Peru

We were definitely out of our comfort zone, regularly surprised by new sights, sounds and smells.   Our guides were incredibly talented at both listening and mimicking bird and monkey calls.

We tied up to a different jungle riverbank every night, and had lots of interaction with real Amazonians.   Villages are small, and tightly knit.  They seemed content.  We didn't hear any whiny kids.

Danger abounds in the Amazon, along with exquisite wild and beautiful flora and fauna.  We were in the Upper Amazon, in Peru.  

Spanish explorer Francisco Pizarro invaded the Incan Empire in 1532, seeking riches. The Incas had already had some contact with Europeans, and many had died of European diseases. The Inca empire was also weakened by a [...]

Inca architecture used massive stonework, but without the wheel, and without elephants or oxen.   The stones were rough-cut to the approximate shape in the quarries using cobblestones for tools.  The stones were shaped into their final [...]

Exploring Lima was an adventure - we walked for miles checking out the artwork and great food.

Machu Picchu is a mystery, where Incas built an intricate city of stone without wheels, iron tools or beasts of burden.   The temples within are built to catch the sun's rays, or to observe [...]