Marais, Part 2
Hotel d’Ville
Hotel d’Ville Plaza
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Paris--Marais
Street by Temple Square
Garden in Temple Square
Temple Square
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Rainbow Falls
Rainbow Falls out of Hilo on the Big Island. The falls cascade over a lava tube.
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Punalu’u Bake Shop
The Southern most bakery in the United States. There specialty is Malassadas or Portuguese doughnuts
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The walls of one Heiau.
The burial place of the priests, a part of the Heiau.
Statues of a god.
The ocean with the lava rock beach
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Reflection on the Big Island of Hawaii
On the coast south of the Kona Airport lies this important historical preserve: the Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historic Park. Wandering its trails, one learns how the native Hawaiians lived. They caught fish in the natural, lava ringed fish trap, at birds that were plentiful, and grew bananas and taro--in the lava.
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Day 10: Cuzco • Fly to Lima • Return to U.S.
First Bob and I went to the Inca Museum, by the main plaza. It was good to save that for the last, because it helped put everything we had seen and learned in chronological order. It had a large collection of Inca mummies. Also, it is the best Spanish-language introduction to pre-Columbian Andean culture. Civilizations thrived here before the Incas. The building was the palace of Admiral Francisco Aldrete Maldonado, so it is called the Palacio del Almirante.
We met everyone for lunch at Yuraq Restaurant, next to the hotel. People left at various times during the afternoon. After lunch, we went to the large craft market across the street from the hotel and explored. I picked up a few gifts and souvenirs and just enjoyed looking at all the native work. Then we returned to pack, rest up, and get ready for the long trip home.
Some final pictures of Cusco:
Lunch Spot
Our hotel
Cusco
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Day 9: Discover Oropesa, Tipon, Sacsayhuaman & Kenko
After breakfast, we explored the valley south of Cuzco, beginning in Oropesa, The Town of Bakeries.”This small town is known for special bread called pan chuta, made in loaves as big as a wheel and traditionally brought as a gift to the host when visiting a home in the Cuzco area.
Oropesa Church
Street in Oropesa
Local Bakery
After we visited a bakery and enjoyed samples, we continued on to Tipon, the site of ancient Inca waterworks. The maze of irrigation channels and ritual baths here is a marvel of ancient engineering—water continues to flow in them, 500 years after their construction. This was a site for Agricultural Experimentation.
Agricultural Experiment Station
After lunch in a local restaurant, we drove into the hills surrounding Cuzco to visit two important Inca sites. First we explored the massive Sacsayhuaman archaeological site on a hilltop overlooking the city, which the Incas built from huge stones, some weighing nearly 300 tons. Then we visited the Incan ceremonial center of Kenko, an ancient worship site that also displays impressive stone- work.
Cusco from the Ruins
Before dinner we gathered in the hotel bar to learn how to make Pisco Sours and sample them. Then it was to La Orikancha, for our Farewell Dinner.
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Day 8: Discover Izcuchaca • A Day in the Life of Chinchero village
This morning, we begin a day filled with Peruvian cultural discoveries as we journeyed to Izcuchaca, a village in the Anta Province of Cuzco. First we visited a local market. Then, we traveled to the mountain weaving village of Chinchero, which—at an elevation of 12,500 feet—is a literal high point of
our exploration of the Sacred Valley, and provides excellent views of the surrounding mountains. Chinchero was also the site of a 16th-century Inca emperor’s estate, as well as a resting place on the Inca Royal Road. While there, we enjoyed A Day in the Life of the Chinchero community, beginning with a visit to a local elementary school (that is supported in part by donations from Grand Circle Foundation). The children welcomed us warmly. We visited a third grade class where we taught the children numbers from eleven to twenty. Then the students sang some traditional songs. We gave the teacher the supplies we had brought. Then the children showed us the indoor bathrooms that had been provided by the Grand Circle Foundation.
These little three-wheel “cabs” are how people get around in the town.
From the schoolhouse, we traveled to the center of Chinchero, where we enjoyed a walking tour of the community and visit to a weaving cooperative. We had lunch there and then a demonstration of how Peruvian weavers create their complex patterns in colorful cloth as their ancestors have for centuries. Every village has its own unique patterns and traditions, many dating back more that 2000 years. The oldest member of the community was in her 90s.
Inca Weaver
Along the road, we met a woman who raised Guinea Pigs. We stopped and she showed us her where she kept them. We had to step into a disinfecting pool before we entered the room because she sold her guinea pigs to some of the finest restaurants and they had to be protected from germs.
Next we visited a local Shaman for a traditional healing service. It is called a Curandero ceremony, performed by a Mestizo Medicine Man, that draws on an assortment of ancient and modern substances and symbols, combined with coca leaves and the energy of the sacred mountains and Mother Earth. People today will go to the Shaman first, then to the doctor.
When we returned to the hotel, we went to a pizza restaurant for a simple dinner.
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Day Seven: Explore Cuzco
Our first stop today is an alpaca factory, Factoria La Vicunita. There we learned about the difference between baby alpaca fabric, alpaca fabric, and fake alpaca fabric. The sweaters and shawls were marvelous.
After that, we explored Cuzco on a walking tour.
Called “the navel of the world” by the Incas, Cuzco is laid out in the shape of a puma, a sacred beast in Inca lore. We started in the Old City with its steep steps and narrow roads. Going up the first flight, I was out of breath. The 13,000 ft. altitude does affect me, but I did not take the meds. As we wandered through the old Inca area that has now been transformed into an artist’s area, we stopped at the workshop of one artisan, Luthier Sabino, who made a variety of instruments, mostly stringed. He explained what each one was and demonstrated them to us.
Then we wandered down to the through the heart of the city to the Plaza de Armas. When the Spanish conquistadors arrived here, they often built atop Inca structures, leaving behind a fascinating architectural blend. At the Plaza de Armas, we saw the outside of the 17th-century cathedral that was built on the foundation of an Inca palace. This massive structure is one of the significant colonial buildings in the city.
We had a tour with a cathedral guide who clearly loved the building and his faith. The church is full of beautiful frescos and gold and silver. The main altar is breathtaking. The guide explained the significance of each of the chapels. The tour culminated with the famous Last Supper where the paten holds a guinea pig and other foods on the table are clearly local fruits and vegetables. As we left the Cathedral, we saw police lined up all in front along the plaza awaiting the farmer’s demonstration.
Maricela led us to a local restaurant for lunch where Bob and I shared an Alpaca steak. It was good.
Then we headed back to the hotel. As we reached the plaza again, we could see the demonstration in progress. We watched for a while and then walked along side as we were going the same direction.
Meredith, upper left, is a queen of Cameroon, and Bill her husband and we went across the street for dinner.
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Day Five: Train ride through the Sacred Valley • Discover Machu Picchu
We started our day with a bus to the train station where we caught the train to Agua Callientes. We had a box lunch on the train as well as a snack.
The scenic train ride through the Sacred Valley took just over three hours. We saw bits of the Inca Trail in the side of the mountain. We arrived in the village of Aguas Calientes, where we stayed after our exploration of Machu Picchu this afternoon.
Our luggage—just an overnight bag--was sent to the hotel while we traveled by bus to Machu Picchu, which— like Lima and the city of Cuzco—is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Machu Picchu is the “Lost City of the Incas. This ancient city was a place little known not only to foreigners, but also to the Inca people—only a select few were ever allowed to visit this mysterious sanctuary. Even though it was “discovered” by Hiram Bingham in 1911, Machu Picchu remained inaccessible until the 1940s, when the Inca Trail was found by an archaeological expedition.
Ensuing explorations uncovered relics indicating that the “Lost City of the Incas” may have been the religious center of Inca life. The temples, astronomical observatory, and a remarkable solar clock named Intiwatana, or “hitching post to the sun” are all signs of the Incas’ devotion to their sun god. (The fact that nearly all the unearthed human remains are female also points to Machu Picchu as a site of religious sacrifice.)
As for the fate of Machu Picchu’s people, the theories are even more far-reaching (the Incas left no written record). It is known that smallpox decimated the population in the early 16th century, but the remainder may have succumbed to drought or disease, been conquered by the Spanish, or simply abandoned the site.
When the train dropped us off, we walked right into the site and began our compelling look at this fabled “Lost City.” Maricela, our guide, explained all about Machu Picchu’s place in the Incan world, the terraced landscape, the remnants of its Ritual Baths, the Palace of the Princess, Main Fountain, and Sun and Condor temples. She paced the trek well, and we all made it to the top, to the Sacred Rock and the Temple of the Sun, 13,000 steps. When the park closed at 5 p.m., we had had a complete tour. We returned to Aguas Calientes, checked into our hotel, El Santuario Hotel, then enjoyed dinner at a local restaurant.
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