#52 Machu Picchu Trip #1

These are the mountains we flew over on our flight to
LaPaz.   The snow stays on them year round.  

Bolivia is a beautiful country.  There are many mountains here. 

We flew from LaPaz to Cusco, Peru.  This is a statue in Cusco. 
Our first day was spent touring the city. 

These ladies are in native Peruvian dress.  We had to give
them a little money to take their picture. 

A cute young Peruvian girl. She has two favorite things people
like here in South America ( sheep and a candy lollipop)

This is the church of  Santa Domingo it was built on top of Inca temple ruins.
The ruins were once a palace of the Inca King Wiracocha. 

Inside the Santa Domingo they have rebuilt some
walls and formation that were once here from
the Inca's civilization. Lloyd is standing on a
block looking through windows that are
shown in the picture below.  

This is a fountain and large patio area in the Church.

This is the friends we traveled with.  Ken and Eve Winkfield,
Tammy and Bob Cardon and Eldon and Dawn Hurst.  We are
sitting on a wall outside the church.  

Saqsaywaman  is another place we visited in Cusco.  

These large formations at Sacsaywuaman are believed to have
been built as a fortress for the city of Cusco and also a Temple of
 prayer and sacrifice. These enormous blocks of limestone
were extracted from nearby quarries.  It has been calculated
that some of them weigh more than one hundred tons!!!

Behind us is part of the city of  Cusco. 

Part of rock formation which may have been part
of the Temple of  Prayer and Sacrifice.

Pretty flowers growing wild at Sacsaywuaman.

This area is called Q'enqo.  There was a rock formation here that is
thought to have been a sacrificial altar. 

More rock formations.  It is believed these enormous rocks were 
roughly shaped in the quarry and then transported on wooden rollers and inclined
planes to the sites where they were completely shaped and finished. 

Another view of Cusco.  You can see the large round soccer (futbol)
stadium.  They love futbol in South America. The population of 
Cusco 1.2 million people.