La Paz, Bolivia
When we returned to ‘civilization’ (aka land of running water and flush toilets), we hit some of the sites of La Paz immediately via the city’s gondola or ‘aerial cable car.’ Their system is amazing, consisting of at least 3 different lines and is comparable to the tube system here in London for public transportation.
Riding the Gondolas
The views were amazing and really did give us a taste of the vast size of the city, as well as the variations it has.
City Views
Built up the Hill
Built INTO the Hill
The following day, we stayed on the ground and toured on foot. We didn’t have any real sense of where we were going, other than to see the presidential buildings and the infamous “Witches Market.” With those two points in mind, we wound through streets and explored.
Main Streets in La Paz
When we reached the main square, or the area where the presidential buildings are, we felt we were in a European city. It had that feel with the architecture and statues.
Square Full of Birds
“Stephashini” Kids in Plaza Murillo
House of Congress Building
We stood in front of La Paz’s House of Congress for quite some time contemplating the clock that is mirror-image to what we are used to. It’s referred to as the ‘Clock of the South’ because the shadow on a sun-dial moves counter-clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere. The Bolivian people also feel this represents their two main indigenous tribes – the Aymarans and the Quechuans – because they view the past in front of them and future behind them.
As we moved away from the Plaza Murillo and on a circuitous route to the the “Witches Market,” we made some really fun discoveries.
Colorful Jaen Street
The original colonial road, Jaen Street, paved with cobblestones, was full of museums and colorful exteriors.
The Guys on Jaen Street
Girls Showing off CHOICE Bags
We were even more surprised to stumble on an LDS chapel as we walked! What a fun find! We were all a little jealous of their outside basketball court we could see behind the building.
La Paz LDS Chapel
Selfie-Spied
Family Selfie
We did eventually make it to “Witches Market.”
Entrance to “Witches Market”
There were a few odd things there, such as llama fetuses that are said to bring both prosperity and good luck (usually buried in the foundations of new buildings as an offering to the goddess Pachamama). But, overlooking some of those witch doctor items, it was a very nice market.
Traditional Colorful Bolivian Souvenirs
After our two days in La Paz, we were off for more adventures in Peru!
Uno Games at the Airport
Cusco, Peru
We have definitely found with our large group and being in an unfamiliar country, the best way to travel is with a tour company. It’s such a comfort to have someone waiting for you at the airport, guiding you away from those asking if you’d like a taxi or tour guide.
Checking into our Hotel
With a tour guide, we also hit the ground running, instead of giving into the urge to relax and veg for awhile!
Plaza de Armas
The main town square, Plaza de Armas, was a highlight with all its colonial buildings. It was fun to eat lunch overlooking this area to people watch.
People Watching
One of the most interesting things as we walked was to see people in their native dress, carrying small animals (goats or llamas) for tourists to take pictures of (for money, of course).
Native Buskers
Exploring Cusco Square
‘Stephashini”s Walking the Streets of Cusco
We probably were quite a find for other people watchers, as our 3 families were 16 people strong in addition to our 2/3 tour guides. To us, it just seemed normal and manageable, but when you see us all in a picture, spread down the street, we probably looked like quite the party!
Church & Convent of Santo Domingo
As we visited many buildings in the city centre, it became clear that they were originally holy places for the Incas, but when the Spaniards arrived, many were destroyed. If they did remain standing, the valuable items were taken. The Church & Convent of Santo Domingo was originally the Incas’ Korikancha, or ‘Temple of the Sun.’
Teen Tour Group
Because our group was so large, our two tour guides split us up in a teen group and an adult/kid group. It was great!
June Solstice Niche
The Incans had a temple in the main square in Cusco, known as Kiswarkancha. When the Spanish arrived, they took down the temple and built their Christian cathedral on Kiswarkancha’s foundations. This was not only for the location, but as a symbol of removing the Inca religion from Cusco and replacing it with Spanish Catholic Christiantity. The cathedral is still used today with 3 chapels and houses many Catholic saints, artwork, and other artefacts.
Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of the Assumption
The Jesuit Church, or Church of the Society of Jesus, was built on the site of an Inca palace.
Jesuit Church in Cusco
The influence of the Spanish continued to be felt as we visited outlying Inca archaeological sites.
Saqsaywaman
Saqsaywaman (pronounced ‘Sexy Woman’) is thought to have been a fortress overlooking the city of Cusco.
Adult/Kid Tour Group
Our Tour Guide
Teen Tourists from Afar
Learning or Napping?
Terraces of Saqsaywaman
The stones for every wall are fitted together snugly without any concrete. They are rounded, interlocking, and have a slight angle in. All these factors have been thought to have kept them standing since Incan times, even through earthquakes or other natural disasters.
When the Spaniards invaded Cusco, the stones from this area were removed to build their houses and aid in the Spaniards’ city expansion. The only stones remaining are those that were too heavy to remove (thought to be almost 200 tons).
Large Stone Walls
The Sun Gate
As we ventured out of Cusco and into the countryside, we stopped at Awana Kancha, a type of living museum for the native Andes animals . . . llamas, alpacas, and vicunas.
Feeding the Llamas
Our tour guides timed our visit so we were the first visitors of the day, which made the animals very excited to see us to be fed!
It was interesting to see the animals so close together to pick out the differences between the three, but to also see how they are considered relatives to the camel.
Long-haired Alpaca
Cami Feeding Alpaca
As we continued through the museum, they showed us how they use the wool of the animals.
Dyed Wool
Wool Handiwork
Weaving Looms
Even further outside of Cusco, we toured the Sacred Valley, which is warmer than other nearby areas because of it’s lower elevation. This very fertile area produced crops of maize, but today many products have been grown here. Our tour guides told us strawberries were just being introduced as a new crop in the area.
Roadside View of the Sacred Valley
Sacred Valley
We did visit another archaeological site in Pisac, which showed off the beautiful terraces the Incas used to enable them to produce a surplus of food. It also showcased their amazing water irrigation system that still is used to operate the public bathrooms on the site!
Terraced Hillsides of Pisac
Our last site in the Sacred Valley was Ollantaytambo, the Incan Emperor Pachacuti’s royal estate.
It was a fun walk around, with a lot of climbing on the terraced slopes.
Girls Leaving Their Mark
Before leaving the Sacred Valley, we did get to try the native chica morada drink, which is made from the purple corn they grow. The corn is boiled with pineapple, cinnamon, clove, and sugar and isn’t half bad, but definitely not something we needed to try again.
Chica Morada
Machu Picchu
Our Machu Picchu portion of the trip was quite orchestrated, as far as timings were concerned. We took the train to Machupicchu (the village, also known as Aguas Calientes) in the afternoon.
Checking in at the Train Station
Boarding the Train
The train ride was about 1 1/2 hours with no stops, which sure beats the 4 day hike of the Incan Trail.
Boys on Train Ride
Girls on Train Ride
We arrived in the village around 6:30 p.m., in time to check in at the hotel and grab some dinner, before going straight to bed. Our wake up call was for 5:00 a.m. in the morning, with what seemed like everyone else in our hotel. They started serving breakfast at 5:00 a.m. to a full house, and we were queuing for the bus at 5:30 a.m. At that point, the queue seemed a mile long, but moved fairly quickly . . . and this wasn’t even the busy tourist season!
The bus ride up all the switchbacks took about 30 minutes. Then there were more queues and entrance stamps, but getting there first thing in the morning was all part of the experience!
Machu Picchu, in and of itself, was a bit surreal. The cloud cover would come in and cover it up, then 2 minutes later, it would blow off – over and over again.
Boys at Machu Picchu
Girls at Machu Picchu
No Sign of Cloud Cover
Clouds Creeping In
Trying to Block Out Cloud Cover
Stephachini’s do Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu had been a bucket list item for both Chris and I for many years so we were thrilled to have ticked this one off the list. Afterwards, I think our kids were grateful to have done this now and will be happy to let their own children go as adults. Even though we had already been acclimated to the altitude, all the walking and climbing were not for the faint of heart.
Handstand Overlooking Machu Picchu’s Cloud Cover
Hike Around Machu Picchu
Stephenson’s
Ashton’s Selfie Spied
Another Look
After many pictures, our tour guides, Victor Hugo and Ranoldo, split us into our tour groups again – teens and kids/adults. We had a good tour of the ruins and were done by 9:30 a.m. It honestly felt like it should have been mid-afternoon, but I guess we did start at 5:00 a.m.!
Portion of Ruins
Waynapicchu Behind
At this point, about half of the group went back to the village on the bus, while the remaining 9 of us went on to hike Waynapicchu (or Huayna Picchu). This mountain looks down at Machu Picchu from 850 ft up for a total of 8,835 ft above sea level.
Waynapicchu
It is said that the top of the mountain was the residence for the high priest and the local virgins. Every morning before sunrise, the high priest (with a small group) would walk to Machu Picchu to signal the coming of the new day.
It took us about 45 minutes to get up, but it was one of the toughest hikes we have ever done. With the altitude and path like a stair master on steroids, we were in pain (at least the parents; the teens could have probably continued going, if needed).
Handstand on Waynapicchu
But, it was definitely worth the climb for the view and sense of accomplishment.
We Did It!!
Getting down was much easier, but it still took time to gauge all the steps, especially because it started raining as we started our descent!
Exit Crevice/Tunnel
When we made it back down to Machu Picchu, we immediately got into the queue for the buses down. We were exhausted and looking forward to that 30 minute ride! We made it back in time for a late lunch with the rest of our group before our train departed to return to Cusco.
Caleb Forging Through Crowds
Man on a Mission
The train ride back was full of energy for what we had just accomplished, but the teenage boys couldn’t keep their eyes open. They were beat!
Nap-time on the Train
Our early mornings were not over yet, however, as we were up at 4:00 a.m. the next morning to get finished packing, check out, and have breakfast before our 7:30 a.m. flight to Lima . . . for our third mini-trip on this marathon 2 weeks of travel.
Paracas, Peru
When we arrived in Lima, we were met by a pre-booked bus service for our 3-4 hour journey to Hotel Paracas. We couldn’t wait to don our suits, sit poolside, and not worry about high altitudes.
Home for 3 Days
Sitting Poolside
Enjoying Mocktails
While the adults were enjoying not doing anything, the kids seemed to enjoy all the perks of the resort they could. They spent a good amount of time in the gym, the pool, . . .
In Pool Workouts
Super Supportive Friends
Success!
Underwater Cami
Three Man Totem Pole
Water Ball
. . . and any other activity they could find!
Boys in Bumper Balls
War is On
Attack!
The adults did try to get in on the fun for a few things. Chris and I had a go at the bumper balls. Although, they were fun to a point, being in them was a little claustrophobic and after a couple hits, we were ready to call it good.
Chris & Becca in Bumper Balls
Chris Upside Down
We Did It!
There were also tightropes and other outdoor games.
Cami and I followed some of the other kids and took some bikes out for a little bit. You couldn’t ride on the resort, so we took the coastal path down the shore until we were ready to return.
Becca & Cami Biking Coastal Path
The teens went out a few times on the paddle boards, but this was definitely something the teen girls enjoyed the most!
Hannah & Madeleine on Paddleboards
After such a long trip with little wifi or time to work on anything work or church related, the guys rented a cabana for a couple days and made full use of it. It was nice for the rest of us to use for the shade as well.
“Business Centre”
Poolside at Dusk
Most of our lunches were spent poolside, but dinner was always enjoyed outside. Because our group was so large, they kept our long table set up the entire time of our stay. Sadly, most times kids fell asleep before the meals (or dessert) were served. We had definitely worked hard this trip, but we also played hard too!
Last Dinner at the Resort
It is wonderful to get to the end of a holiday and be ready to get home, although we would have been more grateful not to have 24+ hours to get there.
One Last Uno Game at the Airport
Sadly, because of missed connections in Madrid with limited seating on remaining flights, our family had to say goodbye to the other two at the Madrid airport. They continued on home while we were shuttled to a nearby hotel for the evening, making our journey home even longer. But, the kids didn’t complain too much about missing a day of school and we had an extra day to kick some jet lag. This was definitely a trip we won’t forget, as it was epic on so many levels!
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