Bed4less Urubamba

... being sick, violently, I could not breath, acid had burnt my nose and eyes (not nice I know), I wanted at this point to fall in to a ball and stay there. My bag was taken off my back and I was told that I would not be carrying it anymore, I was instructed to sit and rest for a minute and recover, I did this without any objections, I was shattered, my emotions were running all over the place, I had been well just 20 minutes ago, I didn't understand. Thankfully I ...

... and I do mean solid!! :´)<br><br>The temparature is highly variable - cool to cold, calm to windy, all depending on elevation and which side of the mountain we are on at any given time. The layers and toques go on and come off at a regular pace.<br><br>The view from the Dead Womans Pass is spectacular, and while the wind is cold, the weather overall allows for the group to linger and take some beautiful photos. It is truly ...

... but the cloud lifts momentarily and we catch our first glimpse of Machu Picchu. A wave of awe, realief, and excitedness washes over my spine like a rush of adrenaline and a lump comes to my throat. It´s been an emotional journey and the city seems to emit an aura of it´s own, even in the cold and drizzly morning. Apparently when Hiram Bingham first came across the city, it was exactly the same. I pray that it will at least lift to get a decent picture.<br><br>As ...

... morning.<br><br>The good news was that the riverside camp was warm. Instead of going to bed covered in clothes we would now be sleeping in nothing at all. The change in temperature was dramatic and welcome as was the fact that the nearest town was only 15 minutes walk away &#8211; so the porters were dispatched with cash and a large order for beer. The warmer temperature inclined many of the group to take a shower despite there being no hot water but the girls had not factored in the ...

... 9:30 we took off for the Moray ruins. They were not too far away - maybe a 20-25 minute drive through the countryside and along dirt and rock roads. The road was so bumpy I thought his tires might pop! But they didn't. The ruins consisted of several large ampitheaters dug into the hillsides with dozens of steep terraces for the walls. These were very very large. Apparently there are different micro climates on each of the terraces and the Incas used them to experiment with different ...

... estilo de vida (nuestro guía Dani tiene muchos contactos y conoce a mucha gente ya que es de esta zona), tenían gallinas y patos dando vueltas por el patio, y dentro de la vivienda montones de cuys o chanchitos de la india, que los crían para comer. Paredes de adobe (vimos varios paisanos fabricando adobe a los costados de los caminos) y pisos de tierra, sin colchones pero con pieles de oveja sobre los que duermen. Mucha menta y cilantro ...

... back towards Ollyantaytambo - where we had previously arranged to check out two other sites on the way back to Cusco. The first was the salineras - a series of stepped salt deposits and mines, which were clearly used as the local supply of salt. The stepped nature suggested some prior Inca involvement, though I never quite worked out why (we were sans guide now!). The second stop was Moray, a fascinating place regarded as the ...

... The altitude here keeps it rather cold, however, and with the monsoon rains comes the mountain snow. I see snow on the peaks surrounding us every day, although where we are there is only rain. The wind coming off those peaks sure packs a chill though! I hope you all have a happy silly season back home in your land far, far away, and I will look forward to writing to, and hearing from you, some more in 2009. Love from Tony in Urubamba, Peru.

... quite extensive, there are many archways and<br>hidden alleys and walkways. There are llamas everywhere and they walk<br>next to you with no fear, welcoming you to their home. We spent all<br>morning admiring this beautiful place and had luch at the Santuary<br>lodge. One day was enough to tour the ruins and upon arriving at the<br>hotel, we discovered that our luggage stayed behind in the previous<br>hotel. So all we had was the clothes on our backs, I guess there is<br>always ...

... We arrived in Urubamba for Jose´s Festiniño at 8:00 am Saturday. Erin went through the local market with Oshin to gather kids and I helped blow up balloons at the festival site. We were assigned to a both for stencils and coloring. At first we had help but soon everyone else left for other responsibilities. We had a good time trying to keep order and keep the kids in an actual line. Most of the kids gave us their pictures with ...