a highlight.

We visited 3 ancient Buddhist temples in Angkor, a holy city that took centuries to build. The Khmer  aristocrats who built the temples and monuments between AD 800-1200 were motivated by their Hindu and Buddhist beliefs.

Our first stop was Angkor Thom (the big holy place).

Statue of the Hindu god Vishnu at an entrance

The longest continuous bas relief in the world--nearly one-half mile!!!

We all climbed to the second level, but only Britt, Thu, and Roger climbed all the way up to the third level.                                           

Next we drove to a local village where Hope met us and escorted us to her home for a tasty homemade lunch.  The red jasmine rice her family produces was a nice change for us.  We had a delicious dessert called "sticky rice balls with palm sugar".

                           

Our yummy sticky rice ball with freshly grated coconut

Hope's kitchen

Hope

Enjoying our lunch

After lunch Mel was accosted by the local children offering items for sale "You buy one dolla?  One dolla?  Two for one dolla?"  Mel succumbed,  of course.

After lunch was our visit to famous Angkor Wat (city temple).  It is a masterpiece of Khmer architecture built between 1113-1150 AD surrounded by a moat of 570 feet.

The third temple we visited was

The tourists have named it the jungle temple because a variety of kapok trees have taken over the grounds, their roots splitting the foundation of the temple throughout.  It is an eerie site.  The temple was abandoned in the 1500 's.

                                            Judy standing next to the roots of a kapok tree

                                                            Tree and temple intertwined

After a delicious farewell dinner at our hotel last night, we're about to board a plane to Bangkok where we'll spend the night before starting our long, long trek home tomorrow.  I'm sure we'd all agree this has been an incredible journey.