We saved the best for last for our trip – Machu Picchu was even more impressive than we had expected.  It’s really something that you have to experience in person, but we’ll try to do what we can:

{this gate was the main point of entry to the residential section, and was built to protect the residents in case of invasion}

{walkways between residences}

{some of the many farming terraces}

{water channels carved into the stone, which conducted the population’s water supply}

{Incans believed this stone was in the shape of a condor, an important symbol in Incan culture. They build a temple around this rock called the Temple of the Condor.}

{a stone carved in the shape of a condor, which was part of the Temple of the Condor}

{a staircase}

{according to our tour guide, all the stones used to build Machu Picchu were harvested locally, like from these large boulders}

{alpacas are everywhere at Machu Picchu! we saw this guy and at least 50 of his friends}

{amazing views, and what the houses would have looked like when in use}

{one more panoramic photo, just for good measure}

For anyone thinking about going, which you totally should, just be sure to stay up there after the main tour is over.  The tours all seem to run around the same time of the day, which means that there are thousands of tourists all at the same time, but most people leave after the tour to go down to the market and shop.  We stayed up the mountain for at least an hour after most everyone else left, and it was absolutely worth it.

I hope you’ve enjoyed our honeymoon photos.  If you’re interested in seeing more, you can find the full collection right here.

Situated in a valley at 11,000 ft above sea level, Cuzco is absolutely stunning.  The historic capital of the Incan Empire, much of the town is built upon the old Incan foundations.  Cuzco is also the entry point for most Western tourists planning to visit the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu:

{Cuzco Cathedral – right across the street from our hotel}

{the large stones are the old Incan foundations, still in pristine condition 500 years later}

As we continued along the Sacred Valley towards Machu Picchu, we visited the market at the town of Pisac, where this alpaca hissed at my husband mere seconds after taking this picture:

More from the Sacred Valley:

Next up… Machu Picchu!!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  I hope you’re all having a wonderful holiday — or at least a wonderful Thursday for those of you outside the United States.  Now on to Part 2 of our Peruvian adventure!

THE AMAZON

After transiting back through Lima, we hopped on a flight to the jungle town of Iquitos – the largest town in the Peruvian rainforest and considered to be the largest city in the world that can only be accessed by boat or plane:

We only stayed one night before moving on to our intended designation – the Explorama Lodge further down the Amazon River, where we spent the next three days:

{flying sardines! these guys flip themselves dramatically into the air if they sense movement – and this guy flipped himself right into our little boat. we threw him back in, of course.}

{Charlie the Capybara, who squeals when you pet him!}

{these guys make the most ridiculous noises! see them in action here}

I think the monkeys were our favorite part — there was a whole troupe of them! 

Up next… Cuzco and the Sacred Valley!

Back in August, my husband and I spent two weeks in Peru for our honeymoon.  During those two weeks, we visited Lima, Ica, Nazca, Iquitos and the Amazon, Cuzco and the Sacred Valley, including Machu Picchu.  Needless to say, we were exhausted by the end of our two week trip, but we came home with a ton of pictures!  Here are a few of our favorites photos from the trip – if you’re interested, you can see more of them here.

LIMA

It was winter time during our trip to Peru, which meant that Lima was mostly cold and gray and we didn’t take many pictures of the city:

{the Presidential Palace}

{Moorish balconies of the Bishop’s Palace next to the Cathedral}

{Spanish tiles inside the Cathedral}

{a newlywed couple taking wedding portraits at the Parc D’Amour at night}

{some of the very cool tin art sculptures that we saw around Lima}

THE DESERT COAST

After Lima, we headed down the Pan-American Highway along Peru’s western Desert Coast towards Ica and Nazca.  (Peonies, this is where I e-mailed you after your computer crashed).  Ica is known for some pretty impressive sand dunes, which I gave up climbing about halfway up.  My husband climbed all the way up one dune and was very proud of himself for conquering said sand dune.

{All of the hotels were nestled around a once real, but now fake, lagoon/oasis called Laga Huacachina.  It all felt very artificial and actually kind of creeped me out a bit.}

Ica is also famous for being part of Peru’s wine country and for its family-operated wineries known as bodegas.  But lest you think that this means something fabulously glamorous like Italian wineries, think again.  This is what we discovered:

I can’t even begin to tell you how much crap was piled up around the winery – I recall seeing several skulls that I’m sure belonged in a museum somewhere, a stuffed fox or at least the pelt of a fox, a preserved tarantula, among others. Here’s a photo that our taxi driver/tour guide took of us:

{We’re doing our best not to look a bit terrified}

NASCA

After Ica, we took another bus down to Nazca to see the Nazca Lines. Everything you’ll see below is a Line – from the long, straight runway-looking lines to the line drawings of birds and animals. The entire plateau, known as the Pampas de Jumana, is covered in these lines:

{Next up, Iquitos and the Amazon…}