day 2 - cuzco, peru

After wandering around the old city of Cuzco, we decided to go on a horseback riding trip through the nearby mountains in the morning, and an official city tour in the afternoon.

Horseback riding tour - morning

A view of our trail on horseback

A llama grazing in the distance. This was the first llama that I saw, so I was pretty excited. 

We stopped here at this ruin. Unfortunately, I couldn't catch the name because our guide was speaking so fast in spanish. Most of the time, I caught what he was saying, except the name. In the distance, you can see Cuzco sprawling in the valley of the mountains.

These ruins were cool because they had tunnels going in and out of the large rocks. As the guide explained, it was useful for the Quechua people to use the tunnels, although, it wasn't clear where they were going. 

A cave. We didn't go into this. 

A temple of the moon. There were a lot of temples around here. 

A local lady had a bird that was walking around. She allowed me to take a picture of it. 

A view from the top of the temple

Looking down

The landscape

 Cuzco City Tour

Looking up from the Plaza de San Francisco

Cathedral de Santo Domingo at Plaza de Armas

Snoopy and I cannot remember the name of the church in the back left

We learned that many private courtyards are inhabited by alpacas. They are natural lawnmowers. 

Church (can't remember the name) and Inca wall

A view of Cuzco from Museo Inka

Museo Inka (yes, with a K) 

Museo Inka

Museo Inka

Museo Inka

day 1 - cuzco, peru

We arrived fairly early in Cuzco, Peru and after stowing our backpacks at the hostel, we went for a walkabout to help ease into the high altitude.

This dog was right outside the hostel. I think I only saw it awake once. New position, same dog, new location, always asleep. 

Centerpiece at Plaza de Armas - the city center - a statue of an Inca

Plaza de Armas

Plaza de Armas

The people's church

Cathedral de Santo Domingo is comprised of one large cathedral, and two churches on both sides. 

This photo is especially important because it taught us a valuable lesson. When you snap photos of the people in traditional Quechua attire, it is customary to provide a tip to the subjects. Two girls are holding baby alpacas, and one is holding a very sleepy puppy. 

Original Inca wall

Down an old Cuzco road

View of the cathedral from San Blas

Can you believe cars would drive down this road?!

houston outdoors

Snoopy and I spent some time practicing with the manual settings on the camera.

Just outside the Children's museum, a pole covered in brightly colored stickers

narrow railroad tracks

running water

this place in Hermann park always makes me think of Paris

Snoopy and I moved to a new park. In addition to practicing manual settings on the camera, we also wanted to pack our backpacks to practice for our big adventure coming up. The goal was to get used to hiking for hours in full gear, stopping to take pictures, getting used to minimalist shoes, and seeing how we felt along the way. 

you can't hide! 

birds

the pup, completely enjoying himself

depth of field

vibrant colors

black beauty

Good thing I shaved my leg! 

You hide well, my friend! 

spread your wings

How many little duckling heads do you see? 

any day is a good day for animals

In my opinion, everyday that animals are involved is a good day. But when the first cool front makes its way through Houston, the zoo is the place to be. That is when the animals who were boring to watch in the summer come alive with the fresh, cool air! 

Not sure if you can see them, but these two howler monkeys, much more used to the warm weather, were snuggling in a tree for an after-lunch nap!

These monkeys are so fun. They look like little witch-doctors. For the most part, they were digging into their monkey biscuits and fresh produce the keepers leave out for them.

help!!

What are you looking at?

I caught this little guy mid-chew. He was munching on some lettuce.

One of the best reasons to visit the primates is to see the orangutans. I love the expression in their faces and how they move.

There was a baby lemur born at the zoo not that long ago. Here he is riding his mom.

The tiger was roaring most of the time we were there today, and you could hear him all over the zoo. However, I believe he might have been hurt. He was limping around his enclosure as he was roaring.

Lioness, overlooking the crowd. Looking for the next person to catch... oh wait...she is looking at me!

Spectacled Andean Bear

Chimp snuggling a blanket

The newest edition to the Giraffe family. He was hangin' with the Ostrich.

Every time we go to the zoo, Snoopy always lets me have as much time as I want watching the Meerkats. They weren't scurrying around like I had hoped, but I did have a few posing for the camera.