Pretrip

PERU
3 Days until departure and I am excited

Areas we will visit
We are checking the weather in Peru, reading our emails from our guide and packing.
Lima - We will be in the desert and high humidity with a consistent temp. around  60º
Amazon- a constant 80º and humid/rain
The Sacred Valley, Cuzco and Lake Tittacaca -cool and sunny 70º high 38º low with occasional rain showers in the 10,000 to 14,000 feet of the Andes.
I've been told to drink plenty of coca tea for altitude sickness (but don't try to bring it back to the USA)

Wildlife
Perus has 84 of the world's 114 Holdridge life zones.  The Tropical Andes contains about a sixth of all plant life in less than one percent of the world's land area.  There are 11 eco-regions.
Peru holds world records in highest diversity for bird species -1,816, butterfly species - 3,532, and orchid species- 3,500.  There are 462 mammals and 379 species of amphibians.
I can't wait to go - with my binoculars and camera around my neck!

Ruins
We will see ruins of the Inca Empire and also of empires and people who lived there much earlier.  There is evidence of human occupation as far back as 20,000 BC.  We will visit museums and see beautiful pre-Columbian artifacts (textiles, gold, silver, and pottery) from the many indigenous people. (Unfortunately the Spanish melted down huge amounts of these artifacts) Fortunately many intricately woven pre-columbian and ancient textiles have been found.

Fiber
We will visit 2 weaving cooperatives and I'm sure I will enjoy a variety of woven and knit items and fiber work in  the markets and centers we visit..  They weave on back strap looms with: natural colored cottons grown in Peru for centuries, fiber from the 4 camelids (llama, alpaca, guanaco and Vicunas) that are native to the area and wool from sheep introduced by the Spanish. I hope I have enough room in my suitcase for the many fiber items I know I'm going to love!

Check back for pictures of our travels........