We have another incredibly early start, 4:40 pickup from our hotel to get to the airport. La Casona makes us some small ham and cheese sandwiches to take for breakfast at our request. It’s a long transit today – Cusco to Lima, then Lima to Santiago.
Peru is an incredible country. We have spent the better part of a month here and have traversed it from the north to Lima and Cusco in the southeast.
My takeaways – the people here are friendly, hardworking, and caring. They are engaged and interested in people who are visiting and want to have a conversation. Peru has a rich archeological tradition and they are challenged to deal with it. They have so many archeological sites but are unable to protect many, to excavate or identify them. The amount of culture we have seen throughout this visit is incredible, the Moche, Chimu, Lambayeque, Chachapoyas, Inca – wonderful. All are very advanced civilizations that existed pre-Christ to 1300 AD. The culture is amazing, but the people are the best part of the trip.
We have been fortunate to have talked with locals from the bartender pouring a drink that we find is in Machu Pichu from Lima so he can avoid a 5 hour round trip commute each day to the guide who has moved so his daughter can go to a better school. This is what makes a trip and I am better for having met these people.
M
I can’t add much to Mary’s commentary. Visiting sites of the Moche, Chimu, & Lambayeque cultures along the northern coast, the highland Chachapoya & their predecessors, the Lima culture (in the city of the same name), and the Incan Sacred Valley were a dream come true. Fantastic.
And, the people, even better. Good souls,
D.