Machu Picchu continued

As alluded to in my previous posting, here are some more views of Machu Picchu.

One of the more impressive things about the site is how steep it is down the sides.
Machu Picchu may be an abandoned city, but it does have some permanent residents.
The flora and fauna here were very impressive. It is located just on the edge of the mountainous region and where the land starts dropping off into the rainforest, so it is very humid in spite of its altitude and supports lots of flowers and birds.

After Puno it was on to Cuzco, the ancient seat of the Inca empire and the city with one of the strangest nicknames in the world. Its nickname translates as "The Bellybutton of the World". I actually couldn't travel between Puno and Cuzco directly; there was a massive demonstration going on completely blocking the main roads. I was going to wait it out, but as my train tickets to Machu Picchu were reserved in advance, and the guy staffing the desk at the hostel I was staying at made a pass at me and things were getting awkward, I instead backtracked through Arequipa. Finally, though, I arrived in Cuzco. Cuzco is a very popular tourist destination, primarily as a base from which to access the famous Machu Picchu. Definitely one of the most popular souvenirs, though is the city's rainbow flag.
I, like many others, set out to visit Machu Picchu. I didn't do the 4 day walking trail though :( I didn't want to cut my time in the country too short. The train was still a very pleasant experience. It winds through a region called the sacred valley until it reaches the small town of Aguas Calientes. The scenery is spectacular and awe-inspiring.
Below is the obligatory photo of the entire Machu Picchu site. I've saved a few photos from some more atypical perspectives for my next post. It would not be just to squeeze the entire experience into one photo.
No matter how many times you see this same picture, it is still an amazing view.

Las Islas Flotantes

After visiting Arequipa, I took the bus to Puno, a fairly small city in the altiplano of Peru. Its elevation is nearly 12,500 feet! Puno is a destination due to the fact that it is a main port on Lake Titicaca, which is the highest navigable waterway in the world. Here are the flags of Peru (in red) and the city of Puno (blue).
A trip to Puno isn't complete without a trip out to the islas flotantes, floating islands constructed by the indigenous people constructed entirely out of the totoro reeds and a few eucalyptus sticks.
The women of the islands all come out to greet you as the boat comes in. Most islands have only a few family groups, but there are larger ones that have a school and public use buildings.
The reeds are one of the only resources available to these people. In addition to using it for construction purposes, they also eat it! It doesn't have much taste, just sort of spongy. Luckily they also have fish and birds.
I got to ride on one of these cool boats too!

El Convento de Santa Catalina

My first stop in Peru was the city of Arequipa. It is not necessarily as well known as some of the other destinations in Peru, but it had beautiful architecture and the best prices on souvenirs in the country. The coolest place in the city was the Santa Catalina convent. It operated completely cut off from the city for hundreds of years and was opened to the public only in the last few decades. It was a really amazing place to wander through for an afternoon.
All of the corridors were lined with red geraniums. This might be odd, but it reminded me of Trigun.
It was full of secret corners ready to be explored.
And of course, there was a pen for the haute cuisine of Peru, the guinea pig. I didn't eat one while I was there; they were too expensive. I had to content myself with alpaca steaks, which are wonderful.

A moment for Coban

Cobán, the city I called home for five months, has been in my thoughts a lot recently.
It is really a wonderful part of the country: an area with lots of biological diversity and the greatest proportion of people that speak native Mayan languages.
This small, out of the way city has recently found itself in national and international headlines because it was declared by the Guatemalan government to be in a state of siege. They are extending police powers and monitoring in an attempt to reclaim the city from the Mexican drug gang the Zetas, who are infamous for their violence.

While the Zetas were certainly present in Cobán during the months I was living there, it is clear that they have stepped up their activity since I left. Cobán is a city close to my heart, and I still have friends and former coworkers living there now. I'm very much hoping that these measures work and Cobán is able to achieve safety and security once more.

Underground in the Salt Cathedral

Before I left Columbia, I traveled with my 'sister' to the capital, Bogota. With the one full day we had there, we took a bus to a small city just outside the urban sprawl. In this city is an old and unique salt mine. The salt has already been extracted from the upper levels, and so these areas have been converted into a very interesting cathedral. All of the walls, decorations, sculptures and sacred items have been carved out of the remaining salt-laden walls. All of this is done on a scale large enough that you barely feel like you are underground, except for the lighting, of course.
Suffice to say it was a really cool place. We got to see an amazing sacred area AND learn about salt mining. I even have a nice chunk I was able to bring home! It was also a really neat place for a chemistry major to hang out as there were lots of wonderfully cool crystallized formations, like this continuously growing wall of salt I am standing by below. You could also see veins of metallic oxides making cool patterns all through the chambers. I think my Columbian sister was amused by my geekiness.

A Family Holiday in Columbia

The title of this post is not to insinuate that my family was with me in Columbia, but rather that I was visiting my 'second family', los Herrera. Their daughter lived with our family for a year during my senior year of high school. It was wonderful to be able to visit with them 5 years on and have a chance to switch roles a bit. They had a list of all the Columbian foods, locations, and traditions that they wanted me to experience. We tackled those we could handle in the week that I was there, but hopefully I'll have a chance to get back and spend some more time with them.
My Columbian sister and me overlooking the 'Valle' region.
Ripening cherries at the coffee themepark, which my hosts agreed was like "Disney on caffeine"
Hot-springs Columbian style. There are actually two waterfalls, one cold and one naturally hot. They create a temperature gradient within the pool, so you can always find the perfect temperature!
The delightful residents of the local park. These two seemed perfectly content to share their tree.