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A bus tour of the Sacred Valley of the Incas is on the agenda today. After a quick stop at a little market, we entered Pisac, a huge site with terraces, water ducts, ruins and best of all stunning views of the valley and the Urubamba River. It’s a Spanish creation built on top of an old Inca settlement. This was our first real hike and gave Jason his first little taste of stairs next to steep dropoffs. Not his favorite!

After lunch we visted the ruins in Ollantaytambo, the real highlight of the day. They say Manco Inca hid from the Spanish here for a short time. It’s a gorgeous fortress and temple high above the valley. At the top is the unfinished Sun Temple.

We ended the day at an ornate 17th century church built on Inca foundations in Chinchero.

Finally, the altitude isn’t bothering us at all today. We decided to spend our last full day here doing a walking tour (self-guided) of the ruins in and just around Cusco. We took a taxi to Puca Pucara (archeologists believe it was an Inca hunting lodge) thinking we’d hike back toward Cusco on a trail described in our travel book. Obviously we were the only ones with this idea. The trail was hard to find and follow, and we never saw another person while hiking it. Just glad we didn’t get lost. In the end we were happy we did this. For at least a little while we felt like we were the only two people on Earth, hiking through the Andes. Life doesn’t get much better.

Eventually we found our way to Salapunco, a big limestone rock with great views from the top, and the second stop on our tour. Next up is Qenko (the big Puma out front) where we met a nice couple from Cusco who were studying English. They gave us a free tour of the sacred site so they could practice their English.

Finally we ended our tour at Sacsayhuaman (pronounced something like sexy woman).The size of the stones at this place is incredible. It’s so hard to believe the Incas were able to move them around, much less place them in a meaningful manner. The biggest is estimated to be 8.5 meters high and weighs 361 tons. They’re not really sure what this site was, but probably a temple, and it was used as a fortress at some point too. From here we took a cab back to the center of town.

Tonight we had our pre-trek orientation, so we got to meet the rest of the group. Looks like we all live in the U.S. and one couple is even from Dallas. Small world! Can tell we’ll love our guides. Back to our hotel to pack up for the hike. Originally we were going to carry our full packs, but at the last minute we decided to have a chaski carry some of our stuff. We’ve heard lots of horror stories about people carrying their own packs, so we decided this might not be the time to be tough! We’ll probably only do this trip once in our life, so we want to enjoy it.

Finally, the reason we’re here. We caught a bus at 6 a.m. to head to the start of the Inca trail at (KM 82). Our first day of walking was pretty easy, and for a second we even thought we might not have a hard time at all! We were wrong. But it was a great day where we saw great views of a snow-covered Mount Veronica and passed through a few villages. We were absolutely blown away at lunch and at every meal to come over the next four days. The food was truly gourmet. It was just amazing what they were able to pull off in the middle of the mountains. Every night when we got to camp we had tea time (loved the poppy corny!) before another fabulous dinner. Our chef was really amazing.

What we learned during day 1: First, how can you not be thrilled to be here? The scenery is truly amazing everywhere you turn. We love our guides (Saul and Jose) and everyone in our group. You lose your breath going uphill much faster than it seems you should.

We walked a little more than 8.5 miles today. We also saw our first Inca site, Llactapata, from above.

Today was supposed to be the hardest day of the trek, and it was, but I think it was the best day too. How can a day go bad when a glass of coca tea is brought to your tent at wake up time?

It felt like it took ages, but we finally made it to the top of Dead Woman’s Pass! We hiked from about 9,842 feet to 13,750 feet. It was a slow hike, but the views were amazing, and really we made it without too many problems. But it was tough to get going again after lunch, knowing we had another pass to cross. I had a little bit of a headache (maybe the altitude, maybe the heat) but a dunk in the river seemed to fix that. Saul has an easy solution for everything.

On the way to the next pass we got to see Runkuraqay, the egg-shaped ruins. The important lesson at this one: sleeping with llamas is stinky. We were also lucky because we got to see a black bear! It was Saul’s second in 13 years on the trail, so I guess it’s pretty rare. It looked huge from where we were. Couldn’t get a good photo though. Just before camp we stopped at Sayaqmarka, probably a market for the people of MP.

Tonight’s camp is the coldest of all the nights. But nothing tea and a little poppy corny couldn’t cure. And we finished the day with a surprise: juice mixed with Incan rum. We’ll sleep well tonight.

Today’s toll: About 7.5 miles, but the up and down was killer!

Most of the trail is made of original Inca stones beginning on the third day. When the Incas were fleeing the Spaniards, they destroyed much of the trail to conceal their path, but only up to this point. Today was one of my favorites (I think I say this everyday though). It was easy hiking compared to yesterday’s passes. Much of the hike today was through the forest with lots of flowers and other vegetation. There were about 2,000 steps down though, so it was a tough day on the knees. On our way to camp we stopped at Phuyupatamarka, the town in the clouds. We had great weather, so we were able to see Machu Picchu Mountain, and it’s neighbor, Happy Mountain, from here. The end was in sight!

We only hiked for about five hours today (about 10 miles) before lunch and then we were at camp. And guess what… there were showers! I didn’t think I’d take one, but I also didn’t think I’d smell so bad. So a shower it is. Too bad they didn’t come with clean clothes… Jason, content in his stench, skipped the shower.

Later that afternoon we took a five minute walk to Winaywayna, the best of all the ruins we’ve seen along the way, but nothing compared to what we’ll see tomorrow.

This campsite also had a bar/restaurant to hang out at, and I think we felt like we deserved a few beers! Had to pace ourselves though. Wake-up call is 4 a.m. tomorrow so we can get to the Sun Gate early. This was a nice night because we finally got to meet all the chaskis who are making the trip with us. It’s just amazing what they carry and how hard they work to make these trips happen. And they do it all with a smile and a good attitude. We couldn’t have the great trip we’re having without them.

We don’t usually get up at 4 a.m., but if anything will get us out of bed it’s the end of our hike to Machu Picchu! (Only a little over 4 miles to go!) After a fast breakfast we got in line at the checkpoint to the trail, which opened at 5:30 a.m. The first part of the hike was in the dark but soon the sun was out and not too many steps later (including about 30 huge, steep steps up) we were at the Sun Gate. Here we got our first glimpse of the great city. Another 45 minutes or so and we arrived at Machu Picchu. The city is much bigger than you can imagine when looking at photos. Everywhere you look, the views are stunning and the stone work is amazing.

Saul gave us nice tour of some of the best parts of the city, and the rest of the afternoon we just roamed around this once lost city. After several long days of hiking and years and years of dreaming of being there, it was hard to believe we were actually in the city of Machu Picchu. The photos say it better than we can, but the immensity of the city is striking. Agricultural terraces, many religious temples, the royal palace, and the huge urban district. It was a lot to take in, but we saw a lot of the city and took a long, well-deserved rest in the grass.

We all got to have one last lunch together in Aguas Calientes before some of the group headed back to Cusco with Jose and Saul. The destination for the rest of us: The hot springs. We were a little worried when we asked Saul and Jose about the springs. All they said was to take a shower when we were done. So we weren’t expecting greatness! All I’ll say is, if you make this trip, don’t feel bad skipping the hot springs. They’d be better named “dirty pools of kind of warm water.”

So we showered. And then crashed. Probably would have slept through dinner, but they came and woke us up. Didn’t realize dinner was waiting on us!

Since we did the hot springs yesterday, there wasn’t a lot left to explore in AC. So we shopped. (Kari was desperate for some clean clothes.) And we had a nice, long lunch with Bill, Jane, Pam and Alen in the square. It was Mother’s Day, so there was a celebration going on in the square. Celebration might be pushing it. More like kid karaoke. But they all were having a great time, and it was evident how important mothers are in their culture.

We had a nice train ride back to Cusco on the Vistadome train. Big windows with nice views. Not too speedy though! Our hotel tonight (Amaru) is fantastic. Huge room, great view of the city. Wish we had stayed here the entire time.

It was great to get a good night’s sleep in a nice bed. But it’s our last day, so we have to make the most of it. We decided to hit some of the museums we never got to check out. We also had a few long cups of coffee (saw an FC Dallas shirt at the first place we were at) and a traditional lunch: Alpaca! It was really tasty. Better than steak even… But I’m afraid to say we’re going home without trying the guinea pig. We just couldn’t bring ourselves to do it. Anything served with teeth intact is a little too much for me.

The big place we visited today was the Temple of the Sun. Gorgeous gardens and architecture. It’s a mix between Incan and Spanish architecture. The rest of the day we just strolled around, enjoying our last glimpses of this great city.

Twenty-one hours later, we were home. We won’t bore you with stories of canceled flights and such, but I will say, we wish we were on a balcony in Cusco’s square right now. If only the flights had been cancelled for good…