There were shuttle boats out on the canals heading to the floating islands early.
We left at 7:30am today and had a lot of "seat" time on the bus. As we climbed out of we had our last views of Lake Titicaca and the city.
These are a few shots along our drive this morning. This woman was selling gasoline. People go to Bolivia and buy t and bring it back to sell because it is so much cheaper there.
One of our bathroom stops was in Pucura. This is the area where most of tthe bulls that are on top of houses are made. The bulls represent prosperity, happiness, and fertility. They are also protecting the welfare and good luck which is why families place them on their roof. Bulls are not native to Peru, but were introduced by the Spanish.
We entered the high plateu region of Peru and saw miles and miles of fields with stray that had been cut and placed in these mounds.
We left at 7:30am today and had a lot of "seat" time on the bus. As we climbed out of we had our last views of Lake Titicaca and the city.
These are a few shots along our drive this morning. This woman was selling gasoline. People go to Bolivia and buy t and bring it back to sell because it is so much cheaper there.
One of our bathroom stops was in Pucura. This is the area where most of tthe bulls that are on top of houses are made. The bulls represent prosperity, happiness, and fertility. They are also protecting the welfare and good luck which is why families place them on their roof. Bulls are not native to Peru, but were introduced by the Spanish.
We entered the high plateu region of Peru and saw miles and miles of fields with stray that had been cut and placed in these mounds.
Fom the bus window we could see fences built from stones and the different houses.
Our second bathroom stop was at a glacier view lookout.
There were lots of vendors ready to sell us whatever we wanted!
Yes, it was cold and windy up here - 14,222 feet above sea level!
Check out this woman's braids!
About 12:30 we finally arrived at our first official stop - a Gate 1 Foundation supported school. The kids were all lined up at the gate ready to greet us.
As we entered they all gave us high-fives and asked our name or how we were in English. Once through the gate, many of them were quickly grabbing our hands and walking with us into the covered area where they performed a song and dance for us. It was very cute and they were very sweet.
https://youtu.be/9EYROYHVTqk
After their performance, they grabbed our hands and the music continued as we danced with them.
On the little girl's jacket you can see the Gate1 Foundation emblem. Since its inception Gate1 has donated over $500,000 to support seven different elementary schools in Peru. We also took school supplies to donate to the school. All of the kids wanted to get their pictues taken!
This little girl, Maqque, wanted to show us her classroom. She is in the 3rd grade where there are eight students and one second grader.
She also showed us her lesson book and played marbles with Tobey.
We both went to the playground and played on the swings with her. Next to the playground they have a greenhouse that provides fresh vegetables so the kids have some fresh food for lunch before they head home. Their school day is from 8am to 1pm. Maqque didn't want Tobey to leave!
Too soon we said goodbye to the children and were on the road again. We had a late lunch then headed on to Raqchi, the ruins of the 15th century Temple of Wiraqocha.
"Raqchi" is a Quechua word that means baked clay. That comes from the main economical activity of the area and as we approached the entrance, we saw local workers making bricks. They use their feet to mix the mud and straw.
We could also see the "steps" that lead up to the site.
These were local woman who work in the area selling souvenirs.
This is the largest Inca temple ever discovered. It has external adobe walls that are over 39 feet tall and is considered one of the holiest sites in the Inca Empire. According to history, construction of this city took place between 1439 and 1471, but was not really completed until 1493.
The temple is 301 feet long and 82 feet wide. The base layer was carved volcanic stones that are 9 feet high and then 29 feet of mud bricks. The walls are 6foot thick at the base and 4 foot on top.
The picture below shows what the temple would have looked like originally.
The roof now is made with ceramic tile and was added about 35 years ago as part of a restoration project.
The circular building is a colca, or storehouse. There are 156 of these round buildings on the site, and are built next to each other forming 10 rows of streets. They held corn, potatoes, dried fish and other supplies.
Our second bathroom stop was at a glacier view lookout.
There were lots of vendors ready to sell us whatever we wanted!
Yes, it was cold and windy up here - 14,222 feet above sea level!
Check out this woman's braids!
About 12:30 we finally arrived at our first official stop - a Gate 1 Foundation supported school. The kids were all lined up at the gate ready to greet us.
As we entered they all gave us high-fives and asked our name or how we were in English. Once through the gate, many of them were quickly grabbing our hands and walking with us into the covered area where they performed a song and dance for us. It was very cute and they were very sweet.
https://youtu.be/9EYROYHVTqk
After their performance, they grabbed our hands and the music continued as we danced with them.
On the little girl's jacket you can see the Gate1 Foundation emblem. Since its inception Gate1 has donated over $500,000 to support seven different elementary schools in Peru. We also took school supplies to donate to the school. All of the kids wanted to get their pictues taken!
This little girl, Maqque, wanted to show us her classroom. She is in the 3rd grade where there are eight students and one second grader.
She also showed us her lesson book and played marbles with Tobey.
We both went to the playground and played on the swings with her. Next to the playground they have a greenhouse that provides fresh vegetables so the kids have some fresh food for lunch before they head home. Their school day is from 8am to 1pm. Maqque didn't want Tobey to leave!
Too soon we said goodbye to the children and were on the road again. We had a late lunch then headed on to Raqchi, the ruins of the 15th century Temple of Wiraqocha.
"Raqchi" is a Quechua word that means baked clay. That comes from the main economical activity of the area and as we approached the entrance, we saw local workers making bricks. They use their feet to mix the mud and straw.
We could also see the "steps" that lead up to the site.
These were local woman who work in the area selling souvenirs.
This is the largest Inca temple ever discovered. It has external adobe walls that are over 39 feet tall and is considered one of the holiest sites in the Inca Empire. According to history, construction of this city took place between 1439 and 1471, but was not really completed until 1493.
The temple is 301 feet long and 82 feet wide. The base layer was carved volcanic stones that are 9 feet high and then 29 feet of mud bricks. The walls are 6foot thick at the base and 4 foot on top.
The picture below shows what the temple would have looked like originally.
The roof now is made with ceramic tile and was added about 35 years ago as part of a restoration project.
The circular building is a colca, or storehouse. There are 156 of these round buildings on the site, and are built next to each other forming 10 rows of streets. They held corn, potatoes, dried fish and other supplies.
The buildings below were designed for astronomy which actually helped foreshadow the agricultual calendar of the seasons. There is a HUGE description of what each room inside represents, needless to say, you are not getting the full history lesson from me today!
At the end of our tour we stopped to purchase a brochure about the site and the woman wanted me to wear her hat!
From Raqchi it was another 2-1/2 plus hours to our hotel in Cusco. These are a few of the sights we saw along the way.
At the end of our tour we stopped to purchase a brochure about the site and the woman wanted me to wear her hat!
From Raqchi it was another 2-1/2 plus hours to our hotel in Cusco. These are a few of the sights we saw along the way.
This was for a tire store!
When we arrived in Cusco we transferred to a smaller bus because our hotel, the Palacio del Inka, is near the city center and large buses are not allowed. After finally checking in, dinner was at 7:45 pm tonight. It was after 9pm before we finished and we were tired! Tomorrow we sleep in - yeah! Our official tour begins at 1:45 pm.
When we arrived in Cusco we transferred to a smaller bus because our hotel, the Palacio del Inka, is near the city center and large buses are not allowed. After finally checking in, dinner was at 7:45 pm tonight. It was after 9pm before we finished and we were tired! Tomorrow we sleep in - yeah! Our official tour begins at 1:45 pm.
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