One day in 2001 my buddy Robert Willey asked if Dad and I had ever done any traveling to South America. He had done a college-related trip to South America years before and always wanted to go back. That night at home I found an offer from one of the tour groups that Dad and I had used offering a deal to Peru and Machu Picchu for less than $2,000. Rates were low because the trip was over the New Year’s holiday. I passed along the info to Robert and the next day he stated that he and his wife Iris were up for the trip and suggested that Dad and I go too. Buzzy and I had had a trip scheduled that previous October but it was canceled due to 9/11. When I mentioned going to Peru, he picked up on it right away so we booked it.
In Peru we visited Lima for a few days before flying over to Cusco. From there we took the Peru Railroad click here up to Aguas Calientes and spent two days touring Machu Picchu.
On the second day Robert and I went on a side trip where we hiked up Wayna Picchu click here . Wayna Picchu is a mountain adjacent to and overlooking Machu Picchu. When you see travel pictures showing the overview of Machu Picchu, Wayna Picchu is the mountain in the background. The picture of us above was taken at the top of Wayna Picchu.
Another hi lite of our tour involved our participating in a shaman ceremony. The fellow at the left joined our tour group one morning and conducted a ceremony where he crushed up various herbs and elements and made an offering to the gods. (I’m not sure what Buzzy petitioned here but the shaman dude was doing his best to see that it was granted!)