Peru is an interesting destination filled with glorious things to see. Chris and I decided to go ziplining through the jungle on the way to Machu Picchu as part of our package. We had not signed up for it but got talked into it by our wonderful group of travelers we met there. One of the once in a lifetime experiences we didn’t plan on, but oh my goodness, turned out to be amazing. I did not get a picture of this but was able to do a quick sketch in our travel book of Chris with his helmet on which I will share with all of you. After this great time, we continued on the trail to some hot springs where we again relaxed and I did a little painting of the mountains.
We continued our hike along the Inca Trail the next day and walked along the railroad tracks. Chris had fun walking on the tracks and counting the rails. We forget what number he got to before he fell off but it was exciting and kept our minds busy while trekking the 19 miles that day. We would get out of the way and head towards the bushes when the trains came but got a really nice picture of one of them to remember this experience. I decided this would be Number 3 in the series of Peru Tiny Paintings. We continued this trail all the way to Aguas Calientes. The city that sits at the bottom of Machu Picchu.
Number 4 in the series is a llama eating the grass on the tiers of Machu Picchu. The morning is filled with foggy midst and a quiet calm. I loved being in this place so early after hiking up 1,600 steps to the top. Each step is about 2 American stairs put together. We really had to hike our knees up to make the step and Chris is 6’4” and I am 6’1” and these were high steps for us. Entering the ruins was marvelous and seeing the llamas serenely chewing their breakfast instantly slowed my heart rate. This had to be the 4th painting. I really hope everyone feels calm when looking at it.
In the last blog I spoke of a wish for everyone to travel to Peru and I really hope it happens. The people there will stay in my heart forever.
-Karen Hilliard