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La Luna de Miel Larga
Chris and Aviva's travels through South America and beyond
About
Chris and Aviva got married in September of 2007 and immediately abandoned everything they know to move to Cuzco, Peru for a little over a year. Aviva is conducting her fieldwork towards her PhD in anthropology and Chris is bumming around shooting some short films and trying to look busy.
Christmas and Travels around Cusco and the Sacred Valley
January 18th, 2008 by AvivaKathie and Silas arrived early on December 24 and recovered quickly from jet lag and the altitude change. We all spent some time shopping at Santurantikuy (see Cookies and Parties post) and then had a quiet Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at home. We made a turkey and stuffing, and played Settlers of Catan most of the day. On the 26th, we got a late start as we were trying to finalize trekking plans for Chris and Silas, but by mid-afternoon we had taken a taxi up to Tambomachay, one of the Incan ruins above the city. The site used to be a waterworks, and it is closely located to another site called Puka Pukara, which used to be a temple and way-post fort/hunting lodge. From these two sites, we walked down to Q’engo, which also had some temple functions. The walk from there back to Cusco took another hour, and we took a short cut down a long set up steps. In total, we were hiking for about 4 hours or 9 km. We missed the big ruins of Sacsayhuaman, and although we had planned to get back to them later in the week, we ran out of time.
Chris and Silas left on the 27th for their three day hike over the pass of Salkantay (see Salkantay and Machu Picchu post) and Kathie and Aviva spent some extra time in Cusco (at the Precolumbian Art museum and around San Blas) and then headed to the town of Ollantaytambo. We spent the night (28th) there and the days exploring the ruins (a fortress where the Incas made one of their last stands against the Spanish). Then we took a train to Aguas Calientes, the town below Machu Picchu.
We spent the afternoon hiking, met up with the boys in the evening, and then spent the next day together at Machu Picchu (see Salkantay and Machu Picchu post), and had to spend an extra night in Aguas Calientes because of train ticket complications. In the end, we still had to split up to take the train home (on the 31st), with the girls getting in about five hours earlier than the boys. We all made it in time for New Years though, and we had a nice dinner at a restaurant called Incanto. New Years Day was quiet; we had some friends over for tea and coffee. January 2nd, Chris took Kathie and Silas to the Korikancha (the Temple of the Sun) and to the artesanal market. January 3rd was another quiet day at home and the next day we headed out to explore more of the Sacred Valley. We went to the sites of Moray (an agricultural site where they experimented with planting at different altitudes/temperature zones) and Salinas (salt flats set into a valley, but unfortunately a bit muddy from all the rain). On Saturday, the 5th, we ran some errands, explored more of Cusco, and packed for Arequipa. We took a night bus down there on Saturday night.
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One Response to “Christmas and Travels around Cusco and the Sacred Valley”
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January 21st, 2008 at 1:01 am
Hi Chris & Aviva,
Thanks for sharing some of your latest goings on. Sounds like you guys are having a fabulous time and I must say you are great writers. I love reading about your adventures. Stay safe and I’ll look forward to your next posting.
Love
Louise