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Peru 2009/2010

Peru Dec 09/Jan 10:
  • 5 days in Cuzco
  • 1 day Sacred Valley Tour
  • 4 day Trek on the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu
  • 4 days in Lima
We spent five days in Cuzco to do some sightseeing and acclimatize to the altitude before setting off on our 4 day trek on the Inca trail to Machu Picchu. During this time Tracey got pretty sick almost to the point where we were about to return home early. Luckily though, after seeing a doctor and taking some different medicines, she felt good enough to do the trek. Cuzco was a really cool city to explore, lots of history (both Inca and Spanish), and many Inca ruins to see. Since we were there for New Year's and the days leading up to it, there were nightly events at the city's main square, the Plaza de Armas. After spending some time in Cuzco, we began our guided trip with Gap Adventures. On the first day we saw different ruins and towns (such as Pisac and Ollantaytambo) in the Sacred Valley. Then we began our 4 day trek on the Inca Trail which would eventually lead us to Machu Picchu. Though it was a guided trek with porters that carried all of the group gear and up to 6kg (13lbs) of our personal gear, it was still more challenging than I had expected. On the second day we hiked through a pass in the mountains that took us above 13,000ft and the third day was our longest mileage day. We experienced pretty wet and rainy conditions on the 2nd and third day as well. Luckily, we did get some sun and blue skies on our final day of the trek at Machu Picchu, which was just an absolutely amazing and awe-inspiring place. It is a beautiful site that everyone should go and visit, just maybe not during the rainy season. After our trek ended we flew back to Lima and spent a couple of days there. I wasn't too impressed with Lima as it felt like another big city with a lot of pollution, but it did have some impressive Spanish architecture.
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Inca TrailPeruIMG9902

  • Luckily the tents were pretty nice and stayed dry inside for the most part.
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  • These were the duffels that we each got to put 13kg (6lbs) of our personal belongings into for the porters to carry. They were pretty strict about not going over that weight which also included your sleeping bag and pad. Every morning we would pack our duffels and pile them up for the porters to divvy up into their giant packs.
  • The clouds and fog opened up a bit the next morning to show us the valley we camped in.
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  • Ready for our third and longest distance day of hiking.
  • Our campsite was on the terraces below the waterfalls.
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  • Another steep climb early on the third day.
  • On our third day we stopped again at a spot to have a lunch prepared by our porters. It was a nice break in the day, but we still had A LOT of hiking left to do that day. Unfortunately it was foggy and rainy the rest of the day so we didn't see much of a view.
  • Elevation at lunch spot: 11,876ft.
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  • Phuyupatamarca ruins.
  • Phuyupatamarca ruins, some more Inca ruins we came across. There were many outposts the Incas built as places to stop and spend the night along the Inca Trail.
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  • This was the spectacular view we got on the morning of the 4th day on our way to the Sun Gate and eventually Machu Picchu. Beautiful, lush green mountains.
  • This was the spectacular view we got on the morning of the 4th day on our way to the Sun Gate and eventually Machu Picchu. Beautiful, lush green mountains.
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