Save the Manatee - kill a boater

A visiting friend, Jason and I, decided to take a quick road trip to see the manatees. A few years ago I took Jason kayaking at Crystal River, but we figured it would be best to just stay in the area since he would be leaving shortly anyway. with the cold weather, there were plenty of manatees around that were taking advantage of the warm water discharge from the TECO power plant. Besides these large animals, there were also some hammerhead sharks that were swimming around and occasionally jumping out of the water. It was warm enough the day we went that I'm sure many of the animals had gone out foraging for food, but there were still dozens around to check out.

One more off the list.

I just got back yesterday from a 9 day trip to Peru to hit the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. I had a great time, but am fairly swamped with several projects right now, so it may be another week or tow before I can update the pics (I still have the second half of my my 20 day September trip to post including Costa Rica and Seattle), so hopefully I'll have a little more time later. In a nutshell, this was one of my top 5 destinations, and I'm glad to have had the chance to do it. for personal reasons it was bitter-sweet for a year's end. Anyway, I'm glad to have done it and simply wonder what the next adventure might be.

People who spell chili with two L's probably keep llamas for pets

Cusco Day 2

This morning I got up early to walk around the city for a while at random. After walking through the main square and cathedral, I headed up the hills to Sacsayhuamán. It was pouring rain when I get there and I didn't have the time to really walk around the ruins in detail, but I was able to get an enjoyable view of the city and overall feel of the area.

While some of the others of the group were shopping, I had to unfortunately spend part of my day dealing with a luggage SNAFU involving the bag containing my camera and a few other essentials that were left in Lima, but fortunately everything was eventually settled, so I was able to enjoy the rest of the city. After getting my good camera back, I headed visit the Coricancha, the site of one of the most important temples in the Inca empire. The Church of Santo Domingo was built on the site, using the ruined foundations of the temple that was destroyed by the Spanish in the 17th century, and shows how Inca stonework has been integrated into the structure of a colonial building. Major earthquakes have severely damaged the church, but the Inca stone walls, built out of huge, tightly-interlocking blocks of stone, still stand thanks to the sophisticated stone masonry. I wandered the area for quite a while, eventually coming across the markets and other various places off the beaten path.

Here are links to all of the (mostly unedited) pics taken on the trip. I recently upgraded my Picasa Web Album space, and figured I might as well use it. There are about 3500 pics total in the first three albums. Peru album 1 Peru album 2 Peru Album 3 Peru HDR

Llama: The Other, Other Burger

Day 1
Cusco

Earlier this year I started to get involved with a meetup called the Tampa Adventure Group. I had attended a few various events and had rumors of a trip to the Inca Trail being planned. This was one of my top 5 destinations to visit, so I kept an eye on the calendar and made sure to snag a spot as soon as it became available. So after traveling from Tampa and overnighting in Lima, we made it to Cusco on the 8th for two days of acclimation to the high altitude at 11,000 feet before starting the Inca Trail. Most of the day was spent just wandering around the city, dodging people selling trinkets, art, etc, and taking in the sites.

Here are links to all of the (mostly unedited) pics taken on the trip. I recently upgrade my Picasa Web Album space, and figured I might as well us it. There are about 3500 pics total in the first three albums. Peru album 1 Peru album 2 Peru Album 3 Peru HDR