Jeff and I are back from our trip to Ecuador and Peru – it was absolutely amazing! We had high expectations to start and it was even more wonderful than we had anticipated. We have so many great pictures thanks to Jeff’s photography skills – I’ll be spending the next week or two posting some more of the highlights.
Amazon Rainforest, Peru
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Just finished our cruise on the Amazon River in Peru – it was amazing! Here’s a sneak peak of the pictures to come…
Fishing for piranhas!
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After leaving Machu Picchu, we spent 2 days in Cusco are are now waiting for our flight to Iquitos, Peru to start our cruise on the Amazon. We’ve heard that there is no internet access in Iquitos or along the Amazon, so we probably won’t be able to post any more pics until we get back…
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On Sunday morning, Jeff and I got up around 5am to get our tickets and wait in line to hike Huayna Picchu mountain – the large mountain almost always seen in the background of pictures of Machu Picchu. Only 400 people per day are allowed to make the hike – we made it into the first group and, after waiting in yet another line, started at about 7:45am. We made it to the top in about 1 hour, stopping to take pictures and catch our breath along the way. The gate to Huayna Picchu is at about 8,000 feet and the peak is at about 9,200 feet.
Sun starting to rise over the mountains…
Gate to Huayna Picchu from within Machu Picchu
View of Machu Picchu from half-way up Huayna Picchu
View from the top of Huayna Picchu
Crawling through a tunnel and up some stairs to get to the very top…
Floating staircase at the top of Huayna Picchu – we opted for the non-floating stairs to get to the very top.
Top of Huayna Picchu – Machu Picchu in the background
On our way down – it’s hard to tell from this picture, but these stairs are very steep and very uneven and drop of the mountain on one side, that’s why I’m holding on to the wall.
One more view from the top…that zig-zag line on the left is the road that the bus takes up to Machu Picchu.
It was definitely a lot of hard work, especially given the altitude, but so well worth it to hike Huayna Picchu – this was definitely one of the highlights of our trip.
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On Saturday, we left the Sacred Valley and headed to Machu Picchu. The route to Machu Picchu has not been completely repaired since the rain and mudslides this past January. We drove for just over 2 hours to board the train – usually you can take the train from Cusco or the Sacred Valley, but the tracks are still washed out in many places. After about 1 hour 30 minutes on the train, we arrived in Aguas Calientes – the closet town to Machu Picchu. From here, we took a 30 minute bus ride up to Machu Picchu – our hotel, the Sactuary Lodge, is the only hotel located at Machu Picchu. We spent the afternoon walking around the ruins. While Jeff took some amazing pictures of this ancient Incan site, I can honestly say that pictures don’t seem to do it justice – Machu Picchu is incredibly big, especially considering its location, and the views are breathtaking. It really is a very special place.
Boarding the train to Machu Picchu
View from our hotel room at the Sactuary Lodge – Huanyu Picchu Mountain in the background
Machu Picchu site with Huanyu Picchu Mountain in the background – we are planning to hike to the top of Huanyu Picchu in the morning.
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On Tuesday night our cruise ship headed for San Cristobal Island – going against the current made for an interesting time trying to pack all our stuff as the boat rocked up and down and back and forth. After a visit to the port town in San Cristobal, we spent most of Wednesday traveling to Lima where we stayed over night and left early Thursday morning for the Sacred Valley.
We spent 2 days in the Sacred Valley visiting the local markets, some Inca ruins, and adjusting to the altitude (about 8,700 feet).
We stopped at this scenic spot overlooking the Sacred Valley
We visited one of the local markets…
We saw this special castle just for guinea pigs….
guinea pig is a traditional dish served at special occasions in Cusco and the surrounding areas.
Next we visited a local food market with very few tourists – here people trade goods for the food they want.
Then we visited the Huayoccari Hacienda for lunch and to learn about weaving, a tradition that local women are trying to revive and preserve.
We also visited Ollantaytambo, the site of the Incas’ greatest victory against the Spanish.
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