Peru

Oh hey there! I went on some trips in the last month or so...I might have said one or two things about them.

First things first, Peru!

Day 1: Lima

We saw the sights in Lima. The weather was pretty fantastic. We toured the monastery, the convent, saw the Plaza del Armas, ate lunch at a French-Peruvian restaurant run by French nuns (all profits go to charity), and saw the Magic Water Fountains.

Lima

The Group: Eric, Christine, Me

Day 2 - End: Cusco

We flew to Cusco the second day and were delighted with the scenic hour-long drive from Cusco to the village of Urubamba where we stayed. We enjoyed exploring around Urubamba and neighboring villages, such as Ollantataytambo, Pisac, Chinchero, Maras, and Moray. We saw lots of Inca Ruins, including Machu Picchu, saw Las Salinas (the salt mine), and climbed a lot of stairs (which my asthma did not appreciate). We did the alternate hike at Machu Picchu and climbed up to Huayna Picchu (the mountain 380 meters above and overlooking Machu Picchu).

Pit stop on the way to the hotel. Sacred Valley in background.

Sunday Market in Pisac.

At the top of the ruins at Pisac; view to valley below.

We hiked a little higher up from the ruins.

On the train heading to Aguascalientes (bottom of Machu Picchu).

Those dots on the right are me and Christine. My asthma acting up prohibited me from climbing at the same pace as Eric. He went ahead and we took our time. He apparently thought we had turned back. Silly Eric, I wasn't about to give up getting to the top!

We made it! Machu Picchu is in the background below.

Really??? We climbed all the way up here???

We made it down! About that, it was a lot harder going down than it was climbing up. Our knees and calves ached for quite a long time after this day. That little hut was the entrance and exit. You had to sign in and out, complete with your nationality and age. I don't think it was as much for keeping records as it was for making sure they knew to notify the right people and/or identify your body if you didn't sign out. Climbing up those switchback staircases with a drop off to your left and a mountain and maybe a rope to hold onto on your right helps keep things in perspective.

Hiking around Machu Picchu after we ate lunch. Huayna Picchu is in the background.

View of Machu Picchu from Huayna Picchu.

Taking it all in.

Tasting the water at the salt mines.

We bought some handicrafts in Chinchero. The woman on the left is dressed in the typical Andean garb. They were such lovely people with kind faces!

The ruins at Moray. There were a few amphitheater-terraces like this there. This is the view from the top. We hiked down into this one.

Last day in Peru! We went to Cusco and spent about three hours walking around the city before flying out.