{"id":358,"date":"2023-12-02T12:07:29","date_gmt":"2023-12-02T12:07:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/?p=358"},"modified":"2025-12-02T16:32:01","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T16:32:01","slug":"graveyard-of-the-neoliberal-dream","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/index.php\/2023\/12\/02\/graveyard-of-the-neoliberal-dream\/","title":{"rendered":"Graveyard of the Neoliberal Dream"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Peru &amp; Bolivia<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-flex wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\"><div class=\"wp-block-post-date\"><time datetime=\"2023-12-02T12:07:29+00:00\">2 December 2023<\/time><\/div>\n\n\n<p>|<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"taxonomy-post_tag wp-block-post-terms\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/index.php\/tag\/south-america\/\" rel=\"tag\">South America<\/a><span class=\"wp-block-post-terms__separator\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/index.php\/tag\/travel\/\" rel=\"tag\">Travel<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n<p>|<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-post-author\"><div class=\"wp-block-post-author__avatar\"><img alt='' src='https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9440055374cc43874fc79f36adabfa3d?s=24&#038;d=mm&#038;r=g' srcset='https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9440055374cc43874fc79f36adabfa3d?s=48&#038;d=mm&#038;r=g 2x' class='avatar avatar-24 photo' height='24' width='24' \/><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-post-author__content\"><p class=\"wp-block-post-author__name\">Christian &amp; Maria Taylor<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p>|<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-width wp-block-button__width-100 has-custom-font-size is-style-fill has-small-font-size\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-background wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/index.php\/newsletter\/\" style=\"background-color:#82cc21\">Subscribe to future posts<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>Contents<\/summary>\n<div class=\"wp-block-aioseo-table-of-contents\"><ul><li><a href=\"#aioseo-from-colonial-extraction-to-neoliberal\">From Colonial Theft to Neoliberal Extraction<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#aioseo-from-colonial-extraction-to-neoliberal\">Another Way is Possible<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#aioseo-from-colonial-extraction-to-neoliberal\">Some Highlights from Peru &#038; Bolivia<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#aioseo-from-colonial-extraction-to-neoliberal\">Book Recommendations<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<p>When we made this blog, we weren&#8217;t sure exactly what we wanted to write about. All we knew was that many friends and family were asking us to make a blog to keep up with our travels and also that writing helps us process what we are experiencing. We&#8217;re still unsure what future blog posts will be about; we will just write about whatever is on our minds as we travel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In our first few weeks of travel in Peru and Bolivia, we were surprised by how much of what we learned from tour guides was about politics, both historical and current. Through meeting many other Western travelers, we could also see that the privilege of traveling is inherently political. With this in mind, although not all of our writing will be political, this post will be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you want to keep up with more frequent photos of what we are doing, check out our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/the_crunchy_life\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"aioseo-from-colonial-extraction-to-neoliberal\">From Colonial Theft to Neoliberal Extraction<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1536\" height=\"2048\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_0037.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-383\" style=\"aspect-ratio:0.75;object-fit:contain;width:209px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_0037.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_0037-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_0037-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_0037-1152x1536.jpg 1152w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Across Peru and Bolivia, we saw the juxtaposition of Inca and Spanish civilization and culture. The best example was at Qorikancha, located in Cusco and considered the most important temple in the Inca Empire. In the 16th century, Spanish conquistadors destroyed the temple, stole all of the gold statues and decorations, and built a church on top of the original foundation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Today, visitors to Qorikancha see solid, earthquake-proof Incan stonework beneath unimpressive Spanish stonework that has been destroyed and rebuilt multiple times after earthquakes over the centuries. Our tour guide highlighted how the Spanish wanted to show domination of their religion over the Inca religion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fast forward to today, and there is no longer a colonial power stealing the resources of these countries. However, a common theme from our discussions with hosts and guides was the failed promises of privatization and foreign investment. International corporations often come in promising new jobs and a better standard of living. However, these companies have extracted the resources and profits from these countries and left little behind for the local people. Meanwhile, Western-backed politicians in these countries have supported this economic model for their own personal gain rather than working for the good of the people of their country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"420\" src=\"http:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/FullSizeRender-e1700490582148-1024x420.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-378\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/FullSizeRender-e1700490582148-1024x420.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/FullSizeRender-e1700490582148-300x123.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/FullSizeRender-e1700490582148-768x315.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/FullSizeRender-e1700490582148-1536x629.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/FullSizeRender-e1700490582148.jpeg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In Bolivia, at the start of our Uyuni Salt Flats tour, we saw the &#8220;Train Cemetery&#8221;. When mining opportunities were discovered high on the altiplano of Bolivia, foreign investment started flowing in; a railroad was built, and British trains were imported. Lofty promises were made to the local people about new jobs, better houses, and the ability to start saving money. However, once the mineral resources that could be mined had been extracted, the foreign companies withdrew with their profits, leaving the locals no better off than before. All that remains there today is a graveyard of train cars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1053\" height=\"1673\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_43451.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-376\" style=\"aspect-ratio:0.6298828125;object-fit:contain;width:193px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_43451.jpg 1053w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_43451-189x300.jpg 189w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_43451-645x1024.jpg 645w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_43451-768x1220.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_43451-967x1536.jpg 967w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1053px) 100vw, 1053px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In Peru the local water is unsafe to drink, and much of the bottled water is owned by Coca-Cola. The local and much-loved Inca Kola (we thought is was way too sweet and tasted like bubble gum) was bought out by Coca-Cola when Coke could not compete in the Peruvian market.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tourism offers opportunities for many local guides, drivers, hosts, etc. But of course, in the tourism industry as well, foreign companies have found ways profit off of the natural beauty and manmade wonders of these countries. At Machu Picchu, most visitors stay in a small town about 30 minutes away by bus from the Machu Picchu entrance. However, one company was allowed to build a hotel within steps of the entrance where guests pay around $2,000 per night for a room. This company is Belmond, a subsidiary of LVMH, the multinational conglomerate that owns Louis Vuitton, Tiffany &amp; Co., Princess Yachts, and many other luxury brands. Our tour guide passionately highlighted how tourists come and spend enormous amounts of money visiting Machu Picchu, but rather than this money benefiting the local people, it flows back to multinational corporations like LVMH. While the tourism of Machu Picchu may boost Westerners&#8217; stock portfolios, the local people don&#8217;t have a stock portfolio and face extremely high levels of poverty. While citizens of Western countries have a social safety net funded by taxes on companies like LVMH, the people of Peru have no social safety programs.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"aioseo-from-colonial-extraction-to-neoliberal\">Another Way is Possible<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite these economic challenges, the people of Peru and Bolivia are resilient and passionate about improving the lives of their people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Most of our conversations with locals, given our beginner level of Spanish, were with tour guides and hostel hosts: a relatively educated and economically secure slice of the population. However, we were struck by their awareness and knowledge of the issues in their countries and solidarity across ethnicity and social\/economic class.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Through these travels, we are reflecting on our participation in the system that creates these circumstances in countries like Peru and Bolivia. We do not yet have any answers but will continue to think about how we can contribute to a better system. Through a few of our accommodations in South America we have gotten a glimpse into the ways that people respond to these challenges and create alternative ways of taking care of community. One of our favorite experiences where we saw this was our homestay in Uros. We will also have more to say on this in our upcoming post about our time in Paraguay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7152.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-425\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7152.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7152-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7152-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Uros is an autonomous community made up of over 100 floating islands and around 3000 people in the Peruvian side of Lake Titicaca. The Uru are an indigenous people group who have lived on Lake Titicaca in various forms. Prior to making floating islands, they lived in boats. Now they make their homes by cutting parcels off of natural islands and adding thick layers of reeds on top.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Each island in Uros has a handful of families. Each family is responsible for collecting reeds and adding them to the island: every 5 days in winter and every 15 days in summer. Each island elects a president. If any family who is able to contribute to the upkeep of the island doesn\u2019t do so, then the president will take a saw and cut away that family\u2019s portion of the island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>The community is completely autonomous and does not consider itself part of Peru. Uros is outside the Peruvian police\u2019s jurisdiction, and they must prearrange a visit if they want to come to the islands. There are many tourists that come through Uros for a few hours or for overnight homestays. They collect 5 Soles (about $1.25) from each tourist. The presidents of all of the islands meet occasionally to vote on how this money will be used and other community matters. The tourist tax has been used to build schools, for medical care for sick people in the community, and to take care of people who are unable to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignleft size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7114-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-515\" style=\"aspect-ratio:0.75;width:172px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7114-scaled.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7114-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7114-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7114-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7114-1536x2048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Parts of our stay in Uros felt cultivated for tourists, like in the photo to the left when they had us dress us up in traditional clothes to take a picture. However, it would be unrealistic to expect to be immersed in the authentic culture in just a 24 hour visit. We are grateful for the glimpse of the way of living in Uros that we got to see. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We loved that the Uru are using tourism to support their community and to maintain and share their traditional way of life. Our host said his family\u2019s life is much better when they are hosting on AirBnb rather than working through the night fishing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:5px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"aioseo-from-colonial-extraction-to-neoliberal\">Some Highlights from Peru &amp; Bolivia<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Across Peru and Bolivia, we met beautiful people, experienced vibrant culture, and saw many spectacular sights. Here are some more highlights from our travel through these countries (click the images to enlarge).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery aligncenter has-nested-images columns-6 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\" style=\"margin-right:0;margin-left:0;padding-right:0;padding-left:0\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_3643.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1536\" height=\"2048\" data-id=\"478\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_3643.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-478\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_3643.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_3643-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_3643-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_3643-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Miraflores seaside cliff<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_3650-scaled.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" data-id=\"476\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_3650-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-476\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_3650-scaled.jpeg 1920w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_3650-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_3650-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_3650-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Al Toke Pez, as featured on Street Food Latin America on Netflix<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6123-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" data-id=\"489\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6123-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-489\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6123-scaled.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6123-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6123-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6123-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6123-1536x2048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Cute cat in the &#8220;cat park&#8221;<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6149-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" data-id=\"486\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6149-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-486\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6149-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6149-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6149-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6149-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6149-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6149-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Another cute cat<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6139.HEIC-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" data-id=\"435\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6139.HEIC-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-435\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6139.HEIC-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6139.HEIC-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6139.HEIC-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6139.HEIC-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6139.HEIC-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6139.HEIC-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Walks through cute neighborhoods<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-caption wp-element-caption\">We started our travel in Lima, Peru. Big cities aren&#8217;t our favorite, and at first we didn&#8217;t love it and had some doubts about our decision to travel for a year. However, we eventually found our groove and plenty of things to enjoy!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-dots\"\/>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-5 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-2 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6161-scaled.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" data-id=\"467\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6161-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-467\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6161-scaled.jpeg 1920w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6161-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6161-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6161-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6161-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">This poor man is ready for Las Islas Ballestas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6191.HEIC-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" data-id=\"437\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6191.HEIC-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-437\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6191.HEIC-scaled.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6191.HEIC-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6191.HEIC-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6191.HEIC-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6191.HEIC-1536x2048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Hundreds of birds flying overhead<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6172.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1837\" height=\"2451\" data-id=\"501\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6172.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-501\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6172.jpg 1837w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6172-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6172-767x1024.jpg 767w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6172-768x1025.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6172-1151x1536.jpg 1151w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6172-1535x2048.jpg 1535w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1837px) 100vw, 1837px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Spot the sea lions<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6177.HEIC-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" data-id=\"436\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6177.HEIC-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-436\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6177.HEIC-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6177.HEIC-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6177.HEIC-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6177.HEIC-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6177.HEIC-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6177.HEIC-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Find the penguins<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_3667.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1772\" height=\"1772\" data-id=\"406\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_3667.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-406\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_3667.jpeg 1772w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_3667-300x300.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_3667-1024x1024.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_3667-150x150.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_3667-768x768.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_3667-1536x1536.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1772px) 100vw, 1772px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ceviche after our tour<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-caption wp-element-caption\">From Lima, we rode a hop-on, hop-off tourist bus through Peru and to Bolivia. Our first stop in Peru was in Paracas where we got a boat tour of Las Islas Ballestas (or poor man&#8217;s Galapagos). We loved all the beautiful animals that we got to see on the tour. We saw penguins, crabs, sea lions, dolphins, and lots of different birds. We captured pictures of some of them!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-dots\"\/>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-7 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-3 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6231.HEIC-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" data-id=\"438\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6231.HEIC-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-438\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6231.HEIC-scaled.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6231.HEIC-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6231.HEIC-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6231.HEIC-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6231.HEIC-1536x2048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Oasis in the desert<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6250.HEIC-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" data-id=\"439\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6250.HEIC-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-439\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6250.HEIC-scaled.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6250.HEIC-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6250.HEIC-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6250.HEIC-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6250.HEIC-1536x2048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sunset over the dunes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" data-id=\"508\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6294-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-508\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6294-scaled.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6294-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6294-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6294-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6294-1536x2048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sunrise the next morning<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6287.HEIC-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" data-id=\"441\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6287.HEIC-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-441\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6287.HEIC-scaled.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6287.HEIC-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6287.HEIC-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6287.HEIC-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6287.HEIC-1536x2048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Taking in the views<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6219-scaled.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" data-id=\"413\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6219-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-413\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6219-scaled.jpeg 1920w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6219-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6219-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6219-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6219-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lots of birds around the oasis<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/FullSizeRender-3-scaled.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" data-id=\"466\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/FullSizeRender-3-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-466\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/FullSizeRender-3-scaled.jpeg 1920w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/FullSizeRender-3-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/FullSizeRender-3-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/FullSizeRender-3-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/FullSizeRender-3-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">We enjoyed hiking the dunes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-caption wp-element-caption\">Our next stop was Huacachina. Once a natural oasis in the desert, the population in the nearby city has increased and depleted the water levels in the aquifer. Now they have to pump water into the oasis to keep it going as a tourist attraction. The oasis is surrounded by giant dunes where people go on buggy rides and go sandboarding (and where cheapos like us go on sandy sunrise hikes).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-dots\"\/>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-8 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-4 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_3743.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1536\" data-id=\"407\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_3743.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-407\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_3743.jpeg 2048w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_3743-300x225.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_3743-1024x768.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_3743-768x576.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_3743-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Railroad ghost town<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6453-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" data-id=\"487\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6453-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-487\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6453-scaled.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6453-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6453-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6453-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6453-1536x2048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Coca tea to help prevent altitude sickness<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6460.HEIC-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" data-id=\"442\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6460.HEIC-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-442\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6460.HEIC-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6460.HEIC-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6460.HEIC-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6460.HEIC-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6460.HEIC-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6460.HEIC-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Spotted wild vicu\u00f1as<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/FullSizeRender-2-scaled.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" data-id=\"465\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/FullSizeRender-2-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-465\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/FullSizeRender-2-scaled.jpeg 1920w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/FullSizeRender-2-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/FullSizeRender-2-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/FullSizeRender-2-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/FullSizeRender-2-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">We love Hoodoos!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6491-scaled.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" data-id=\"414\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6491-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-414\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6491-scaled.jpeg 1920w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6491-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6491-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6491-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6491-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The &#8220;fingers of God&#8221;<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" data-id=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6552-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-512\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6552-scaled.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6552-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6552-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6552-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6552-1536x2048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Catarata de Pillones<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/cc22395e-8647-473a-b1ab-d557ec766339.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"897\" data-id=\"419\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/cc22395e-8647-473a-b1ab-d557ec766339.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-419\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/cc22395e-8647-473a-b1ab-d557ec766339.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/cc22395e-8647-473a-b1ab-d557ec766339-300x168.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/cc22395e-8647-473a-b1ab-d557ec766339-1024x574.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/cc22395e-8647-473a-b1ab-d557ec766339-768x431.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/cc22395e-8647-473a-b1ab-d557ec766339-1536x861.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Our tour guide, Sabino, snapped this photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-caption wp-element-caption\">Near the town of Arequipa we went on a day tour up to the Altiplano (or &#8220;high plain&#8221;) where we were over 14,000 ft in elevation and surrounded by volcanoes. We saw Pillones waterfall, wild vicu\u00f1as, an old railroad ghost town, and our favorite rock formation: hoodoos!&nbsp;<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-dots\"\/>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-7 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-5 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6612_1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1440\" data-id=\"504\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6612_1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-504\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6612_1.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6612_1-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6612_1-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6612_1-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6612_1-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Twelve angled stone<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6694-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" data-id=\"488\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6694-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-488\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6694-scaled.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6694-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6694-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6694-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6694-1536x2048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Learning about Qorikancha&nbsp;<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6699-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" data-id=\"502\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6699-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-502\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6699-scaled.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6699-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6699-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6699-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6699-1536x2048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The angled construction stabilizes the temple during earthquakes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_3858.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1536\" height=\"2048\" data-id=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_3858.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-480\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_3858.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_3858-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_3858-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_3858-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Seemless stonework<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6627-scaled.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" data-id=\"464\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6627-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-464\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6627-scaled.jpeg 1920w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6627-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6627-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6627-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6627-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Museum of Pre-Columbian Art<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6662-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" data-id=\"490\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6662-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-490\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6662-scaled.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6662-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6662-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6662-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6662-1536x2048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A favorite meal in Peru from a vendor in San Pedro market<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-caption wp-element-caption\">We planned to do the 5 day Salkantay trek to Machu Picchu, but both got sick, so we ended up with some extra time to explore Cuzco (or Cusco). We had great food and coffee, and were very impressed by the Incan stonework.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-dots\"\/>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-6 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-6 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6755_1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" data-id=\"503\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6755_1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-503\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6755_1.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6755_1-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ancient agricultural terraces<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6775_11.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" data-id=\"505\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6775_11.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-505\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6775_11.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6775_11-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6775_11-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6775_11-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6775_11-1536x2048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">We took a taxi up to the top of the Pisac ruins and then had a long walk down to the bottom<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6857-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" data-id=\"499\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6857-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-499\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6857-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6857-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6857-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6857-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6857-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6857-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Touring the ruins at Ollantaytambo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_3917.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1536\" height=\"2048\" data-id=\"481\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_3917.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-481\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_3917.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_3917-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_3917-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_3917-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">These giant stones came from the mountain across the valley<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6850-scaled.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" data-id=\"461\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6850-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-461\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6850-scaled.jpeg 1920w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6850-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6850-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6850-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6850-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Guinea pig (or Cuy): &#8220;I liked it, but I never want to eat it again&#8221;<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/FullSizeRender-1-scaled.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" data-id=\"459\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/FullSizeRender-1-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-459\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/FullSizeRender-1-scaled.jpeg 1920w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/FullSizeRender-1-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/FullSizeRender-1-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/FullSizeRender-1-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/FullSizeRender-1-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Aguas Calientes (or Machupicchu Pueblo) is the last stop before Machu Picchu<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-caption wp-element-caption\">Skipping the Salkantay trek gave us some time to explore the Sacred Valley on our way to Machu Picchu. We traveled by colectivo (communal vans) to visit the Incan ruins in Pisac and Ollantaytambo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-dots\"\/>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-5 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-7 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6925-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" data-id=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6925-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-500\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6925-scaled.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6925-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6925-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6925-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6925-1536x2048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">This Llama welcomed us to Machu Picchu<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/FullSizeRender-1-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"2268\" data-id=\"497\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/FullSizeRender-1-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-497\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/FullSizeRender-1-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/FullSizeRender-1-300x266.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/FullSizeRender-1-1024x907.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/FullSizeRender-1-768x680.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/FullSizeRender-1-1536x1361.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/FullSizeRender-1-2048x1815.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Expand the photo to see the rest of Maria&#8217;s face<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6991-scaled.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" data-id=\"457\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6991-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-457\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6991-scaled.jpeg 1920w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6991-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6991-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6991-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_6991-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">We took a small hike to see Machu Picchu from above<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_3944.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1536\" height=\"2048\" data-id=\"482\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_3944.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-482\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_3944.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_3944-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_3944-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_3944-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The mountains surrounding Machu Picchu were stunning<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/FullSizeRender_1-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" data-id=\"498\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/FullSizeRender_1-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-498\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/FullSizeRender_1-scaled.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/FullSizeRender_1-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/FullSizeRender_1-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/FullSizeRender_1-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/FullSizeRender_1-1536x2048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">This is thought to be a royal tomb<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-caption wp-element-caption\">We were blown away by the natural beauty of the mountains surrounding Machu Picchu. The steep mountain cliffs overshadowed the buildings of Machu Picchu at first. However, once we started paying attention to the details of the construction and thinking about what it took to build the houses, temples, canals, and other structures it really boggled our minds.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-dots\"\/>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-6 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-8 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/FullSizeRender.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1536\" height=\"2048\" data-id=\"405\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/FullSizeRender.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-405\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/FullSizeRender.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/FullSizeRender-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/FullSizeRender-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/FullSizeRender-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Where we stayed in Uros<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_3965.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1170\" height=\"1560\" data-id=\"523\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_3965-edited.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-523\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_3965-edited.png 1170w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_3965-edited-225x300.png 225w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_3965-edited-768x1024.png 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_3965-edited-1152x1536.png 1152w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1170px) 100vw, 1170px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">We slept in the middle of Lake Titicaca<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_4642.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"720\" height=\"960\" data-id=\"524\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_4642-edited.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-524\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_4642-edited.jpg 720w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_4642-edited-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The market in Uros is a boat that comes by each morning<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7103-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" data-id=\"492\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7103-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-492\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7103-scaled.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7103-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7103-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7103-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7103-1536x2048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Learning how to cut the reeds used to build the islands<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_4586.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1050\" height=\"1487\" data-id=\"421\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_4586.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-421\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_4586.jpg 1050w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_4586-212x300.jpg 212w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_4586-723x1024.jpg 723w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_4586-768x1088.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1050px) 100vw, 1050px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">We ate the edible part of the reeds<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7108.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1536\" height=\"2048\" data-id=\"484\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7108.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-484\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7108.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7108-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7108-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7108-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A native pupfish<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-caption wp-element-caption\">Some more photos from our time in Uros that we wrote about above.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-dots\"\/>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-8 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-9 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" data-id=\"520\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7221-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-520\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7221-scaled.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7221-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7221-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7221-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7221-1536x2048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Mi Teleferico<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" data-id=\"521\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7224-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-521\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7224-scaled.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7224-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7224-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7224-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7224-1536x2048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">We rode it in circles around the city<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_4023.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1536\" height=\"2048\" data-id=\"410\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_4023.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-410\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_4023.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_4023-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_4023-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_4023-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Empenada<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_4014.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1536\" height=\"2048\" data-id=\"409\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_4014.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-409\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_4014.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_4014-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_4014-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_4014-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Arepa<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_4024.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1536\" height=\"2048\" data-id=\"411\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_4024.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-411\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_4024.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_4024-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_4024-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_4024-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Chorip\u00e1n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_3997-scaled.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" data-id=\"471\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_3997-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-471\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_3997-scaled.jpeg 1920w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_3997-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_3997-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_3997-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_3997-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Jawitas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7244-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" data-id=\"495\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7244-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-495\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7244-scaled.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7244-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7244-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7244-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7244-1536x2048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">El Mercado de Las Brujas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/FullSizeRender-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" data-id=\"491\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/FullSizeRender-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-491\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/FullSizeRender-scaled.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/FullSizeRender-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/FullSizeRender-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/FullSizeRender-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/FullSizeRender-1536x2048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Found a cute coffee shop<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-caption wp-element-caption\">In La Paz, we loved riding the gondolas, &#8220;Mi Teleferico&#8221;, around the city with no purpose besides enjoying the ride and searching out street food.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-dots\"\/>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-7 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-10 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7336-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" data-id=\"496\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7336-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-496\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7336-scaled.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7336-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7336-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7336-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7336-1536x2048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Train Cemetery was our first stop<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_4067-scaled.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" data-id=\"470\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_4067-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-470\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_4067-scaled.jpeg 1920w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_4067-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_4067-768x1024.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">This railway was built to transport minerals out of Bolivia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7439.HEIC-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" data-id=\"444\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7439.HEIC-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-444\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7439.HEIC-scaled.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7439.HEIC-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7439.HEIC-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7439.HEIC-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7439.HEIC-1536x2048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Funny perspective photos on the salt flats<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_4153.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1536\" height=\"2048\" data-id=\"483\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_4153.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-483\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_4153.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_4153-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_4153-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_4153-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">There was an &#8220;island&#8221; with hundreds of cactuses in the middle of the salt flats <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_4609.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"720\" height=\"1275\" data-id=\"422\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_4609.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-422\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_4609.jpg 720w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_4609-169x300.jpg 169w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_4609-578x1024.jpg 578w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">We saw lots of lagoons and flamingos<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7736.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1536\" height=\"2048\" data-id=\"417\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7736.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-417\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7736.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7736-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7736-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7736-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">It was very windy!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7685.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1536\" height=\"2062\" data-id=\"426\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7685.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-426\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7685.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7685-223x300.jpg 223w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7685-763x1024.jpg 763w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7685-768x1031.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7685-1144x1536.jpg 1144w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7685-1526x2048.jpg 1526w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Not a hoodoo, but still good<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7828.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1536\" data-id=\"427\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7828.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-427\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7828.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7828-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7828-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7828-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_7828-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Warming up in the hot springs<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_0048.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2520\" height=\"1536\" data-id=\"420\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_0048.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-420\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_0048.jpg 2520w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_0048-300x183.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_0048-1024x624.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_0048-768x468.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_0048-1536x936.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_0048-2048x1248.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2520px) 100vw, 2520px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Our tour group for the 3 days<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/a1bf08fd-0d28-4951-96b3-d274ff94186d.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1204\" data-id=\"418\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/a1bf08fd-0d28-4951-96b3-d274ff94186d.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-418\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/a1bf08fd-0d28-4951-96b3-d274ff94186d.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/a1bf08fd-0d28-4951-96b3-d274ff94186d-300x226.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/a1bf08fd-0d28-4951-96b3-d274ff94186d-1024x771.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/a1bf08fd-0d28-4951-96b3-d274ff94186d-768x578.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/a1bf08fd-0d28-4951-96b3-d274ff94186d-1536x1156.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">We like vast places that remind us how small we are<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-caption wp-element-caption\">On our 3-day Salar de Uyuni (salt flats) tour we saw many unique natural landscapes and animals and gained new friends among our tour group.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"aioseo-from-colonial-extraction-to-neoliberal\">Book Recommendations <\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignleft size-medium\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"196\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/OurWordIsOurWeapon_Cover-196x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-433\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/OurWordIsOurWeapon_Cover-196x300.jpg 196w, https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/OurWordIsOurWeapon_Cover.jpg 294w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 196px) 100vw, 196px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Our Word is Our Weapon: Selected Writings <\/em>by Subcomandante Marcos; Juana Ponce de Leon (Editor)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblio.com\/9781583224724\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Support independent booksellers: buy new or used on Biblio<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While the mountains of the Mexican southeast are far from Andean Plateau, many of the same challenges faced in Peru and Bolivia are also present in Chiapas. This collection is &#8220;[\u2026] a powerful collection of literary, philosophical, and political writings of the masked Zapatista spokesperson, Subcomandante Insurgente Marcos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Marcos first captured world attention on January 1, 1994, when he and an indigenous guerrilla group calling themselves &#8220;Zapatistas&#8221; revolted against the Mexican government and seized key towns in Mexico&#8217;s southernmost state of Chiapas. [\u2026] Marcos has altered the course of Mexican politics and emerged an international symbol of grassroots movement-building, rebellion, and democracy. The prolific stream of poetic political writings, tales, and traditional myths that Marcos has penned since January 1, 1994 fill more than four volumes. Our Word Is Our Weapon presents the best of these writings, many of which have never been published before in English.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Throughout this remarkable book we hear the uncompromising voice of indigenous communities living in resistance, expressing through manifestos and myths the universal human urge for dignity, democracy, and liberation. It is the voice of a people refusing to be forgotten the voice of Mexico in transition, the voice of a people struggling for democracy by using their word as their only weapon.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-dots\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-verse has-small-font-size\" style=\"padding-right:0;padding-left:0;font-style:italic;font-weight:400\">A \"poem\" by Christian - April 2023<\/pre>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-verse has-contrast-color has-text-color has-small-font-size\" style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:100\"><strong>Genesis 1:27-29<\/strong>\nSo God created <span style=\"color:red;text-decoration:line-through dotted\"><span style=\"color:black\">multinational corporations<\/span><\/span>\n                         <span style=\"color:red;text-decoration:line-through dotted\"><span style=\"color:black\">governments<\/span><\/span>\n                         <span style=\"color:red;text-decoration:line-through dotted\"><span style=\"color:black\">innovators<\/span><\/span>\n                         mankind in his own image,\nin the image of God he created them;\nmale and female he created them.\n\nGod blessed them and said to <span style=\"color:red;text-decoration:line-through dotted\"><span style=\"color:black\">Monsanto<\/span><\/span>\n                                               <span style=\"color:red;text-decoration:line-through dotted\"><span style=\"color:black\">the IMF<\/span><\/span>\n                                               <span style=\"color:red;text-decoration:line-through dotted\"><span style=\"color:black\">Bill Gates<\/span><\/span>\n                                               them, \n\u201cBe fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. \nRule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky \nand over every living creature that moves on the ground.\u201d\n\nThen God said, \u201cI give you every seed-bearing plant on the face \nof the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. \nThey will be yours <span style=\"color:red;text-decoration:line-through dotted\"><span style=\"color:black\">for profit<\/span><\/span>\n                            <span style=\"color:red;text-decoration:line-through dotted\"><span style=\"color:black\">to own<\/span><\/span>\n                            for food.\"<\/pre>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-default\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n<p>We are keeping this blog ad-free. If you\u2019d like to support us, consider making a small donation: <script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/cdnjs.buymeacoffee.com\/1.0.0\/button.prod.min.js\" data-name=\"bmc-button\" data-slug=\"thecrunchylife\" data-color=\"#5F7FFF\" data-emoji=\"\ud83e\uddf3\"  data-font=\"Lato\" data-text=\"Buy me a day on the road\" data-outline-color=\"#000000\" data-font-color=\"#ffffff\" data-coffee-color=\"#FFDD00\" ><\/script><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Peru &#038; Bolivia | When we made this blog, we weren\u2019t sure exactly what we wanted to write about. All we knew was that many friends and family were asking us to make a blog to keep up with our travels and also that writing helps us process what we are experiencing. We\u2019re still\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":380,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"yes","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[10,9],"class_list":["post-358","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-south-america","tag-travel"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/358","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=358"}],"version-history":[{"count":98,"href":"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/358\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":607,"href":"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/358\/revisions\/607"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/380"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=358"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=358"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecrunchylife.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=358"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}