Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil
Ollantaytambo Door

When I sat down to write a summary of our time in Peru, I realized that I had already written something similar to the words that were beginning to come out. This month’s wrap up is a slight adaptation of a portion of an email sent to my dear friend and penpal, Martha Grove. Enjoy … Read more

Chicha

December 10th, 2013 | Posted by Brianna in Food | Oh | Peru | The Places We've Been - (4 Comments)
Learning about Chicha from the Locals

The simplest way to describe Peruvian chicha is to call it traditional corn beer. There are a number of varieties, including a strawberry version around Cusco called frutillada and many other fermented beverages that all fall in the chicha category, but for the sake of this post, we’re talking about the alcoholic beverage made from … Read more

Machu Picchu

Long before Ian and I met, we both, separately, dreamed of one day visiting Machu Picchu. For two people with inexhaustible collections of places we’d like to go, things we’d like to see, and activities we’d like to do, this magical spot in the Peruvian Andes for some reason stuck out. I’m not even sure … Read more

Cusco Apartment

December 6th, 2013 | Posted by Brianna in Lodging | Peru | The Places We've Been - (4 Comments)
Ian in Living Room

The apartment we rented for our four week stay in Cusco, Peru is a one bedroom unit on the fifth floor of a building across the street from a university a few miles east of the city center. It consists of three rooms: a large, bright combination living room/dining room/kitchen space, a long bedroom, and … Read more

Fields Around Maras

The Sacred Valley of the Incas, roughly thirty kilometers as the crow flies north of Cusco, represents the original Inca heartland. This breathtaking, steep-sided valley is cut by the Urubamba River (also called Vilcanota, or “sacred river,” in Quechua) and flattens at its base to a fertile agricultural plain. A tour of the valley’s scenery, … Read more

Ian Looks Out Over Town

The Sacred Valley of the Incas, roughly thirty kilometers as the crow flies north of Cusco, represents the original Inca heartland. This breathtaking, steep-sided valley is cut by the Urubamba River (also called Vilcanota, or “sacred river,” in Quechua) and flattens at its base to a fertile agricultural plain. A tour of the valley’s scenery, … Read more

Pisac

The Sacred Valley of the Incas, roughly thirty kilometers as the crow flies north of Cusco, represents the original Inca heartland. This breathtaking, steep-sided valley is cut by the Urubamba River (also called Vilcanota, or “sacred river,” in Quechua) and flattens at its base to a fertile agricultural plain. A tour of the valley’s scenery, … Read more

Power Outage

This is a series detailing some of what appear at first to be more mundane details of a place, but will hopefully be illuminating as insights into the grind behind the “glamour.”  Power and Internet Power and internet have been shaky again this month after a few consecutive moves without problems. We’ve lost power a … Read more

Historic Center of Cusco

November 28th, 2013 | Posted by Brianna in Peru | The Places We've Been - (0 Comments)
Road Arch

Cusco’s centro is usually all most tourists see of the city before heading out to the Sacred Valley or Machu Picchu, which isn’t surprising given how bright and active, cultural and historical, and full of shops, restaurants, textiles, and music it is. It is charming and cobblestoned and full of character. From our apartment, it’s … Read more

Mate de Coca

November 27th, 2013 | Posted by Brianna in Ecuador | Food | Peru | The Places We've Been - (3 Comments)
Coca Tea in Cusco Centro

Mate de Coca (pronounced: mah-tay day coh-cah, translated: Coca Tea) is a very regular part of life in the Andes. For thousands of years the indigenous peoples of the region have chewed the leaves, which continue to play physical, economic, social, and spiritual roles in the local communities as they have since ancient times. Today … Read more