Lake Titicaca - in Peru

Yes, as many of you know, I am back in the States, and have fallen behind on some of the blogging. This blog is in Lake Titicaca. This ENORMOUS lake is so big is supposedly takes 7 days to cross it by boat. It also is the highest navigable lake in the world, and South America's largest lake. (That's quite a resumé). Being so high above sea level, it was COLD when i visited (I doubt its ever REALLY warm). It's about 12,000 feet above sea level. (Just to give you an idea, Denver, the mile high city is only 5,200 ft. above sea level, so it's more than double). And how can you not just love the name of it?????

Machu Picchu and Wyanapicchu in Peru.

First I saw the longest centipede/millipede I have ever seen in my life, and with such neat colors. Machu Picchu was a stronghold for the Incan Indians (circa 1400-1450), and this remote civilization was lost, until in 1911 a North American explorer uncovered the remains. How in the world did they build this civilization on top of a mountain with such STEEP inclines remains a mystery. Wyanapicchu was the look out tower for Machu Picchu. The climb up there was hard as hell. Again, such steep inclines, no railings, and windy (not to mention it had just rained). This is NO PLACE for a person with vertigo or afraid of heights. All I can say is a place like this would NEVER be open to the public in the States due to liability and lawsuits. THAT'S how crazy the whole thing is.

Who doesn't love lizards??

Lizards everywhere in this park in Guayaquil, Ecuador. They were as common as a pigeon. From there I headed to Cuzco, Peru. Cuzco was the cultural capital of the Incans. (a MAJOR Indian civilization) that was at its very peak at the arrival of the Spanish conquistadores. I tried to include a couple of pictures that capture various elements of the city like: a) how people dress today b) the Spanish influence left on most major cities in South America which is evident in so many ways but architecture is a BIG influence. c) The old Incan ruins. These people were BRILLIANT. Check out the stone walls. Each rock cut with SOOO much precision. No mortar in between, and these walls look BRAND NEW, and they are 500+ years old. DON'T FORGET THIS COUNTRY IS PLAGUED BY EARTHQUAKES and they still look brand new.

Galapagos Part II -

I admit that i am behind as far as putting this up, but I just wanted to show you some of the other wildlife to be seen at the Galapagos. I'll post more from Machu Picchu and other places in Peru soon.

THE GALAPAGOS ISLANDS (first clip)

It’s hard to summarize that week in the Galapagos Islands. All I can say is: ANIMALS EVERYWHERE. I think it’s necessary to point out WHY the animals are so unafraid of humans. The Galapagos Islands are 600 miles away from the mainland, and so NO LAND MAMMALS are there. So they have no natural predators. As a result, they are not afraid of humans, cuz they don’t feel threatened. (Rats, cats, goats and pigs unfortunately were introduced onto the islands, and are wreaking havoc on the ecoysystem). It’s something that they have been trying to get under control for over a decade. The islands are incredibly expensive, but worth every cent. It was so hard to decide which pictures to include.

Baños, Ecuador. Awesome, but scared the hell out of me!

Don't get me wrong. I LOVED Baños, Ecuador. It's located about 3 1/2 hours outside of the capital (Quito). However, it is tucked away DEEP in the mountains in the heart of volcanic activity. The town had to be completely evacuated due to volcanic eruptions 2 years ago. You can still see ash blowing all over the place, and many of the riverbeds are caked with ash too. Anyway, I went white-water rafting, and went rapelling, and then took the damn cable car, which was the worst. I think 99% of the people would have hated it. Getting to Baños wasn't esay either. Being in the mountains, it's necessary to take these WINDING, CURVY roads, at FRIGHTENING altitudes. the buses take these turns at WARP SPEEDS. Scary as hell.... but i had such a great time. The video shows great views, and the waterfall used in Raiders of the Lost ark. - Check it out, it's one of my favorites actually.

THE EQUATOR - A FIELD TRIP FOR ADULTS!

Did you know that right at the equator you weigh less than in your country? Or how about, it's much more difficult to walk a straight line with your eyes closed and arms extended at the equator than in the North or Southern Hemisphere? Watch the video for all this other stuff they told us about the equator and physics high school but never really understood why. If you have questions on the "hows" and "whys" these hapens I might be answer them, but no guarantee.