Drawing of the produce women at the Sunday Pisac Market, Peru
There’s perhaps no more famous market in South America than Pisac’s Sunday Market. The touristy tchotchkes, fake alpaca scarves, and mass-produced blankets were not all that interesting. But, the part of the market where women sold produce they’d hauled down…
Ever in motion on bargained time
At the crossroads to Maras, it’s just us versus one understandably smug taxi driver named David. With no competition or civilization in sight, we abandon all hope of negotiating a lower fare. Instead, we do what we wish we could…
Salty promises at the Salineras of Maras, Peru
In the late afternoon at the end of a very wet rainy season, the tiered pocitos at the Salineras of Maras, Peru are empty of workers. The frequent cloud bursts have kept the evaporation in check that would otherwise coat…
Cairns for Moray’s Incan engineers
I’ve always liked concentric circles. I don’t really know why. Perhaps it’s a preference I developed during my formative years, spent surrounded by the lingering psychedelic style of the late 1970s. Maybe it’s more about how the shape simultaneously shows…
Chasing Incan kings through small town streets
If the internet is to be believed, Ollantaytambo, Peru is home to a mere 2,000 people. Each day, at least that many tourists hit the cobblestone streets to visit the town’s impressive Incan temple ruins, to set off by trail…
Incan temple ruins – Ollantaytambo, Peru photo essay
“Mama!” the guard says. We follow his pointing finger to see a plump yellow bird sunning herself on a rock wall. Smiling and nodding, we look back to the guard, whose main job seems to be to keep tourists from…
We were getting along so well. Until you said THAT.
Yolandi looks across the table at my cazuela in confusion. “Whoever heard of soup without bread?” she asks rhetorically. I consider my bowl of herb-flecked broth, extra yellow from spicy splashes of aji amarillo sauce. Submerged in its substantial depths…
A riot of tiny color – Ollantaytambo, Peru photo essay
It would have been easy to cobble together a salad from the edibles that we brush by while exploring the Incan ruins of Ollantaytambo in Peru’s Sacred Valley. Lush from the late seasonal rains, there are pea-sized Peruvian bush tomatoes,…
Hat tricycle shop – Art from Ollantaytambo, Peru
As we watched the sun disappear in quiet Ollantaytambo, Peru, one persistent hat vendor left their cart out in hopes of a sale. In the off season, no one came to buy. But when they do, this vendor is ready.
Peruvian meals of plenty at Hotel Sol y Luna and Wayra
During our stay at Hotel Sol y Luna in Peru’s Sacred Valley, we head over to its sister facility, Wayra, for dinner. We’re warmed outside and in by the fireplace adjacent to our table and our bottle of cabernet sauvignon…
