K'Uychi Punku Hostal Ollantaytambo

... weave clothing and items to sell and GAP hires the men from the village to work as porters on the Inca trail. It was interesting to see the process from shearing the alpacas to dyeing and spinning the wool to weaving and creating the garments. We also had a fun time playing soccer with the small boys in the village while we were waiting for some of our group to bargain and buy some items from the women. <br><br>Then we headed to the town of Pisaq where we saw another Inca ruin ...

... to open to Machu Picchu. A girl in our group twisted her ankle, so we had to wait for her to hop around but made it to Machu Picchu, city of the Incas. This place is alot bigger than I thought, it's amazing what they had build and the technology they were using with water systems and such. Not really sure how to describe it all so pictures will do. Caught the train back to Cusco and now waiting for a few days for some friends to come to go to La Paz.<br>

... rather spectacular. Apparently getting to Machu Picchu for a solstice sunrise is a big deal among archaelogists; next time, perhaps. The final part of the Temple of the Sun I´ll gush about is its back wall, the wall that Hiram Bingham (the Yale archaelogist who uncovered Machu Picchu) called the most beautiful wall in the Americas. The stones of the wall are perfectly straight and equal in height, giving the wall beautifully parallel lines running across (it doesn´t look super impressive ...

... eaten in most restaurants! After lunch there was some more rain, as we continued upwards to reach the pass at 4450m... it took about 1 hour more to reach it where we all received a congratulatory hug from Henry (our guide). It was then a couple of hours downhill to the campsite, so all in all not too bad on the old legs - more of a problem was finding the breath to get up the hill... you could just feel your heart beating at the speed of lightening! All chatting amongst ...

... was not to be my last taste of life without machines and materialistic technology.<br><br>We arrived at the main road and were loaded on to 2 buses for a short 15 minute transfer to Ollantaytambo, it would be here that we would have our first chance to take a look at some Inca ruins and learn a little about this lost civilisation.<br><br>In Ollantaytambo we were lead as a group to the entrance of the ruins, a huge complex of terraces and buildings stretching high up on the ...

... Travels&#8230;.it was yummy! <br><br>Day 4. We then had an early night as we had to get up just before 4am... breakfast at 4.15 and then our start was delayed because it rained&#8230; so we waited in the cafe until it got a bit lighter, shortly after 5am, and set off for the last 2 hours to machu picchu! We spent the day there... it rained for the first hour or so, again, we were in the clouds, so no real surpirse.. then it cleared up... it is an amazing place &#8230;. but ...

... are either high or low squatters). They always smell bad. No issues then from a bloke's point of view.<br><br>Our 'party&#8217; consisted of 26 people. 9 paying customers (2 plucky old Brits, 2 lost Kiwis, 2 serious Germans, 2 happy-go-lucky Aussie girls and a Brazilian Lady with limited English), 2 guides and 15 porters (including one that was euphemistically called a Chef). Whilst the local guides spoke decent English, the porters didn&#8217;t. Neither did they speak Spanish but ...

... due to all the insect bites which had blistered and swollen around her ankle. The afternoon consisted of a long and slow walk along the train tracks to Aquas Calientes. Morale was lifted at certain points by our first views of Machu Picchu mountain, HuayaPicchu mountain and the back terraces of Machu Picchu. It finally seemed that we may make it to the lost city of the Incas. <br><br>On arriving in ...

... train station that nobody else was informed of this either. ( : Train ride to Machu Picchu was ok. Some nice scenery. After wandering around aimlessly in Aguas Calientes, we figured out where the buses were, and we began the ascent up the mountain. That was pretty cool. They guy next to me on the bus was sleeping, which I though was crazy because it was soooo beautiful. The mountains were all cloudy but it was starting to clear ...

Day 35 - A trip around the sacred valley, including a llama farm, Pisac market and ruins, and Ollantaytambo archaeological site and town. Very informative tour, perhaps too much so, and visually spectacular. I´ll let the photos speak for themselves, once i get access to upload them.<br><br>Certainly forming the impression during this trip as to how bad the Spanish were. In fairness, all colonial powers were, but the Spanish were ...