One Of The Wonders Of The World

On December 17th, our daughter Shannyn her husband Greg and their boys, Jake, Nate and Nick came to Lima for Christmas and some traveling. We took a tour of central Lima on Friday. On Saurday the 19th we flew to Cusco. What a beautiful city, very colonial. While in Cusco we visited many Cathedrals, monuments, and saw much of the culture of Peru. The people of Peru are wonderful. The next day we drove to Puno. It was a long drive through many towns and beautiful landscapes. Among other places we were able to pass through Aquas Calientes, the Sacred Valley, Pisac, Ollantaytambo and Puno.

"PeruRail" is the train to take to see the most amazing sight I have ever seen in my life. Machu Picchu! The train is a "vistadome" train. It has windows in the roof so you can see all around as you ascend the mountainside. It took about one and a half hours.

What a astonishing place. Reverent in its magistry. The clouds and rain covered the mountain tops when we arrived, but soon they were gone and we could see all the beauty of the green terraced mountainside and wonderfully built rock walls and buildings. It is beyond description.
Greg had done a great job making all our accommadations, it was a

comfortable trip. Besides all the climbing; which by the way, I did really well. I was pretty scared about my knees, but it was not too bad; well worth any discomfort I had. My Orthopedic Dr., Dr. Tait, will love to hear that. He just happens to be the Bishop of our home Ward in Henderson. The vastness of the area is too incredible to try to describe. So here are Elder W. and I as the clouds and rain begin to lift. It was wonderful to be in such a sacred place. It has

stood from about the 1430's, Hiram Bingham discovered it in 1911.

The surprising fact that I learned, was that when the Spanish arrived to conquer the Inca people of Peru, they abandoned their fortress. So sacred was Macchu Picchu to the Inca people; of such great worth to them, they did not want others to find it. So they just left it and the jungle covered it.

I wanted to give some idea of the scale of this great place. Those are people climbing up the side of one of the terraces. I know I have used the word amazing before in this commentary, but it truly is breathtaking in it's enormous size and engineering marvel. Without mortar, each stone fit perfectly next to and one atop another. In one section are terraces for agriculture, other terraces were built for the urban, or living section. During our driving we were able to see countless alpaca, llamas, sheep horses and cows along with their keepers, usually women.

Our next adventure was to visit Lake Titicaca, or "Lago Titicaca". This lake is the highest navigable lake in the world. It is so large you think you are looking at the ocean. You cannot see accross to the opposite side; which happens to be Bolivia. There are "floating islands" on this lake. The residents live and exist on these islands made of reeds. It is a very ingenious and again an engeneering marvel the way they are constructed. They are wonderful happy people who live on fish and three types of potatoes they grow in a special soil they make themselves.

These are places Elder W. and I studied when we were in school, oh so many years ago. Who would ever have thought we would be visiting and living in there far distant places. I certainly feel grateful to have been able to have spent a short time there.

Greg, Shannyn and the boys have left today for the "Nazca Lines" which are in the southern area on the coast. They will return to their home in California on New Years eve. We have enjoyed them and their generosity in taking us along on their adventure, it was a special Christmas present. I hope someday soon the boys will appreciate all that they have been able to experience. It has been hard for them during the Christmas holidays to be away from their friends and home.

We are so blessed to be able to see for ourselves the "beauties of the earth" as the hymn says. Our Father in Heaven has truly given us what can be called a heaven on earth. It certainly is to some, and it should be appreciated more.

I pray everyone has had a wonderful Christmas season, this is one I will not forget.

Until I write again,

Hermana W.