… one country at a time!
While on our way to the North of Peru, we passed by two other cities that offered some really nice attractions: Lima and Trujillo. They were not the highlights of our time in Peru, but then, between Machu Picchu and passing our diving license, we set the bar quite high. In any case, it is nice to visit this region of Peru, especially if you are interested in the pre-incan civilisations.
Continue reading “Heading north: Lima and Trujillo”
After leaving the ruins of Tikal in Guatemala and in order to arrive at the Mayan riviera in Mexico, it is almost mandatory to pass through Belize. And since you’re there… why not stop and visit a bit? While the most famous attractions of the country are probably its beautiful coast and islands, along the way to Mexico you can also stop to visit the area around San Ignacio to discover its Mayan past.
We decided to focus our very brief visit on one thing only: the cave of Actun Tunichil Muknal, also known as ATM.
Continue reading “Actun Tunichil Muknal: the Cave of the Crystal Sepulchre”
While in Guatemala, we decided to take a small detour to go and visit the mayan ruins of Copan in Honduras. We knew we were going to see a lot of Mayan archeological sites in the next few weeks but those one seemed quite special. Plus, it was the rainy season so our former idea of going swimming in the possibly flooded river of Semuc Champey was not really appealing…
Continue reading “A small excursion in Honduras: Copan’s ruins”
Cuzco was the capital and center of the Tawantisuyo, the Inca empire. From it, four main roads departed to reach the four regions of the empire.
Continue reading “Cuzco: the capital of the Incas”
Cuzco was the capital of the Inca empire. After falling in the hands of the Spanish, the last remaining fighters looked for a safe refuge in the Vilcabamba mountain range. Here they established another capital, however, the access to the mountain range was controlled from another city: Choquequirao, ‘the cradle of gold’.
Continue reading “Choquequirao: the last city of the Incas”
Centuries ago, the Incas built a huge empire, spanning from Ecuador to Chile. One of the reason they were able to maintain it, until the Spanish invasion, was an efficient communication system. This system relied on multiple messengers and a huge network of trails connecting the different cities.
Continue reading “The Salkantay trek to Machu Picchu”
San Ignacio, in the Argentinian region of Misiones, is famous for the ruins of the Jesuit mission. It is also a good starting point to explore more ruins in the area and get to know more about the Guaranis, the indigenous population of the region.
To reach San Ignacio we took a bus in Puerto Iguazù. Luckily this time the ride was fairly quick, only five hours.