Luna Rumi lodge Urubamba

... blessed with SUPERB westher and beautiful sunshine illuminating Machu Picchu below. After some group photos, we begin our descent into the valley and within a couple of hours - to Machu Picchu.<br><br>Our trail becomes increasingly narrow - generally small but firmly placed rocks that form a defined trail. We pass through a couple of tunnels carved into the mountainsides where the Inca could not pass large rock formations...these are an amazing sight and ...

... which winded its way up in form of zigzag. From the bottom of the hill, it was quite a sight to behold. And to groan loudly! Can you imagine how it must have felt like when we finally reached the top? It was just extraordinary as we faced the spectacular, snowcapped peak of Salkantay with its 6.271 m. As it was quite cold up there, a steep downhill hike into the rain forest followed.<br><br>It was Mihai&#8217;s and mine first year anniversary on the ...

... into them with a lump hammer. I thought the first day was supposed to be easy. A General consensus was reached to hire an extra porter for tomorrow so we could ditch the sleeping bags, roll mats and heavy clothing for the day. It was either that, or have a divorce and become another part of history. Hang on a minute! someone pitched the tents for us in a neat little row and the smell of frying garlic filled the air. My feet and back began to feel relieved as ...

... yourself from your bag, find your boots, unzip the tent and stumble to the toilets without waking the entire camp. After lying around for half an hour you realize it is impossible to avoid going if you want to get back to sleep and the next ten minutes are spent trying to locate the position you left the torch and the toilet paper. At least when you return, you can derive some satisfaction from the sound of other tents being unzipped by fellow campers with the same problem. And it ...

... of "steps" of varying heights ranging from a few centimetres to about 35-40 centimetres. Try that for over two hours when you have already been walking for 5!! Of course, the porters ran down these steps like they were nothing!! <br><br>The campsite was a welcome site and we now had to prepare ourselves fo an early start tomorrow (4am) for the final walk to Machu Picchu itself!!<br><br><br><br><br><br><br>

... away. Pisac is famous for its ruins and its Sunday market, both of which we enjoyed immensely. We chose to do the ruins first since it gets warm in the afternoon here (not hot though - probably only mid 70s). The Pisac ruins consist mainly of an Incan Cerimonial site and a military outpost up high on a mountain overlooking Pisac. To walk through all of it takes about 2 hours and it is moderately strenuous as there are a decent amount of stairs. Worth it though ...

... another day, visiting the markets, checking the ruins and the cemetery, and when the time felt right, I headed to the next city, Ollantaytambo. My travel partner met a girl that was right up his alley, and was being ambivalent about going back to cusco with her, or coming with me toward Machu Pichu. I made up his mind for him and took off, knowing I&#8217;d probably see him again sooner or later.<br><br>I like it better alone. I&#8217;m learning that this is a pretty ...

... out of the stone...so water is poured on it and then its dried out..... cool! dont know what i am going to do when i get home... might be able to eat the food again without going...oooh...tooooo much salt! we end our day with going into a cheap eatery... and get fed..well all we can describe it as....grey snot... disguised as soup...salty soup at that! oh , the little things we entertain ourselves with!

... their work to earn money. He wants to bring some of it back to the States to sell for them but they are hesitant to let him take it since they worked so ******* it. I suggested that Erin could make a website and post pictures of the items with prices so the girls wouldn´t have to part with it until it sold. Jose seemed to like the idea so we´ll see it it happens or not. I think the girls would be proud to see their stuff look ...

... we were tired and needed to lay down. We finally accepted and in about half an hour they had a different room ready for us.<br><br>Once we were in our hotel Jim and Carol, being young and energetic, set off to do some shopping. Joyce and I rested some (in both rooms) before we headed out. We later ran into Jim and Carol at an outdoor restaurant where we sat and visited while enjoying refreshments and watching the people go by. It was on a fairly steep hill and had a pedestrian ...