Meanderthals in South America 2023

  Wow. Just wow. What a journey! These past 100+ days have been an absolutely incredible adventure, with highlights ranging from seeing a few wonders of the world to simply spending every day for an extended period with my life partner, creating memories and sharing experiences. I can’t believe it’s over but wow, what a journey it’s been. I want to thank our “sponsors” who contributed financially and emotionally to this journey, particularly my family and Sunny’s family and guests from our wedding that contributed to our honeymoon fund which allowed us to afford such incredible experiences. Also to all our friends being encouraging and giving tips along the way, we missed you and are excited to see you again! My final thought come from a description at the art exhibit we stumbled across in São Paulo. Sunny loves taking pictures of everything and I prefer more to sit back and observe so I think this quote addresses our relationship and travels in a provocative and encompassing way. ...

  The final stop on our adventure was to Cusco, Peru, with the primary goal of hiking to Machu Picchu, a dream of mine. As we arrived a few days early to acclimate to the high altitude, we got busy right away seeing the historic Inca sights and tasting some culinary delights as well. Our first day we checked out some ruins near the city of Cusco, important for their historic and religious significance. While a guide might have been a good investment, we enjoyed seeing the unique Inca construction of the walls and structures and reading some bits and pieces on he internet. Our day topped off with a gourmet dining experience (on a budget) of Peruvian delicacies: highly recommended! Our second day we went on an adventure into the Sacred Valley, visiting 2 sites and riding 4-wheelers, an activity Sunny has wanted to do for a few months now! Our first stop was the Mara salt mines, a natural salt collection site that uses salty water from the local mountains and dries it in shallow pools...