Take a Trip to Peru Without Leaving your Seat

The community is invited to join the San Gorgonio Chapter of the Sierra Club for their monthly meeting on Sept. 2. Sierra Club member Tracy Hutchinson will give a talk and slide show of her “Adventure in Peru”. The meeting starts at 7:30 p.m. at the San Bernardino County Museum, 2024 Orange Tree Lane, Redlands. Hutchinson’s Peru trip took her to Lima, the nation’s capital, Cuzco, the ancient seat of the Inca Empire, and Machu Picchu, the mysterious lost city of the Inca. The trip was part of her grand plan to visit all seven of the Wonders of the Modern World which includes Machu Picchu. While in Lima she stayed in Miraflores, a pleasant seaside district. Her stay included a visit to Lima’s new Magic Water Tour with its many spectacular fountains that are colorfully illuminated at night. Though receiving very little rainfall, coastal Peru has five percent of the world’s water supply due to the many rivers flowing down from the Andes. Cuzco, like Lima has many Colonial Era churches, palaces and monasteries. Many of the old Cuzco buildings incorporate stones from earlier Inca temples and palaces. At an elevation of 10,000 feet Cuzco is also a great place to acclimate before starting the trek to Machu Picchu. Hutchinson’s five-day tour from Cuzco to Machu Picchu included visits to several Inca ruins, a mountain bicycle descent from 14,000 feet through the Sacred Valley, flying over the tree tops via a zip line, and soaking in the Aguas Calietes hot springs. Machu Picchu itself is truly a wonder of the world. Hutchinson is a life skills coach, tech “guru” and social media strategist residing in Riverside. She also authored the book Revealing the Hero Within. All are welcome to attend the meeting. Parking and admission are free but donations are accepted for room rental. The San Gorgonio Chapter of the Sierra Club covers the geographic area of San Bernardino and Riverside Counties.