Machu Picchu (at last)

Finally, here is a long-overdue album from the Machu Picchu trip back in March as I am literally packing to return home to the US.

What is Machu Picchu and why was it named one of the new 7 wonders of the world? In short, it is a stone city and Incan religious site on top of a mountain in Peru; it is partly important because the Spanish never found it and destroyed it, so it is mostly intact (except for damage caused by nature's slow reclamation and a few earthquakes).

Here is the Wikipedia on Machu Picchu.

The Chakana or "Incan cross" is a prevalent symbol, so here is the Wikipedia on that too.



Download album here:

Machu Picchu

Santa Cruz autonomy referendum

Yesterday in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, where I have returned to work on a congenitally transmitted parasite project, there was an autonomy referendum that has been receiving a lot of press. Things got hot in places, with an estimated 20 people injured and 1 killed, but it seems the tension has eased following the very predictable results. The apartment here is just a few blocks from the main plaza, so it got loud at times with marches and fireworks, but I have felt perfectly safe. Click here for a BBC article on the autonomy movement in Bolivia