Our honeymoon was spent exploring in Peru. My husband and I both wanted to travel to Machu Picchu and actually talked about this on our first hike together in Nevada. Luckily, after we said I do, we started planning this magical trip. We booked a hike through a travel agency which he and I had never tried before and it was quite enjoyable on all accounts. We came across many plants, animals, and adventures as we walked the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu.
When we arrived at this wonderful place among the clouds we decided to hike around and see everything we could in the time allotted. We found a spot to rest and look at the ancient Inca ruins. I took out my watercolor sketchbook and a llama decided to come say hello. The creature was very curious about my paint set and lowered its head to sniff what I was doing. My husband took a picture of this lovely animal a little bit later as it was chewing some grass. I decided this would be my first painting for the Tiny Painting series of Peru. I just love how happy the animal seemed.
The second painting in the series was from the hike to the ruins. Our group stopped at a lovely restaurant in the mountains with hammocks and a river to entice the senses. The owners of the place were wonderful and shared amazing food with us. As my husband and I walked around the building we saw many flowers. Luckily, one had this large grasshopper and I loved the bright colors of the flower and the insect. I was so pleased we were able to capture this on camera and later share with the world through watercolor.
This was one of my most exciting trips I have ever been on and with my best person to travel with. We had so much fun, ate wonderful food, had many laughs, and saw so much of a wondrous place. To say we are grateful would be an understatement. The people in Peru are very kind and a true joy to be around. I hope one day everyone can experience this, just not all at once! If you have any questions, feel free to email me.
-Karen Hilliard