NEW STORIES

we picked up a machete at the local hardware store. this was my father's only souvenir.

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as the sun was setting we arrived in lunahuana. another small town outside of lima. while seemingly under the radar, tourists flock her to white water raft, go fourwheeling and take trail rides.

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all over peru you can find remains of the incan trail as seen on this mountain.

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the courtyard at the public school in la florida where my mother worked.

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a church in la florida destroyed by the 2007 earthquake.

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a fuller center house over looking la florida (http://fullercenter.org/)

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let me recap how long it took to get to this remote untouched wonder of the world,

1hr flight from lima--> chiclayo

9hr bus ride + hour cab ride from chiclayo--> chachapoya

2hr cab ride from chachapoya--> kuelap base

10min horse ride to top of kuelap

zenon gives us a historical run down before we go inside.

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some facts: there are more than 400 buildings within the walls, construction began around 500AD, the top of the lookout sits 9,500' above seal level and it was originally home to the chachapoyas people.

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more homes and yes a strategically placed lama (not native to the area) for your view pleasure.

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rather untouched by tourists and the modern world, countless human remains are still buried in the stone walls of kuelap. this one i just found lying around.

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back on the road we follow the utcubamba valley to our destination, kuelap.

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around 11pm the bus arrives to chachapoyas. in the morning this high mountain town is pushing away the rain to reveal sunny skies the rest of the day.

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our cozy hotel.

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as the cities fade away a more traditional peru emerged.

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early tuesday morning we hopped a bus. little did we know our destination was 10hrs away leaving plenty of time to gaze out the window as we wound up and down the andes mountains.

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my lovely mother is currently spending 9 month stints teaching english in peru.

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first stop, chiclayo. north of lima, this city also hugs the west coast. we met our guide, zenon (a direct decent of the last incan king) in chiclayo to being our first adventure.

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