Puno
Typical housing near Puno, alpacas out in front
Pre-Inca tower tombs at Sillustani, near Puno
Local girl with her little lamb; was her name Maria?
Yes, I paid one sol (35 cents) for this photo
That's me jumping at Sillustani; such beautiful light in the late afternoon
Dana, Ale, and Elizabeth at Sillustani
Lake Titicaca, one of the natural wonders of South America
Uros Islands women, dependent on tourists who pay money to witness a unique way of life
Accessed Lake Titicaca from Puno, Peru, at 12,500' elevation
Traditional boat on Lake Titicaca made of tortora reeds, which grow in the lake
Modern boat, local method of rowing, standing up
Traditional dressed woman in front of a reed hut, but inside was a television running on solar power.
One of the Uros Islands, made of tortora reeds and literally floating on the lake
Local lady shows a traditionally dressed western doll to Sophia
Just could not resist this opportunity
Each summer Sophia gets dressed like a local: Montenegro in 2007, Netherlands 2008, South Africa (Zulu) 2009, and now Peru 2010
Amantani Island, our destination for a non-touristy cultural excursion for an overnight stay
Amantani Islanders welcoming us
Amantani Island
The women are almost always spinning wool, even while walking
Local women, all spinning wool
Local farming technique, plowing the field with human labor
Women behind drop seeds or potatoes into the freshly plowed soil
View over Lake Titicaca of 19,000' snow-capped peaks in Bolivia
Good workout to run at nearly 13,000'
Dusk over Lake Titicaca
Wait, the day is not done! Time to dress up for a fiesta in our honor!
Fond farewell to our hosts on Amantani Island
Taquile Island - men wear long stocking caps, with white top if unmarried
Our boat captain from Taquile Island, wearing the traditional bachelor's hat
Spinning wool on Taquile Island
Taquile Island men spend much of the day knitting
Taquile Island, snow-capped peaks beyond the lake in the distance
Beautiful Lake Titicaca; the wall in the foreground is made of carefully positioned stones
Sophia and me within Christ's arms, Cristo Blanco statue above Cusco
Cusco's main plaza, seen from the Cristo Blanco statue
Another quick photo op during a bus stop between Puno and Cusco
Plaza de Armas in Cusco with the cathedral behind
Street scene, Cusco
Cusco at dusk
Inca-era terracing, Pisac
Can't resist these photo ops with the locals
Plaza in Pisac, view from 2nd floor cafe
Pisac woman; so many different styles of hats in Peru
Pisac street scene
Yet another distinctive hat
Pisac market
Dancer at the Fiesta of the Virgin of Carmen, Pisac
Masked dancers
Mocking the Europeans
Pools for producing salt by evaporating water from a nearby salty spring
Pre-Inca salt pools, still in operation
Sophia, please be careful!
Yet another photo op with the locals
Machu Picchu never fails to impress
Is Sophia spoiled with all these travel experiences?
Machu Picchu sits high above the deep Urubamba Valley
Discovered 99 years ago, 1911, by American archeologist Hiram Bingham
Feel the energy!
Sophia quickly kept saying, "Machu Picchu! Machu Picchu!"
GeoTours group at Machu Picchu - just 10 of us
