Peru: Machu Picchu Day 2

Our first day at Machu Picchu was a Saturday and there were quite a few people. I didn't actually mind that since it gives you a sense of what the site would have looked like when it was still inhabited with thousands of residents. However, I specifically planned that our second day would be a Sunday. There are far fewer people at Machu Picchu on Sunday because it is the big market day at Pisaq in the Sacred Valley and most tour groups go to that. There were shorter lines for bag check, bathrooms and food and much more peaceful in the ruins.


The first thing we did that day was to head up past the agricultural terraces to hike to the Sun Gate. The Sun Gate sits in a notch of Machu Picchu mountain and is a tambo and guard post along the Inca Trail.


The path is good and there is little actual climbing so it's a good one for kids, but you still ascend quite a way and it takes a couple of hours one way if you take it easy. It does afford you excellent views of Machu Picchu, Wayna Picchu, the winding bus road and the Urubamba river.



There are quarries along the way and another tambo en route. You'll find yourself walking over the green serpentine rock that is found in the area. Polished pieces of Machu Picchu serpentine are for sale all over Peru.

Resting at a tambo along the way

sheer cliff face with bromeliads near the Sun Gate

at Sun Gate

resting and enjoying the view

Machu Picchu in the background

hiking back down

a little flying

Once we were back down the mountain, we headed to the main gate for some cheese empanadas that I had packed in my checked backpack. Afterward we went to the "pyramid" which has the Temple of the Sun on top.

The story goes the sun gets tied down to this "hitching post" carved into the rock. There's more to it than that. Various points line up with the sun on solstice.

We spent the afternoon just wandering around the site visiting places we hadn't seen the day before and just generally enjoying the experience.

We lounged for a while on the grassy ceremonial lawn and watched the llamas graze and chase each other.



Next time I'll have a brief post about our last day in Aguas Calientes.

Copyright 2009 text and photos. All rights reserved.

TaeKwonDo and Wrestling

I've been doing TaeKwonDo for a few years now since we lived in South Korea. Self-defense is a big part of what we learn. Master Castro at Air Force TaeKwonDo in Las Vegas often ends our self-defense practice with wrestling matches since many attack situations could end up on the ground.

getting ready to wrestle with my son

He can't beat mom yet, but one of these years . . . He gets a kick out of trying--you should hear the giggles

Our Pumpkins

We did our pumpkin carving yesterday. I thought one that looked like an owl would be cute, but my son had other ideas and insisted on the cannibal pumpkin below.


Caleb carved the middle one and put a big hole in the back and hooked it up to the fog machine.


The rat pumpkin is my standard. Gotta love it since you don't even have to clean the inside of the pumpkin out. The trick or treaters get a kick out of it.

My Craft Fair Booth

Yesterday I participated in my first official craft fair so I thought I'd show you my booth set-up.

We were limited to a 6'x6' space, which is pretty small. I used the 6 ft table they provided plus my own aluminum roll-out camping table and put them up on bed risers to raise the display 7" which is great for viewing jewelry closer to eye level. Next time I hope to have table covers that go all the way to the floor, but I do like the neutral grey of my velvet cloths.


Jewelry just doesn't sell if the light is poor so I invested in these "medusa head" lamps and fitted them with high definition Ott light bulbs for true color. I purchased white wire shelf risers to raise the lights and put my mirrors more at face level. These had the added advantage of providing extra well-lit space underneath the lights.


I was able to purchase second-hand, stacking jewelry trays which made set-up and take down much quicker and provided a nice display.

I used a digital photo frame slide show to display photos of my work on models, in other settings and also for displaying text. I have to say that it worked exactly as planned. The men were enthralled and the women ignored it. It gave the husbands something to do while the wives browsed.

The show was a valuable learning experience. Next time I will know to bring a dolly to help cart my items back and forth from my car, to put larger print on signage and to bring a higher stool instead of a low chair to use behind my raised tables.

Come Visit Me

I'll be at the Sun City Aliante Craft Fair next Saturday, October 24. I'll be at indoor booth #63. There will be 100 vendors present so come on out and do some Christmas shopping.

Sun City
7395 Aliante Parkway in North Las Vegas, NV
next to the Aliante Station casino at Aliante Parkway and 215
9am to 5pm

Also, visit my website and print a coupon good for a FREE pair of copper earrings with your purchase of $75 or more.