Peru and Bolivia Feb 21 - March 20

This trip was originally planned for 2017, but hurricanes Irma and Maria forced us to cancel. Fortunately, Bolivian visas remain valid for ten years, so we didn’t have to worry about replacing them.

Our journey began in Lima, Peru, where we spent a few days before flying to La Paz, Bolivia. Please note that these postings are in reverse order; the trip commenced in Lima and concluded in Cusco.

Both Peru and Bolivia boast stunning landscapes and remarkable man-made structures, ranging from pre-Columbian to colonial architecture.

We were fortunate to visit during carnival season, experiencing vibrant celebrations in several cities. Additionally, the rainy season created amazing mirror effects in the Salar de Uyuni.

While this was their summer, and Lima on the Pacific coast was relatively warm, much of our trip took place at high altitudes, which made it quite chilly. Both of us experienced headaches due to altitude sickness, as acclimatizing takes some time.

We enjoyed the our trip and found both the Peruvians and Bolivians pleasant and helpful.

Cusco

A view of Cusco from Sacsayhuaman, a fortress and the Temple of the Sun.

A day trip to Pisac where we visited the Jardín Botánico Ecológico "Felipe Marín Moreno"

Arequipa, Peru. "The White City"

Peru’s second city is Arequipa. Surrounded by four volcanoes, the city’s main buildings are constructed of sillar, a white volcanic stone.

Puno, Peru

Salar de Uyuni

The largest salt flat in the world, the Salar de Uyuni becomes a gigantic mirror during the rainy season. Click a pic to enlarge it.

Oruro, Bolivia

Famous for its carnaval, Oruro has been a boom and bust mining center since the early 1600’s. Click a pic for an enlarged version.

La Paz, Bolivia

At about 12,000 ft. above sea level, La Paz is the highest capitol city in the world. The airport in El Alto is at 13,300 feet. Altitude sickness is common.

La Paz has an extensive aerial cable car system called the Teleferico. Here’s some crummy video of the gondolas.

Lima, Peru

Feb. 21-24, 2025

Click on any image to see an erlarged version.

Mexico City

Some random pix of Mexico City.

Hot Air

We ride a hot air ballon to the Pyramid of the Sun. Click the square in the lower right hand corner of the video window for an enlarged version/

CDMX

Ciudad de Mexico (CDMX) has many interesting museums. Here are some pictures taken at the Museo Nacional de las Culturas Populares. Click on a pic for an enlarged version.

The Douro Valley, Braga, etc.

Porto made for a good base for day trips. We drove east to Pinhão, the heartland of some very pretty wine country. The Douro is the oldest demarcated wine region in the world (since 1756). We also visited Braga to the north of Porto.

Douro Valley vineyard

The Upper Douro Valley

Wine storage tank

Grapes and olives, Pinhao

Mosteiro de São Bento, Santo Tirso

Colonnade, Sao Bento

Arco Da Porta Nova, Braga

Braga, Escadaria do Bom Jesus

View of the Douro, Porto

Porto

Our first day exploring Porto, Portugal’s second largest city…. where Portugal got its name. And of course from where Port wine is exported to the world.

Porto train station

Porto train station tile detail.

Porto skyline

Statue of Vimara Peres in front of the Porto cathedral

dral.

Porto skyine 2

Porto.... wow!.

Igreja de São Lourenço

Porto street

Ponte Luis I.

Rooms with a view

Cean sheets

Quay-side dining

A view of Porto from Gaia

Animal quackers

These ducks were arguing about something at Jardins do Palácio de Cristal, in Porto, Portugal. You can also hear the sound of peacocks egging them on.

Aveiro Moliceiros redeux

I asumed, wrongy, that the images in the gallery I posted below would enlarge when clicked. But no….. So here are the images full size.

Evora to Coimbra

Belated pix of our journey from Evora to Coimbra with a pit stop in Aveiro, aka The Venice of Portugal.

On the road, an aqueduct near Evora.

Castelo de Arraiolos, en route to Aveira

Museu de Arte Nova Aveiro.

Art Nouveau quay-side building Aveiro.

These are pix of the paint jobs on the Moliceiros in Aveiro. I was told that the text is usually a double entendre and my efforts to translate the Portuguese with Google’s translator were unintelligible. Some pretty fun and quite risqué paint jobs.

University of Coimbra

Bank of Portugal

Mosteiro de Santa Clara-a-Velha

Plane Trees Coimbra Mondego River

Igreja de Santiago (Coimbra)

Algarve to Evora 3.17.24

I’m way behind on posting pix, but here are a few from our drive from Albufeira to Evora.

We had a picnic lunch in a park adjacent to this church in Entradas en route to Evora

Another pit stop, the Castelo de Portal.

Igreja e Mosteiro de São Francisco, in Reguengos de Monsaraz.

Finally made it to Evora, which is a pretty cool city. Lots of history including this Roman temple.

Evora Cathedral

Storks are quite common in Portugal.

Ossuaries are basically a grave yard recycling program.The Capela dos Ossos is part of Igreja de Sao Francisco in Evors

Igreja e Mosteiro de São Francisco, Evora

Benagil and Lagos

The Algarve coastline is a very pretty mix of sandy beaches, cliffs and spectacular sea caves. The Benagil Cave is only accessible by boat and neither of us was interested in getting wet or sandy, so we opted for a hike atop the cliffs. This first pic is not mine, I borrowed it from the web. I just wanted to show why Benagil is such a popular tourist destination.

Benagil Cave. NOT MY PIC!

Cliffs surrounding Benagil beach.

Benagil Cave from the top

Corner building

House in Lagos

Lagos has hills

Grilled fish lunch was terrific.

Draw bridge

Sentry post

Lookout

Dappled restaurant

Bell tower

Bell tower 2

Bell tower 3

Mao Mao

Church of St. Sebastian