Whoa... Its has been a month from the last entry but it feels like yesterday that we were in Chile. Speaking of, getting out of Chile was a real treat. Well it was not leaving Chile but getting in to Peru with that little angel Sierra that was the problem.

Before crossing the boarder we did the obligatory veterinary visit so that we could pay 20 bucks to have sierra violated by a thermometer. After the dog was tortured we received our ‘health certificate’ and set off to camp with the plan of sliding through the boarder in the morning... not so. We checked out of Chile with he normal hassle of lines and ambiguity then drove in to Peru. After stamping into Peru the real fun started. We imported the truck got the 5 stamps from various ‘officials’ and thought we were on our way until a sweet little lady decided our paper work for the dog was not complete and we needed a pile of paper with accompanying stamps from Chile SAG, and organization that has nothing to do with Peru and will look at the exact same paper work we provided and, for a small fee of course, give us the paper with stamps. After some arguing, huffing and a long hot walk back to the Chile side it was obvious we were not crossing that day and we needed to stamp out of Peru and back in to Chile. But it was not over yet. After driving all the way back to Arica we found the SAG office. Teri took the reigns while Steve guarded the truck in semi-legal parking. After about 1.5 hours Steve got a bit nervous and went to find Teri which he did, after some worried wandering he found a crying Teri in the SAG office.  To keep it short, the crying and the entering of a stern Steve convinced the SAG to stay open late for us on Friday because if we did not get the papers and stamps we would have never made it to Ariquipa, Peru in time to pick up mom. We did it and it was ll thanks to Teri shedding some tears.

After crossing the boarder we made out way north on the coast and stopped in Ilo, a fishing town that produced the best civiche yet. The drive was interesting, crossing fast bleak deserts that were bisected by lush Pisco producing valleys. These are ins such stark contrast to the surrounding desert that you feel that you could be in asia with the rice patties and reed huts or Africa with sand dunes and dry horizons. 

We made our way to Arequipa to pick up mom. Her flight arrived at 5am with the Volcano Misty looming in the background. It was so good to see her get off the plane. It had been 5 months since we saw here last, which is obviously way too long. We drove in to Arequipa, starting what turned out to be a fantastic 3 weeks.

Ariquipa is a wonderful city. Defiantly off the normal Peru tourist circuit, but for no good reason. Its old streets, impressive monastery and atmosphere lead it to be one of our favorite cities. The monastery in particular is out of this world and worth visiting the city just to see it.

We ended up staying there for a few more days than we had planned, but the beautiful white-stone city can be a hard place to leave.  After some deliberating we decided it would be best if Mom flew to Cusco as to avoid the 15,000 ft summit.  We decided to do the drive as quickly as possible so we could meet mom ASAP.  It took about 20 hours split between two days...longer than we expected.  But after climbing into the altitude, surviving the corn sized hail storms and pot-hole roads we arrived in Cusco.

Where to start with this city?  Absolutely beautiful and rich with culture and history.  The stone work is unlike anything we have ever encountered.  Seamlessly placed with no mortar and still standing today.  This is where our tour of the ruins begins.

In the city there are streets lined with colonial buildings built on top of the former Inca city foundations.  This  makes for funky cafes, souviner shops and Spanish churches built atop Inca palaces and temples.  A stunning but tragic reminder of the cities history.  After two days of enjoying the city the three of us headed out for Ollataytambo, a jumping off point for most travelers heading to Machu Picchu.    The small cobble stone streets and fresh mountain air was a welcome relief from the busy, city streets of Cusco. 

We gave ourselves just enough time to adjust to the new setting and altitude but were anxious to see the lost Inca city.  We purchased our train tickets and hit the hay preparing ourselves for the 5:30 wake up call.  The ride was beautiful but we were a little disappointed upon arriving to Aguas Calientes.  To make a long story short we thought our train ticket was taking us all the way to the ruins and would include a shuttle.  Surprise...$14 per person round trip to take the bus up the hill.  Then it was another chunk of change to even get into the ruins. Oh, and of course the bathroom is a sole each time. Luckily we packed some snacks so we weren’t absolutely dependent on the snack bar/restaurant prices reminiscent of Disney Land. 

(They have this) HUGE corn everywhere!)---------------------------->>>>>

Enough of the griping though because it was worth every penny.  It was hard to believe we were actually there when we first layed eyes on it.  Just like the postcards and t-shirts had promised we were met with a striking hill top city swimming in the clouds and mist.  Terraces clinging to the steep mountain sides as well as meticulous stone work that tells the history of living quarters and temples that used to teem with life.  One of the endearing qualities of the site is the mystery behind it. Little is known about the city which the Spanish could not find which furthers adds to the mystic of the ruins. We were blessed with great weather and say all we could given the time we had. 

After the most touted South american site was over we returned to the Sacred valley. We where all surprised when we visited the ruins in Ollataytambo. The stone work and setting was spectacular (although the setting does not compare to Machu Picchu). There are many other lesser known sites that deserve the attention that Machu Picchu does.

The day we were to head back towards Cusco we decided to visit a small village 19km north of Ollataytambo. The village is known for its textiles and they had no lack of selection. Not only were the textiles beautiful the drive up through corn fields fresh springs  and stunning mountains was unforgettable. We stayed so long and loved Ollataytambo do much that we returned to the hotel for another night.

(opps...running out of time)

The next day we headed towards Cusco with a couple detours in mind. The first was Moray, an Inca creation in a natural depression that was used for agricultural experimentation. Then next was an amazingly odd salt factory the Inca devised form a naturally saline spring. The sheer scale of the operation, that is still in use today, was stunning.

Returning to Cusco was a treat. We all returned with a new sense of the importance and history the streets of Cusco ooze our of every cobble and stone. It was sad that Mom’s time here was coming to a close but the trip was a real highlight of the last 6 months and we are so glad that she was there to share it with us.