Guinea pigs, birds, and temples

I was at a cookout with some friends yesterday and realized that Sue has a pet Guinea pig. Of course I had to mention that it's considered a delicacy in Peru and that I had tried one. You would have thought I was a murderer. I actually like little creatures and this nice lady let me hold her prized Guinea pig and pose for a photo (it cost me one Sole for the photo, about 38 cents).

During one of our tours, we stopped at a roadside zoo and met this condor. I have to tell you I didn't want anywhere near that beak! As you can see Daryl kept his distance. There were three of them and we watched them being fed.

On our third day of the hike we stopped on this terrace from an old ruin and looked down on our campsite, still some distance away. If someone had suggested it, I would have just camped here. It was flat, there was water nearby, and I was tired. The trouble is, the porters had all our stuff.

The temple of the sun at Machu Picchu was a remarkable place. They carved the stone to fit around a large piece of granite and ended up with a really nice, geometrically designed temple. Underneath it was a mausoleum for royalty.