A beautiful peruvian girl

This photograph was taken by me, in the village of Santa Teresa, near Machu Picchu. Maybe picture is very simple, it shows a small peruvian girl smiling at the camera. However, it has great sentimental value for me, because that photo was taken during my trip to Peru with my girlfriend Victoria: my first time outside of Chile. The smile of that child summarizes the best that Peru has, which is your people. For every place you pass someone smiles at you or offers delicious dishes. In our three-week tour, we met the cities of Tacna, Arequipa, Cusco, Machu Picchu and Puno, the main tourist sites of southern Peru. It was a wonderful trip.

That picture was taken when we returned on foot from the ruins of Machu Picchu. In addition to the fatigue of the previous days, we were so exhausted after walking for three hours along the last stretch of the rail line that runs from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes, a tiny village located at the foot of Machu Picchu, one of the seven wonders of world. We walked that path carrying our heavy backpacks, in hot weather and difficulty stepping between stones and rails.

A van picked us up at the Hidroeléctrica, which ended the walk, and left us in Santa Teresa. There, they said, we would be waiting another vehicle to leave us in Cusco. It did not happen. We hope a long time in Santa Teresa, without really knowing what would happen to us. We were tired, angry and excited, when suddenly appears that beautiful girl, with a bent old woman and a puppy. She sat shyly at one end of the long bench where we were sitting and looked at us askance. As looked so pretty, I went and told him that he would take a photo. He was very embarrassed, but it was only a moment, it caught my camera, smiled and your image stayed in my memory as one of the most beautiful moments, the simplest of all, during our journey through the beautiful country of Peru.