peru!

one of the great highlights of this summer included a 9-day trip to peru. it was incredible! so grateful to have been able to go. the trip included a couple of tourist days in lima, three days in trujillo for a therapy rehabilitation conference, and "swinging by" cuzco and machu picchu on the way back to the states. 

here are just a few pictures of the trip...

the national cathedral in lima 

outside the governor's palace 

the convent of san francisco. in the catacombs excavated underneath this convent, archeologists have found the bones of 25,000 people executed by spanish inquisitors. crazy. 

love me some peruvian food! 

the parque of buena reserva and it's free water show 

i'm thinking of a career change. thoughts? 

la lucha. delicious. 

melanie and me at the beach 

the puente de buen suspiros 

we happened on this little gem wandering around miraflores/barranco. i'm thinking of yet another career change :) 

the lds temple in lima 

after goofing off in lima, we headed up to trujillo for a 2-day rehabilitation conference. i am so honored to have been invited/accepted to participate in and present at the conference. such a great opportunity and seriously changed my life!

huanchaco, the beach outside of trujillo, at sunset 

the bamboo boats in huanchaco 

the lds temple in trujillo 

the presenters... 

melanie, maria (the slp in trujillo), and me. love this woman!

the main plaza in trujillo at night 

the cathedral in trujillo

after the conference, melanie and i headed down to cuzco and machu picchu. it was a little crazy getting down there (it's a long story!), but totally worth it! so glad we made it!

it was a little chilly in aguas calientes... 

my first view of machu picchu. wow. 

at the sun temple

the classic shot 

at the sun gate, the original entrance to machu picchu, at the end of the incan trail 

the original entrance 

i loved machu picchu!! 

we loved our guide 

see the squiggly line on the side of the mountain? we road up that road in a packed bus. thought i was going to die. at least i would die on my way to see a wonder of the world! 

cuzco at night

cuzco at day

peruvian transporation. no big deal. 

a butcher's shop we saw while stopped at a red light... 

overall, it was an amazing trip. seriously life-changing. i'm so glad i got to go. 

now, i'm just happy to be back in america and am trying to get back in to normal life. i think a little piece of my heart will always stay in peru though :)