Leaving the US, the Miami shoreline from the plane

During winter (this is souther hemisphere) the entire coast of the Pacific ocean is covered in low thick clouds.

Heading eastwards the clouds disappear and winter is characterized by dry and cloudless days. Snow line is at about 15,000 ft (5km)

The church of the Society of Jesús. Construction started on this church of the Jesuit order in 1576 at Amarukancha or the Palace of the Inca Huayna Qhapaq.

Inca stonework it still forms the base of some buildings in Cusco. The city of Cusco was the former capital of the Inca empire and is situated at an altitude of 11,000 ft (3.2 km)

Mt. Veronica, at 5680m / 18,635ft, is the highest peak in the Cordillera Urubamba range close to Cusco. Its Quechua name, Wakay Willca, means “Sacred Tears”. Although not the highest range in Peru it still offers impressive scenery and many traditional Quechua speaking villages

Moray is an archaeological site in Peru. The purpose of these depressions is uncertain, but their depth and orientation with respect to wind and sun creates a temperature difference of as much as 15 °C (27 °F) between the top and bottom. This large temperature difference was possibly used by the Inca to study the effects of different climatic conditions on crops. In other words, Moray was perhaps an Inca agricultural experiment station. As with many other Inca sites, it also has a sophisticated irrigation system.

Moray is an archaeological site in Peru. The purpose of these depressions is uncertain, but their depth and orientation with respect to wind and sun creates a temperature difference of as much as 15 °C (27 °F) between the top and bottom. This large temperature difference was possibly used by the Inca to study the effects of different climatic conditions on crops. In other words, Moray was perhaps an Inca agricultural experiment station. As with many other Inca sites, it also has a sophisticated irrigation system. edit

The Sacred Valley of the Incas or Urubamba Valley is a valley in the Andes of Peru, close to the Inca capital of Cusco and below the ancient sacred city of Machu Picchu. It is located in the modern Peruvian region of Cusco. In colonial documents it is referred to as the "Valley of Yucay", according to recent researches it encompasses the heartland of the Inca Empire.[1]

Since pre-Inca times, salt has been obtained in Maras by evaporating salty water from a local subterranean stream. The highly salty water emerges at a spring, a natural outlet of the underground stream. The flow is directed into an intricate system of tiny channels constructed so that the water runs gradually down onto the several hundred ancient terraced ponds. Almost all the ponds are less than four meters square in area, and none exceeds thirty centimeters in depth. All are necessarily shaped into polygons with the flow of water carefully controlled and monitored by the "farmers"

Since pre-Inca times, salt has been obtained in Maras by evaporating salty water from a local subterranean stream. The highly salty water emerges at a spring, a natural outlet of the underground stream. The flow is directed into an intricate system of tiny channels constructed so that the water runs gradually down onto the several hundred ancient terraced ponds. Almost all the ponds are less than four meters square in area, and none exceeds thirty centimeters in depth. All are necessarily shaped into polygons with the flow of water carefully controlled and monitored by the "farmers"

Boy in traditional Peruvian clothing

Hotel room at Las Chulpas Eco Lodge: http://www.chullpas.pe/

Bathroom at the Las Chulpas Eco Lodge: http://www.chullpas.pe/

Coca leaf tea. The coca leaves are beneficial natural stimulants similar to coffee. Unfortunately these leaves are also the source for cocaine and are therefore banned from almost all countries except Peru, Colombia and Bolivia. When chewed they have a local analgesic property, it makes the tongue numb.

Ollantaytambo, Peru - the Incas build granaries into the side of mountain used to redistribute grains.

Ollantaytambo, Peru - the Incas build granaries into the side of mountain used to redistribute grains.