Mas Amazona

The whole gang with Los Bora

Rio Amazona on our flight to Iquitos, Peru

Happiness

Spider monkey at rehabilitation center

"Dinosaur" fish at the Belen market

Amazona

 Hierbero in Belen

Amazonian flower

A walking tree

Marcia's muddy boots

School boy from Indiana PERU 

Our boat driver 

Richard, our jungle bungalow trek guide 

 

Urubamba, Valle Sagrado

Children of Ollantaytambo

Muñequas

Artesanias

Walking up to the Inti Raymi festival at Saqsaywaman, Cusco

Machu Picchu - Old Peak

Quechua Poetry: Ucsha Urcuman

In the páramo I went searching for you
English translation by Avi Tuschman

To the hills I went looking for you
because it was there I saw you first
you were playing with the wind
perhaps waiting for me.

There I found you, huambrita
and in that same place I lost you
jealousy kills, lonquita,
now what will become of me?

To the hill I return, huambrita
intending to see you once more,
and if this time I find you, longuita,
I will never let you go

The reason for my visit: Sandra and Fernando´s Wedding

The bride and groom wore white, very fitting and representational of their pure love for each other.  Its been sweet to watch it grow over the years.  My wish for my sister of the heart and new brother-in-law, the newlywed couple,
is for MANY more years of happiness!

Silver is the tears of the Moon

The Inka did not have a written language, but used oral traditions to pass their knowledge and history to the next generation.  But one should not discount their culture or their understanding of how the world works.  Quipus are called talking knots.  They are the recording devices of the Inka.

A quipu usually consisted of colored, spun, and plied thread or strings from llama or alpaca hair.
It could also be made of cotton cords. For the Inca, the system aided in collecting data and keeping records, ranging from monitoring tax obligations, properly collecting census records, calendrical information, and military organization.The cords contained numeric and other values encoded by knots in base ten positional system. A quipu could have only a few or up to 2,000 cords. The configuration of the quipus have also been 'compared to string mops.' Archaeological evidence has also shown a use of finely carved wood as a supplemental, and perhaps more sturdy, base on which the color-coordinated cords would be attached.

The Inka also invested in their communities.  Each community had three areas:  the agricultural, urban and religious. Quarried stones from other mountains were dragged for miles to be used for religious temples and palaces for their kings.  They remind me of the terraces of southern China.