Aranwa Sacred Valley Urubamba

... I looked up at a vertical row of steps!<br>After crawling on my hands and knees for I dont know how long we got to the summit, and there it was - Machu Picchu.<br>It all seemed wothwhile standing at the summit looking down on one of the nost anazing sights my eyes have ever looked down on, the sky was blue and the lost city of Machu Picchu was spread out far away in the distance.<br>A thirty minute walk later, we were there. I ...

... did have to share it with others.<br><br>After a few minutes of walking I started to realise that something was not quite right, my stomach was starting to hurt and I figured that I must have over eaten or started exercising too soon after lunch, I slowed my pace down and eventually came to a stop. The group was fairly fragmented at this time so a few people overtook asking if I was ok, at this point I thought that I was so just said yes. I continued with the walk ...

... a quick sponge bath and we are off. Today is the hard day - 16Km of hiking - much of it steep incline that will take us up near 4,000m and the Dead Woman´s Pass.<br><br>Before we get going, we are formally introduced to our team of guides, porters and cooks. We are treated to a traditional Inca welcome, which essentially involves tapping the side of someone´s boot with your own. Very good idea in this age of swine flu ...

... Rhapsody brought tears to our eyes. The porters in turn produced something very close to a barber shop choir of their traditional Quechuan song (much better than our version) and we all burst into fits of laughter. This had been a journey none of us would forget.<br><br>Day 4-<br><br>4;00am - Oh christ it´s early, we get to ditch the sleeping bags today so the backback should be lighter for our final 2 hours to the sacred lost city of Macchu Pichu. I´m really ...

... the photos, we have all had the sight built up by everyone who has been there, this is the whole point of the long trek and I worried that with such a strong build up, it could only be disappointing. However, it was nothing of the sort. It is a magnificent sight, the settlement being built 2,400m up in the mountains on a site that has many different levels and many different types of building. It is miraculously well preserved, 70% of it as originally built over 500 years ago with the ...

Day 3 of our stay in the Sacred Valley is almost over. Amy and I are muy muy tired. Tonight will be nothing more than relaxing in front of the fire (check out the pic of that fireplace in action!) since we did quite a bit of hiking today. Once again today, as we drove around the valley, we were amazed at the beauty of this place. Such a beautiful country. There are definitely places in the U.S. that come close or are maybe as beautiful in their own way, but there is no place I have ever ...

... It feels very secluded and romantic, and it is extremely quiet, which is very nice after the Lima hotel last night! There are also 3 dogs that live on the premises (Ron, Chocolate and OK) so Amy is in heaven! Seriously, this place is incredible - I would recommend it to anyone.<br><br>So that's about where we are now. The rest of the day will probably be spent relaxing and maybe going into town for dinner and shopping. Tonight we will have a fire in the ...

Este hotel que en el pasado fue monasterio y luego hacienda, es una belleza de jardines internos, fuentes de agua, paredes gruesas y tejas españolas. La ciudad de Urubamba se encuentra a unos 2950 msnm, el cuerpo sufre tantos cambios de altura y temperatura, a la mañana hace frío, durante el día mucho sol y calor, y de tarde otra vez frío. Al estar rodeados de montañas, atardece muy temprano y muy de golpe, la verdad que todo este valle es ...

... sack, which the kids had to fill with presents to give the orphan children in care around the town. Bianca definitely made the night when she was asked what she wanted for Christmas, and replied ¨Felicidades para todos¨ - Happiness for all. Earlier in the night, Simon triggered quite the opposite effect when he ´hid´ his full Santa head on the floor of the boy´s toilet. The 6-year old who wandered in a few minutes later froze in horror at ...

... the town of Olaytaytambo and our first Inca ruins, we were kindly driven by Rodregrez to a cash point and then to a spot where we could join a collective, taking us to our destination. On arrival it was clear that the town was set up for gringos. Finding a nice café in the square (Hearts Café) we enjoyed a spot of lunch pleased to know that the café gave a portion of its profits to a local charity. Heading to the ...