Nustayoc Ollantaytambo

... was in dieser tropischen hitze, auch wenn es erst 8 uhr morgens war, extrem anstrengend war. oben angekommen, konnten wir uns in einem kleinen haus in hängematten ausruhen bevor wir auf einem alten inca trail weiter wanderten. der weg war steinig mit vielen treppenstufen an einer felswand entlang. nichts für schwache nerven, aber mit einer umwerfenden aussicht ...

... arrived at Aguas Callientes (hot water in Spanish) at the top of the mountain in the pitch darknes and went to the hot natural springs to relax before making the rest of the journey to Macchu Picchu early the next day.<br><br>Got the bus for a couple of miles up the Macchu Picchu mountain and Shaun started to turn green and crawl the rest of the way...not the best place to go when you are scared of heights! Macchu Picchu is an amazing city ...

... engulfed in a dense cloud and rain. Because there was no reason to stay (couldn´t exactly see the sunrise through a cloud), we continued on toward Machu Picchu. Unfortunately, we weren´t able to escape our misty shroud, though thankfully the rain gradually ceased. When we were directly above the city, at the typical postcard viewpoint, we could see neither the city below us nor Wayna Picchu, the mountain that should have been lumbering right in front of our eyes. With spirits as ...

... so far!<br><br>I did buy my stash of fresh coca leaves to chew on the trail. Should be an interesting experience. As of today, we have come down to 2700m from 3400m yesterday. We will be heading back up tomorrow, so let the altitude games begin!!<br><br>OK - gotta run. Ill be offline for the next 5 days. <br><br>ciao

... Settlement where our very informative guide Percy gave us a lot of information about how the settlement was built, as we walked around admiring the views in the distance. Next stop was for a buffet lunch, which brought terror to Ben and I after our last experience of buffet lunch had not gone down so well... fortunately, this buffet was something else in a lovely setting with llamas and vicunas around us (not to mention the scrummy food...). After lunch we headed to ...

... it was a joy to make my way across a dark campsite 3 times throughout the night to go to the loo. Anyway I am not feeling negative, in fact I feel on top of the world (this have something to do with the amount of coca candy I had eaten to prevent altitude sickness), it was 4am and I could see a faint light in the distance, beyond the vast mountains, it was the beginning of sunrise, I laid in my sleeping bag for a while before waking Dee with my movements. When she woke she also ...

... more incan stories , we then continued to the 2nd pass at 3900m past a laguna and a beautiful bright blue bird , we were told to bring a rock up to this pass which I nearly forgot (!) = I had my rucsac back toiday and could definitely feel the difference climbing! At teh top of this pass, we climbed yet further (without bags) to the higest point and had a little andean ceremony where we had to blow on a coca leaf and Juan prayed to the mountains (the three surrounding us) to ...

... Stunden bis zum Basis-Camp und bem**kten gar nicht, wie das Th**momet** stetig sank. <br><br>Ice Ice Baby auf 3700m<br><br>Am Etappenziel Soraypampa angekommen, **warteten uns b**eits uns**e "Träg**" (klingt rassistisch, ist ab** halb so schlimm, da vorallem die Maulesel trugen und die Jungs nur Auf- und Abbauten), die schon fleissig uns**e Zelte aufstellten. Auf dies** Höhe, kam mir die Landschaft wie die italienischen Alpen vor: karg** Rasen und ...

... time. The first place we stopped at was Salinas where the salt mines are. It was incredible; I've never seen anything like it. The whole mountainside had little rectangular white pools carved into it. The salt springs from inside the mountain flowed into the pools. Then the people stop the water with rocks (and also plastic now). For 3 months the sun evaporates the water, and then salt is left in the little pools. There were locals ...

... rocks with numerous and numerous steps leading way up to the top of the mountain. If there is one thing that I will remember about my trip to Peru, it will be all of the steps that I had to climb and climb and climb!<br><br> Slowly, I proceeded climbing the steps, one by one, savoring at the same time the vistas. Far away, valleys could be seen in between the gigantic mountains. Lots of tourists with different ...