San Agustin Urubamba Hotel

... site believed to be dedicated the god of water. For the most part, everything was pretty interesting, but I have to say it wore me out, and I felt like the tour dragged on a bit (it probably didn't help that I had slept basically none and decided to have a glass of wine at lunch before the tour). The crowning moment of the day came after the tour. Sidebar: When I am in another country, I am always willing and eager to try new foods. However, since I ...

... disappointed when we told them as they typically paid more. Sometimes lots more.
There are multiple ways to get to Machu Picchu by yourself, so all the people who say otherwise either a) don’t know what they are talking about and their advice is worthless or b) are lying and their advice is worthless. “The Inca Trial” 4 day hike requires that a guide (and porters and a cook and a reservation…) are hired. But Machu Picchu doesn ...

... Today was cooking class day! We had a local chef come to our house and show us how to make some traditional Peruvian dishes. The class started with a trip in her car to the local produce market in Urubamba. So cool - it reminded me of some of the markets we saw in Thailand, but with less fish and more potatoes. After walking around and buying some produce from different vendors we came back to the house and began prepping the food.

Dishes we made today include ...

... or phone since those were on me, but still quite a few valuables. We leave the restaurant, drive back to the hotel, get out and I realize that my bag is gone. I left it in the restaurant! I don't know, I don't carry a purse to places all the time, I'm not used to remembering it! So we drive all the way back, I'm freaking out in my head but calm on the outside and I run back in and there it is on the floor where I left it. The waiters laughed at me on my way out though...

... and our return trip to Cusco.

I hope our photographs can impart some measure of our experience at Machu Picchu as well as the entire MLP trek and experience. It was first class and truly a once in a lifetime experience.

Day 8: Aguas Calientes to Cusco (3 ...

... hung out there for some time before cruising back down to the suntemple located further down the mountain in the jungle. After eating some of our lunch, we cruised back to Machu Pichu and hung out until the park closed and we had our fill. Im glad I went back, it felt like I had some unfinished business there, and I left this time more satiated and fulfilled. We walked along the trails to get back to santa teresa where we caught a taxi to santa maria and got on a ...

... long trip to our next destination. We really didnīt think we could be more impressed than we were in the morning.

When we arrived at Ollantaytambo the bus miraculously pulled through the narrow streets of the town to a stop at a large market. Our driver told us we had one our to explore and to meet back at the bus. Jared and I both thought that we were just vising a town and a market, but when we walked through the gates ahead of us, we were ...

... is a crater-like depression ringed with agricultural terraces. Archaeologists now believe it served as an agronomic research center for the Incas. The various depressions and rings form a radical variety of micro climes in which assorted crops could be grown and it is thought to have been a giant crops laboratory. Mike decried the invasion of the Spanish and how so much technology has been lost, replaced by the chaotic, poor drivers, disorganized ...

... custom is monitored or enforced, but this knowledge may be revealed (pun intended) on New Years Eve, which marks the peak of the yellow undie wearing season. On second thoughts, I might just go to bed early that night . . . there are some things I donīt need to know! Perhaps the hardest part of being in Peru is, for me, the way that meat is marketed in this country. People who eat the stuff buy it from open-air market stalls ...

One thing that I found it very uncomfortable was sleeping in the tent. The ground was hard and was not flat, it was hurting my back no matter how I leaned or putting my weight equally to the ground. On top of that, the sleeping bag that I brought for this trip was very light weighted but not warm enough. For both nights, I did not get good sleeps. On the first night, I thought it was because of my ...