We also saw a few mummies that were pretty creepy! The picture of the gold crown is one that was given to Colombia and the conqueror, Simon Bolivar by the Peruvian Incas after they helped Peru defeat the Spanish in 1825. The crown was hand made of 10 layers of gold with 47 gold leaves, 49 pearls, and 283 diamonds. It weighs close to 2 lbs!

Here are some painting and gold artifacts that we saw at some of the museums in Bogotá. There was a huge collection of painting and sculptures from Fernando Botero ( for the brave you can check out more of his stuff here): http://www.fernandobotero.com/, a collection from Picasso, Monet, Renoir and many more.

Bogotá, Colombia. It wasn't as scary as people make it out to be. Though we were told what areas of town to stay away from. We made another trip up a gondola and then back down on a train. It was pretty scary seeing as it all seemed to be very old. It was cool going through the tunnel in the pitch dark, and then finally seeing the light at the end. We took a trip to the Plaza de Armas to see the cathedrals and government buildings. I know I am kinda partial to Peru, but the truth is....the Plaza de Armas in Lima is the most beautiful plaza in South America!! So here are pictures of the main Cathedral, and parliament. Then we have us overlooking Bogotá and the train ride down through the tunnel and out the other end.

Here we are in the City of Caracas, Venezuela. Where there is cheap gas and great food. I flew with Dan in the cockpit this flight as the back was too full for me. How nice it is to work for a company "where everybody knows your name"....and they're always glad you came...... We took a trip up a gondola(teleferico) to the top of a mountain that overlooks the entire city of Caracas. At the top there are restaurants, hiking, a church and an ice skating rink. Once at the top, you can see the Caribbean Ocean as well. It is such a beautiful view! We didn't have much time to explore Venezuela, but we did manage to find a great chocolate place and the best hotdogs of our lives!!!

We took a ride into another part of Cordillera Blanca to las Lagunas Llanganuco. There were 3 different lakes up there that were all this magnificent color of green. We were proud of our car for making it all the way up there in the high altitude, so we stopped for a 2005 Suzuki Aerio photo shoot. I will spare you all and only show one pic, for Dan's sake. Las Lagunas Llanganuco were at the bottom of the highest peak in the Cordillera Blanca named el Huascarán. We had to wait about 30 minutes before the clouds rolled away to see the peak. It was actually pretty amazing that we saw the peak from there, since it was overcast and raining the entire day. I am sure God answered our prayer! And thank God for keeping us safe on the way back to Lima, as Dan tried to test how fast our car could actually go.....

My dad loves these pictures of Dan and I with the little kids and the lambs. They were so cute... After we left from there you could see them gather around and count the coins that people gave them for taking their picture. Everyone works up in the mountains, no matter how young or old. Here is another little girl around 4 years old herding the family pigs. I stopped and asked her name, but she was really shy and we couldn't understand what she said. The older people still work their crops in the old fashioned way. The road is too steep to send a tractor up, plus the cost of fuel is too much for these famers to afford. Yet, whenever you drove past, they would smile BIG and lend a friendly wave. Here is a donkey that we saw walking downtown Huaraz. Nice load of alfalfa...probably for the guinea pigs raised for food!!

Our first road trip in Peru was to a small town called Huaraz situated in the Andes. The main mountain range is called the Cordillera Blanca. Then across is the Cordillera Negro. The main hwy runs in between them. The Cordillera Blanca are snowcapped, whereas the Cordillera Negro are without snow. We also took a trip to the glacier called Pastoruri. That was the highest we have ever hiked in our lives! Talk about thin air....we were higher than most single engine airplanes fly and were still touching the ground. The altitude at the bottom of the glacier was 5,400 meters which is 17,716.5 feet. On our way to Pastoruri, we came across some kids and some alpacas wanting their picture taken. The funny thing was, is that we saw pictures of these alpacas in our roadmap book and thought they were hilarious, who would have thought that they would be there on the side of the road that very trip!!!

and more.......

here are some more pics.

The 3rd trip was the best one. We went to a small city in Peru called Iquitos. It is a fishing village near the Amazon River and the jungle. We took so many pictures and I wish I could share them all with you, but that would take forever. So I am including a few favorites. There are beautiful birds, fish, sloths, jaguars, snakes (anacondas), tepiers, and more mosquitos and insect than you would ever imagine. We were able to boat down the Amazon and see pink dolfins as well. Not to mention fishing for pirañas. You will have to ask Dan what happens after you eat a piraña?? Wasn't a pretty sight, but it did make for an extraordinary adventure.

We then traveled to Machu Picchu, the lost city. Once there, you climb to the top of a hill and are able to overlook the entire city. It takes your breath away as you see the natural beauty surrounding the city and the craftsmanship that went on thousands of years ago. It is really quite mind boggling how the ruins were constructed, but completely understandable why thousands of people from all over the world travel to see them.