This summer we won't be sending the kids to camp and hitting the beach. Instead, on June 26th, Scott, Melanie, Lucas and Sydney depart for a 2 month adventure in Peru where we'll immerse ourselves in peruvian culture, volunteer to help those less privileged, hike the Inca Trail and live in the jungle. Follow our blog for regular updates, pictures and videos from all 4 of us.

Thursday, July 4, 2013

Cusco Geography

For those of you interested in a little more detail on Cusco here's a map:


The top right circle is where we're staying and you can clearly see where Maximo Nivel is located.  Each morning we make the walk, which takes about 40 minutes.  On the way we pass many restaurants, panaderias and supermercados (but no coffee shops).  The main roads (like Avenida de la Cultura) tend to be crowded with pedestrians, taxis and buses, and its not like California where motorists yield to pedestrians.  The buses are crazy...they're the equivalent of a sprinter van packed to the brim with 20+ people, half of which are standing.  I've actually never seen one not 100% full!

Anyway, today we had Ana pack us lunch to go and we ate on the plaza next to the Temple of the Sun (across the street from Maximo Nivel).  


Afterwards we toured the temple which features the oldest Incan ruins in Cusco:


Then we headed over to the orphanage to spend a few hours with the kids.  The orphanage is located due south of Maximo Nivel over the rail road tracks (pictured on the map)...about a 10 minute walk.  We normally take a taxi home from the orphanage, which costs 3 or 4 soles (or about $1), but tomorrow the taxis and buses are on strike (I have no idea why, but apparently strikes are quite common here) so we'll cut our volunteering short to make the hour long walk home.

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