This past Spring, Joline and I embarked on what we considered a trip of a lifetime. Our jaunt took us from the Beaches of Rio, through the Jungles of Iguassu Falls, to the “Paris of South America (Buenos Aires), all the way over to Peru and the Land of the Incas. Below are some of the highlights in photos. Enjoy!
Missed a previous post?
A South American Escape Part 1 – Miami
A South American Escape Part 2 – Rio de Janeiro
A South American Escape Part 3 – Iguassu Falls/Foz Do Iguacu
A South American Escape Part 4 – Buenos Aires
A South American Escape Part 5 – Lima
A South American Escape Part 6 – Sacred Valley of the Incas
A South American Escape Part 7 – Machu Picchu
A South American Escape Part 8 – Cusco
A South American Escape Part 9 – Lima Redux…and home.
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Cusco (or Cuzco) is the historic capital of the Inca Empire and was declared a World Heritage Site in 1983 by UNESCO. With its network of roads (hand-built by stone), food deposits and weapons caches in the surrounding Andes, it is easy to understand why this city was protected and served as the Inca stronghold.
In 1650 and again in 1950, the city was leveled by massive earthquakes that destroyed all the colonial (Spanish) structures but left the Inca builds in tact.
We toured the Temple of the Sun and the Korinkancha (Santo Domingo Monastery).
Today, Cusco is a cosmopolitan metropolis which also serves as the ‘holding pen’ for Machu Picchu. However, this city has enough history to refuse to be just a pass-through.
Next, on the way home and back to Lima:
(A South American Escape Part 9 – Lima Redux…and home.)
