January 11, 2025

CUSCO, PERU - Day 2

We started the day with breakfast at our Inn and then we did a 5 hour walking / driving tour of more of Cusco and the ruins. I was surprised how big Cusco is with a population of roughly 500,000. It is the 7th largest town in Peru and the former capital of the Inca Empire. We started the tour in Plaza del Armas again and walked down to the museum of Coricancha, the former most important temple of the Inca Empire. Then we drove out to four archeological sites overlooking the city - Saksaywaman (pronounced sexy woman), Q'enco, Puka Pukara and Tambomachay. All four involved mini climbs and had varying elements of what awaited us at Machu Picchu - a great warm up! A lot of us were feeling tired and still had dull headaches from the altitude. Thankfully, I acclimated well just taking Ibuprofen and smelling a natural oil they provided and you spread on your hands. The views were nice and we went at a nice relaxed pace.    

  • Coricancha Museum, former Ince temple

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  • Astral Map

    tracking solstis

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  • Saksaywaman

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    kids using ruins as slides

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  • Slab for preparing human sacrifices

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  • Slab for preparing human sacrifices

    Slab for preparing human sacrifices

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After the tour we had a light dinner and headed to train / bus station. We then took 4+ hour ride to Aguas Callentes, the town at the base of Machu Picchu. We arrived slightly late and in the pouring rain. A quick walk to our Inn and everyone went to bed.

HONG KONG

By Pat Patrick • September 3, 2026
So excited to get out and explore this huge city. Our Port is attached to a huge shopping mall - so it is a bit of a hike before we even get outside. When we do the heat hits us like a brick wall! There are typhoons, in the area and according to a local, when the storms come in, they first bring a wave of fog, heat and humidity to Hong Kong .

ENTERING HONG KONG HARBOR

By Pat Patrick • September 1, 2026
On Saturday August 29, 2026 we achieved another historic milestone on this circumnavigation of the World , we cruised into Hong Kong Harbor. Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China. The land encompassed by Hong Kong is confusing. It includes part of the southern coast of mainland China, just below Shenzhen, Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories . Looking at a map helps, but the rules changed so many times! I asked my buddy Chat several times, to tell me if what I was looking at was the Hong Kong that the British had owned for years. The answer was never straight forward!

HA LONG BAY, VIETNAM

By Pat Patrick • August 31, 2026
Ha Long Bay in Vietnam is one of those bucket list places I have had in my sights for years. It's the iconic picture in my mind's eye, whenever I think of Vietnam . We had made plans to go with 8 others on a brand new, swanky Red Dragon Junk boat for a harbor cruise and overnight stay, but sadly the weather did not cooperate the whole 4 days we were in port. No ships were permitted to sail, per the local government. Many of us were bummed! This is typhoon session and there was a lot of rain and high winds our first couple of days - we were hoping it would blow out the last day and we could at least do a day trip but no luck!