Sarah, Duchess of York, visited the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu last weekend, as part of a private journey to Peru. The former wife of Prince Andrew had arrived at Lima's Jorge Chávez international airport last Tuesday, accompanied by three Argentinean friends: a couple, and a young hotelier who simply identified himself as Alán.
The Duchess of York and her friends travelled then to Cusco, from where they directed in helicopter to the main objective of the trip, the mining-camp Las Malvinas, next to the massive gas deposit of Camisea. The Duchess, whose romances have often kept her in the gossip columns (including that with Count Gaddo della Gherardesca, a Tuscan aristocrat), extended her stay in Peru to include Machu Picchu.
In the Inca citadel she looked joyful, visiting the ruins arm-in-arm with Alán, as seen in the TV images broadcasted last Saturday by Canal N, a Peruvian news network. Wearing a casual dress and sneakers, and carrying an Inca hat and handbag, the Duchess was cordial to the amazed reporters that discovered her presence. She even smiled and posed next to an Inca wall for an AP photographer.
