Featured – Claudia Miro

How to make lemonade from a 7-Hour Layover in London

It turns out that the old adage of “When life gives you lemons…” comes in quite handy when your Norwegian Air direct flight from LAX to Barcelona gets cancelled. I chose not to allow this minor bump to put a damper on my trip (I did after all purchase a super cheap budget flight!) and chose to forego a bump to the same flight two days later. Instead, I decided to take the non-direct option the following day, that included a 7-hour layover in London. I had no idea what (if anything) I would be able to see in that amount of time, but I was willing to find out!

Pisac

The town of Pisac (Pisaq) is one of my favorite places in the Sacred Valley. I fell in love with Pisac the first time I came five years ago, and have fallen more in love with it ever since. It’s about 45 minutes from Cusco city and about 15 minutes from Casa De Milagros. Pisac is known for its amazing ruins, and for its popular artisan market. The entire town is lined with ancient Inca agricultural terraces that are still in use today, and the ruins provide an impressive backdrop to the town below. I’ve visited the ruins about 3 times, and there is still so much more for me to see and learn…

ANIA in Huacarpay: Seeds of Hope

Two and a half years ago, Cusco and the Sacred Valley were hit with some of the most intense and heavy rains in decades. As a result, much of the region was flooded, and there were disastrous landslides throughout Cusco, Much of the road through the Sacred Valley was taken out in several areas, as were some key bridges such as Pisac Bridge.

One of the most severely hit was the small town of Huacarpay, about 45 minutes outside of Cusco….

Qoyllurit’i: My Magical Journey to the Lord of the Snow

Preface

Two years ago, when I was living in Cusco from end of May to end of August, I was lucky enough to experience the full force of Cusco’s most festive months. June and July are filled with celebrations of Andean and Spanish origin; most of which are a unique and fascinating hybrid of both. I was in the throes of Corpus Cristi festivities when a local musician friend told me he was heading to Qoyllurit’i that next morning, and asked if I wanted to join him. I had never heard of it, and as he began to tell me more about this spiritual pilgrimage, I grew more and more curious.