Urubamba, Arequipa

To catch everyone up!

From the Jungle, we went to Machu Picchu, which was obviously magnificent beyond words and photos. It was a time warp into a different place, era, sensibility, and spirituality. Then to Edwin's in Urubamba. It was like going home. I must have kissed every staff member twice. We saw his farm, his medicinal gardens, his rock and artifact collection. He is a refined gentleman and a self-made man and a little boy in one – like all truly good men. It was a magical shabbat, punctuated by bleating goats, rooster crows, the Andean music carried on the wind from the adjacent farm. I cried when we left.

We flew to Arequipa, a very cosmopolitan city, and used it as our base for a trip to Colca canyon. The culture here, while still Incan/Andean, is notably different, even on a superficial level in the way people dress. We passed through beautiful mountain towns and the canyon itself -- deepest in the worlds (more than the grand canyon even) -- was quite beautiful. Condors, ancient vulture-like birds with wingspans up to 10 feet, use the thermal currents in the canyon to drift up and up. The rose like peaceful demons our of the depth, and soared over our heads, resting lightly on the wind.

Tomorrow, up north of Lima to the trekking mecca of peru, Huaraz. Sorry its such a short post, but I hope the new pictures speak for themselves: http://picasaweb.google.com/RachRoth/MachuPicchu?feat=directlink