1988-3 Peru

From our hotel in Lima, we had a view out to one of the main roads. Periodically there were sirens going and armoured water-cannon vehicles could be seen patrolling.

A major thoroughfare outside the front of the hotel produced continuously changing traffic pictures. The Volkswagen "Beetle" was a very popular car in Lima, as they were being manufactured locally. How many can you count in this traffic snapshot?

A very early morning coach trip to the Pachacamac Ruins passed us through the Lima outskirts. Considering it was just after dawn, this Flower Market was a bustle of activity, but low light made it difficult to get decent pictures.

Our coach in front of some of the Pachacamac Ruins.

A trip from Lima took us to the pre-Inca ruins on the Pacific coast. Pat was looking around when I snapped her here.

Our very early morning flight to Cuzco was a bit of a challege, not least of which was the fact that 3 DC8 planes of Fawcett Airlines were all being serviced from the same departure lounge. We had boarding passes for seats, but there was no direction which plane to use, and no-one seemed concerned about directing passengers. Our group just chose the nearest one, and there wasnt any seating dispute, so maybe we were just lucky. Like many of the small airlines of South America, Fawcett had 4 DC8's, one of which was cannibalised to keep the other three flying.

Flying up to Cuzco from Lima, the Andes foothills appear through the cloud layer, often following deep river valleys.

The soft purple colour of the local stone is reflected in the town buildings made from the local resources..

Taken from our "Gringo Coach" crossing the Cuzco plateau on our way to Machu Picchu, the colours and scenery was breathtaking, and it was a constant surprise that families were getting a living from the high altitude soil.