Tag Archives: machu picchu

Machu Picchu- Take 2

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The day started really well.  We pigged out at the buffet.

Another perk of the hotel that is INVALUABLE- you tell them what time you want to be picked up, and someone from the hotel goes and gets in the bus line for you, and then you step outside of the hotel, and voila- the bus stops and picks you up.  Just like that. It’s magic.  I won’t tell you the dirty looks we got.  and wow- is that how the other half lives? If so- AWESOME!  I’m jealous.

 

Anyways, Day 2 was infinitely better.  The sky was clear, and in the afternoon- we had AMAZING, sunny weather.

Machu Picchu is one of those places that you could take a million pics of, and it’s still not enough.  It is truly so remarkable, and so beautiful.  And so advanced.  How did they build all of that so many years ago?

Here are just a few of the millions of pics we took.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Friday!!

Machu Picchu- Take 1

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We had fantastic weather the ENTIRE time we were in Peru.

Except the day we went to Machu Picchu.

We had to get up at 330am to get in line for the bus, and when we got up there, it was cloudy.  We kept thinking that the clouds would burn off and the sun would shine on us, but nope- it started to monsoon.

In some ways, it was very pretty to see Machu Picchu in this mysterious setting.  But really, it wasn’t that cool.

Highlight of the day?

Overpriced hot chocolate with the group under shelter from the rain.

Bummertastic!

 

 

We abandoned ship, and checked into our hotel- The Sumaq.  It is the only 5 star in Aguas Calientes.  It was awesome.  Normally, this would’ve been an overindulgence.  But since we checked in at 1030am, and spent the entire day in the bed watching TV and eating room service, it was fantastic.

Also fantastic:

-the view from our room

-the chocolate platter they put in your room in the afternoon

-tea time

-free pisco sours at happy hour

-free dinner including the best cocktails ever

-free breakfast with the best hot chocolate ever

Thankfully, we had a second chance at Machu Picchu the next day…

 

 

p.s.- I would like to wish my awesome SIL a Happy Birthday today!!

 

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The Machu Picchu Trek

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We did an awesome trek with Lorenzo Expeditions.  I highly recommend this trek.  It is an adventure trek that includes downhill mountain biking, white water rafting, ziplining, as well as hiking.  You stay in hostels with private baths and hot water every night.

We were lucky that we had an awesome group.

 

 

 

 

And the next day…we went up to Machu Picchu.

 

 

Travels: Peru- Part 1: Pre-Trek

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We had the best trip ever to Peru.  Peru is fantastic.  I will enumerate the reasons later.

We had 2 weeks to go and see the best of Peru, and this we did.

We started in Cusco, acclimating to the altitude before our 4D/3N trek to Machu Picchu.  This is key.  You will get some degree of altitude sickness.  You don’t need diamox either, just lots of coca tea.

Cusco is a beautiful and charming town.  I never felt like we were there too long.  We stayed at the Hotel Encantada.  We LOVE this hotel.  It’s beautiful, quaint, clean, and always smells wonderfully.  At night, it gets quite cold in Cusco.  This hotel provides hot water pouches to place by your feet in bed.  It is seriously heavenly.  We were so lucky, and got the best room ever, Room 206, which overlooks the city.  It has a beautiful little balcony where we’d drink tea and eat chocolate.

There is a lot to see in and around Cusco.  One good thing to do prior to going to Machu Picchu is to spend time in the Sacred Valley.  There are a few cities that are very lovely to visit on a day trip.  Pisaq has a huge market.  We visited ruins at Ollantaytambo.  And Chinchero is known for its handwoven textiles.  If you are bored in Cusco (which you shouldn’t be), another fun thing to do is to take a cooking class.  We took an amazing one with Erick; I’ll elaborate on this in a later post.

 

Here are a few collages of places visited before the trek:

 

 
I’m already missing Peru…lots.