5 down and 2 to go

5 what?  Wonders of the New World of course.

Petra - Been There. Colosseum - Done that. Great Wall - Climbed it. Christ the Redeemer - Seen it.

And now I can cross Machu Picchu off the list.

Machu Picchu did not disappoint. The view from the top of the terraces is breathtaking.

For those that don't know, Machu Picchu is an Inca site dating to the 1400s.  Most think it was an estate for one of the emperors.  It was abandoned during the Spanish conquest and was unknown to the outside world until 1911.

It was 21 flights of stairs to climb to the point where this picture was taken. We toured the top section, walked around to the drawbridge and then descended to explore the site itself.  I'll upload more pictures when I get to a place with a better internet connection.

Tomorrow, we are hiking up that pointy mountain behind the site.  Rumor has it that the climb includes ladders and ropes.

We are staying at the Inkaterra Hotel.  It is a collection of cottages and has some excellent restaurants.  More tomorrow...

Horses and Guinea Pig

Horse ride today in the Sacred Valley. Not much of a ride but the views were spectacular. We basically just plodded along at a walk.  The horses seemed well cared for.  They let me take my horse for a solo spin at the end of the ride so I could spend a few minutes actually riding.

Here's the group

And the view

After the ride, the guide dropped us off in the main square of Urubamba for shopping and lunch.  He recommended a restaurant but we could not find it so we went to a random one.  The lady serving us the food was fantastic. She did not speak a word of English and we speak virtually no Spanish.  With a lot of pointing and guessing, we learned that she had a woman from New York stay with her many years ago.  She showed us the pictures.  This prompted us to pull out our phones and show her pictures of our families.  The food was good.  Don't ask me what it was.  I hope I don't get sick from it.

As for shopping, we bought some ceramics at the only shopping place recommended in the Lonely Planet guide book.

To top off the day, I ate Guinea Pig for the first and last time.  It tastes like very salty duck.

We take the train to Machu Picchu tomorrow.

Ruins, salt and horses

Busy day today.  We walked, according to FitBit, 8.7 miles and climbed 30 flights of stairs.

We started at Ollantaytambo, a town and former royal estate of the Inca Emperor Pachacuti.  Visiting Ollantaytambo required climbing 23 flights of stairs.  

The view from the top is breathtaking as it sits at the junction of 3 major valleys in the Andes Mountains.  Fun fact: the snow line in the Andes is at 16,000 ft.  

Here is video from the climb.  

We had lunch at a ranch where we saw the famous Peruvian horses perform.  These horses are descendants of the horses ridden by the conquering conquistadors.  

Another day and more unusual food. Today, it was beef hearts. Not bad.

After lunch, we visited Moray.  This is another Incan site consisting of terraced circular depressions that look like they were built by aliens.  The current theory is that the Incas used this site to study growing crops under various conditions.

Our final stop was the salt beds of Maras.  This also dates to the times of the Incas.  There is an underground saltwater spring that the Incas diverted into channels to fill salt beds. Salt is mined as the water in the beds evaporates. The salt beds are owned by the town of Maras and each family has 5-7 salt beds to use as they please.  

We hiked down to the valley from the salt beds.  Salt beds are at 11,000 ft and the valley is at 9,000 ft. My altitude medicine seems to be working as I have not gotten those horrible headaches while sleeping like I had in Quito.

Tomorrow, we go on a horseback ride in the Sacred Valley. 

Urubamba

Our hotel is very luxurious which is not something I expected in Peru.

The indoor and outdoor pool. And, yes, I've already been for a swim.

I walked into the town but I think I made a wrong turn since there was not much to see. A bunch of convenience stores selling Inca Cola and farm stands.  A few restaurants. No shops.  I'll have to get directions from the hotel as there must be more to see in this town.  The main source of income in this part of Peru is tourism but I walked a long time and no one harassed me or tried to sell me anything.

These moto-taxis zip around carrying people to and fro.  Some of the them are quite fancy

Tomorrow we have a half day tour of Maras and Moray. They said to dress in layers since it is like winter in the morning and night and like summer during the day.  We all booked afternoon spa appointments at our fancy hotel.  

So that's what Alpaca tastes like

Today, we flew from Lima to Cusco and then drove to the Sacred Valley.

Cusco is high and you can really feel it when you walk around.  The Sacred Valley is slightly lower in elevation and is a welcome relief.

Views of the mountains on the drive down to the Sacred Valley.  At the bottom is the town Urubamba where we are staying for the next few days.

Made a new friend today

We stopped for a buffet lunch.  That's where I ate Alpaca. In a not surprising turn of events, it tastes like beef.  There were a lot of vegetable dishes, quinoa salads, spicy pepper salads and the famous Peruvian ceviche.  The other specialty item to eat here is Guinea Pig.  I'll have some of that before the trip is over. We also learned that Peru has over 3000 kinds of potatoes and that Alpacas like to live at elevations greater than 11,000 ft.

Arrived

In Peru.

Uneventful flights.  Bumpy but uneventful.

Staying at the airport hotel tonight.  It's nice not like the Travelodge at SFO that still haunts my dreams.

We fly to Cuzco in the morning.   I've started to take my altitude medication since Cuzco is at 11,000 ft above sea level.

More tomorrow...

Alright Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for the jungle

Off to Peru on April 26th.

Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu, Cuzco, Lima and into the Amazon.