Peruvian Treasures

Those that know me know that I have a love for travel. My idea of a "vacation" is to get completely immersed in the experience and the culture of the area that I'm visiting. (I can lie on a beach when I'm dead, although the other beach dwellers would probably not like it very much!)

Recently, I was able to fulfill a life long dream. I traveled to Peru to see Machu Picchu. My best friend and I did a 4-day trek on the Inca Trail to the breathtaking ancient Inca ruins. I will never forget the second that I saw Machu Picchu with my own eyes, emerging from the early morning mist.

It was truly an emotional moment for me, especially having just walked for 4 days to get there. But I wouldn't have had it any other way. You couldn't possibly connect with the earth and other "forces" by taking the train.

A train ride would have missed all the mind-blowing scenery, the encounter with 1000 butterflies, the heart-shaped stone, waking up in the middle of the night to see that the clouds that had settled into the valley below our camp site were aglow with the bright blue light of the moon...

It was an experience of a lifetime and one of the hardest things that I've ever done...so far. Having Peru on the brain for the past year, I really wanted to create a few pieces using Peruvian opal, a beautiful milky blue stone that welcomes back memories of those clouds in the moonlight. Enjoy!

Above is "Aurora" (#1136). This necklace features a large Peruvian opal pendant surrounded by a bouquet of amber Czech glass bead dangles.

This still unnamed bracelet is made with sky blue multi-faceted Czech glass, sterling silver, and silver plated accents surrounding another gorgeous Peruvian opal.

All of these jewelry pieces are available at Little Brown Bird on Etsy.