Tag Archives: valley

Rainbow Mountain, a.k.a. Winicunca

September 9, 2018 – September 11, 2018

In the streets of Cusco we had seen advertisements for tours to Rainbow Mountain, or, Winicunca to use the local name,  but I couldn’t find anything in our slightly out-of-date guide book about the hike.  As it turns out, the multi-hued mountain was covered under a layer of ice until recently.  With the changing climate, the ice has now disappeared, revealing striped, rainbow like slopes, and the locals soon figured out that tourists would pay to hike to such a magical place. Interestingly, most of the tourists were Peruvian, possibly captivated by the natural representation of the age old Incan rainbow flag.

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Machu Picchu

September 8, 2018

We debated about whether to visit Machu Picchu or not.  Dogs definitely are not allowed, either on the Inca trail or at the site, so that meant we needed to get back to the truck within the day and thus take the train to the site, which would be an expensive ride.  They have now also changed the entrance rules: you buy a ticket for either the morning or the afternoon, and you are limited to 4 hours for your visit.  We had read that the site would be crowded, and we were worried about getting there and being disappointed.  In the end, we decided that we would likely never have a better opportunity to visit Machu Picchu, and that we would regret it if we didn’t go.

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Wax Palms

June 29, 2018 – June 30, 2018

The next day the four of us were up early for a bike tour…some, if not all, with a bit of brain fog from the celebrations of the previous night.  We jumped in the box of a pickup truck and were driven out of town for about an hour, the fresh, crisp mountain air helping to clear away the cobwebs.

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Malpais, Orosi Valley, and the Caribbean.

April 24, 2018 – May 4, 2018

One more beach camp on the Nicoya Peninsula, this time near the town of Malpais. And again, heavenly. We walked down the beach one night for a drink and some ceviche as we watched the sun set. On one afternoon, we walked to the nearby town to a little store, then returned to our camp by the beach, not seeing another person until we neared our campsite. Riders on horseback would occasionally wander past between us and the shore. It was beautiful and peaceful and so, if you are not tired of seeing them yet, here are some more beach and sunset pictures.

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