Latin American Trip

     I have always enjoyed natural history and culture, so visiting the ancient city of Oaxaca was
incredible. The city is the capital of the state Oaxaca in Mexico, and the largest city in the state.  I visited the Catedral de Oaxaca, also known as the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption, which was actually the third to be built, after the first two were destroyed by earthquakes.  It was constructed out of a beautiful green stone called cantera.  In the Plaza de la Constitucion, I sat at the central kiosk and listened to La Marimba, after walking around the plaza and looking at the many portraits.  To end the day, I explored the Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca, looking over
all the incredible colonial artifacts.

  The second place I visited in Latin America was the beautiful Incan citadel of Machu Picchu in Peru.  It is in the Cusco Region, Urubamba Province, MachuPicchu District.  I visited the three most prevalent structures, the Inti Watana Stone, the Temple of the Sun, and the Room of the Three Windows.  The Inti Watana is one of many ritual stones that point directly at the sun during the Winter Solstice.  I wish I had been there on that day!  Still, it was an amazing thing to see, a vertical stone which acted as a astronomical clock in the ancient days.  The Temple of the Sun was an
incredible Temple with a stone altar inside, upon which sunlight is supposed to fall directly on during the summer solstice.  The Room of Three Windows was originally built with five windows, but only three remain.  They were made to show the exact location of the rising sun.  I spent the rest of my day exploring the city.  My trip to these two cities was wonderful!