Machu Picchu & the Galapagos

This page displays our first trip in the digital age.  As our visit occurred many years ago, our memory of the specific locations where we photographed some things is not so precise.  In the spirit of full disclosure, this trip was a group outing.  During the trip, photos from us and other members of the traveling party were pooled.  While we have taken steps to isolate our photos from those taken by others, we may have missed some.  We enjoyed the trips and hope you will enjoy the albums.

Lima, the capital city of Peru, was our South American gateway for the trips.  During colonial times, the city was vital to Spanish interests due to access to the Pacific Ocean.  Temperature-wise, Lima is generally comfortable, and though it’s frequently cloudy there, it rarely rains. Lima has become more of a destination city than it was during our visit.  

Machu Picchu is referred to as many things, including the lost city of the Incas that the conquistadors never found.  Well, it’s true that the conquistadors never found it, but it likely wasn’t a city.  We do know that it was constructed in the 14th century and abandoned about the time that the Spanish arrived.  Constructing Machu Picchu, at elevation, in such a remote area is quite an achievement, and probably would be even more impressive had the Incas possessed a written language to tell us about it.  The site is beautiful, but can be challenging from a photography standpoint, as our photos illustrate.

Our Peru photos are collected from several locations in the country, including areas outside of Lima, Aquas Calientes (near Machu Picchu), Yucay Valley, and Cusco, the capital of the Inca Empire.  

The Galapagos Islands lie about 600 miles west of mainland Ecuador.  We visited several of the main islands, including Bartolome, Santa Cruz, and Genovesa.  As Charles Darwin documented, wildlife here is diverse, and in some cases unique to the islands.  Hunting of indigenous animals is forbidden here, so many of the wildlife we encountered had no fear of humans.