Valparaiso/Coquimbo/La Serena

Valparaiso is the harbour for Santiago, which was about 2 hours inland. The city is very hilly, with lots of colourful houses.



Our first port of call on the Grand Princess was Coquimbo/La Serena, which was a somewhat uninspiring area.

The local museum did have a very large mussel which was about 90 million years old, so it was not much good for eating.




There is apparently a reason why all the fishing boats are yellow - something to do with sailors going to the wrong homes and the wives not being able to tell whose boat was whose. Not sure why the wrecked ship was still in the harbour?

Cusco and Sacsayhuaman

After Machu Picchu we returned to Cusco and took an alternative route which gave us a great outlook over the Sacred Valley.



The night we were in Cusco was a full moon and this was the view over the old city.

 

The next day we visited the site of the old Inca Sun Temple, on which the Spanish erected a church. Much of the old stonework remains and was used for the foundations of the church. As it was the most sacred place in the Inca capital, the stonework is unbelievably good.



We also visited Sacsayhuaman, which was a fortification overlooking Cusco. The block we are standing in front of is approx. 120 tonnes!!



We good some good views over Cusco before departing for the airport to fly back to Lima and Santiago. Just check out how close to the houses the airport runway is!

Machu Picchu

The first 2 pictures were of Ollantaytambo, which was just outside of Urubamba - our overnight stay. We then went by train and bus to Machu Picchu.



This was the Urubamba river - apparently not very full! According to the locals.



We finally made it to the site around 1.30pm and spent the rest of the afternoon touring the site and climbing up and down seemingly endless flights of stairs.


This large stone at the base of the wall has a total of 26 angles!! and is a single block of granite.








I went to the very top of the site and got these great views - the weather was remarkably clear, considering it is the rainy season. It was the first day in a week that it had not rained.

Cusco and the Sacred Valley

We flew from Lima to Cusco and had a short walk around the main square before setting off for Urubamba and the Sacred Valley.


On the way we saw many of the houses with these small statues on the roof, which are apparently for good luck.



These children were in the local market at Pisac, which was on the way to Urubamba.

After reaching Urubamba this was the view at night. Nearly a full moon.

Lima

We arrived in Lima after docking in Valparaiso and flying from Santiago. Chilled out for most of the time and did a quick tour of the city today on the way to Cusco. The old city is very interesting, with all the Spanish colonial history.

Not sure how the coastline will stand up to the weather, as it it is made up of sand and rocks from glacial moraine.