We are spending a total of 31 days in South America which is a long time. But a month is not nearly enough to see all one should see to comprehend it all—even when only a few countries are being visited. We saw important places in Cusco today but after a few hours, it all began to run together and the facts became merely "wows!" Cusco was once the center of the Inca Empire. Its name has reference to being center. At one time the Inca Empire stretched from ...

We left Amazonas Lodge this morning. Even though the weather was much better than when we arrived, the two-hour boat trip down river and our van transport back to Puerto Maldonado seemed even longer than the trip to the lodge a few days ago. Plus this time I realized that some of the primitive open air, one-room buildings on dirt lots we passed in route to the river were not abandoned huts but are actual homes to families. In a land where there are so many nat...