On the morning of June 26th, we had another nice breakfast at the lodge and then took a mid-morning boat ride back to Puerto Maldonado and then spent a couple of hours in the airport, there, where I ordered a pizza and gave half of it away. We flew to Cuzco and arrived at the Hotel Antawasi about mid-afternoon. We took a short time to get organized and then set off for a quick tour of Cuzco.
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| The Temple of the Sun |
Our hotel was just around the corner from the Church of Santo Domingo, which had been built atop the Temple of the Sun. The Spanish located all their principal churches in Cuzco atop the former Inca temples after they captured Cuzco in 1532. Today, the Temple of the Sun is a subterranean museum. We did not stop to visit, but continued down the hill and across to the main square.
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| Roast Guinea Pig for Sale |
My visa had not arrived at the Bolivian consulate, but I did manage to buy a new suitcase on our way back to the hotel, which was good because the festival had delayed us and there was no time to go to a mall to buy one. We had our briefing for our treks at 18:00 and arranged to rent sleeping bags and any other necessary gear. Our guide was out on the trail, so our briefing was conducted by someone else. There were only four of us hiking the Quarry Trail: two New Zealanders from our group, one 18-year old kid from another group, and me. Adrien, the kid, had chosen the Quarry Trail on purpose. The rest of us had failed to obtain permits for the Inca Trail. The Quarry Trail was a day shorter, but climbed higher. We saw fewer Inca ruins, but plenty of pre-Inca ones, leading me to dub it the Pre-Inca Trail.
After the briefings, we had a beautiful dinner in the restaurant downstairs from the Intrepid office. I wasn’t very hungry and just had an appetizer of tequeños, a cheese stuffed wonton stick served with guacamole, typical of the crazy fusion of cuisines found in Peru.
On the 27th, we drove up into the Sacred Valley, stopping in the late morning at a community of herders and weavers who produced textiles in the traditional manner. They greeted us with garlands of scarlet cantuta flowers and welcomed us into their compound where they introduced themselves and wanted to know all about each of us.
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| Cantuta Garland |
After the lengthy introductions, they demonstrated how they process the raw wool into yarn and dye it using natural colors. The process was identical to that used by the weavers in Oaxaca, although the style of the weaving was quite different. They also showed us some of their foods and how to swaddle a Peruvian infant.
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| All the Different Colors That Come from Cochineal |
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| How to Swaddle a Peruvian Infant |
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| Emily |
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| Allison and Dierdre |
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| The Men from Our Group Dressed as Herders |
They served us a nice lunch of soup, some of that tortilla we had all wanted to try, and two kinds of potatoes. Then we went back outside where they dressed us in traditional clothes so we could take pictures. Everyone was having a great time. Julio, the sole Peruvian male, got a kick out of seeing the photos of the sheep and llama on my friends’ ranch in California and I was once again grateful for the ability to chat with the locals in Spanish, although some of them spoke only Quechua. After posing with the llamas, most of us bought something from them. Not needing any warm clothing, I just bought a few trinkets for friends.
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| One of Our Hostesses with Her Llama |
Next, we continued on for another hour through amazing scenery and stopped at a viewpoint overlooking the Sacred Valley.
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| The Sacred Valley |
Later, we stopped for hot chocolate at a restaurant called Ama that Intrepid supports. The restaurant is a project to provide employment for women with children. The children are allowed to come to work with their mothers. They also sold some lovely artisanal chocolate and I bought a bar with salt to munch on the trail.
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| Ama |
July 3, 2025
Bus
Somewhere Between Cuzco and Puno, Peru
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| Hotel in Ollantaytambo |
We arrived in Ollantaytambo about 16:00. Our hotel was a collection of buildings with rooms off exterior corridors. They had nice views and surrounded a verdant garden where llamas and alpacas grazed. I was tired, but headed out to explore because I had heard that Ollantaytambo was fascinating. Ollantaytambo must have been a pre-Inca town, but was definitely inhabited during the Incan Empire. The pilgrims that ventured to MachuPicchu may well have come from there. The old part of the town was extensive, all built of mud and stone. An Incan ruin climbed the hillside, but it closed at 17:00, so I didn;t have time to visit it.
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| Ancient Meets Modern in Ollantaytambo |
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| Ollantaytambo Market |
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| Ollantaytambo Street |
We met at 18:00 for dinner. I ordered alpaca in elderberry sauce. It was quite delicious and I ate all the meat, even though the altitude had curtailed my appetite. Unfortunately, I didn’t feel too well, afterwards and spent a large part of the night in the bathroom vomiting. Fortunately, it was a spacious room and I didn’t wake Emily.
The morning of June 28th, we met for breakfast at 6:00 and then separated into two groups for our hikes. Thirteen of us went to hike the Inca Trail and the three of us who had been unable to obtain permits left with our guide, Silvia, to hike the Quarry Trail. We stopped to pick up the fourth member of our party, Adrien from another group, on the way to the trailhead.
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| Offerings Were Left in This Niche |
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| Inside Naupa Iglesia |
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| Stairs to Naupa Iglesia |
Our first stop was at Naupa Iglesia (Old Church), a pre-Incan temple. The temple had been carved into the rock of a triangular cave that mimicked the shape of the mountain they held sacred. It was quite a ways up the slope, so they had constructed terraced retaining walls and a long staircase to reach the temple. Inside, an altar had been meticulously carved into the stone of the cave wall. Unfortunately, some of the carvings had been dynamited by modern treasure hunters. I can’t imagine what they hoped to find inside solid stone.
After we finished visiting the temple, we piled back into the van and drove up a very steep gravel road to the Mirador Raqaypata, which sported a red flag. This was the official starting point of the Quarry Trail. Why they started it at the top of the hill was a mystery to me because we spent all morning walking downhill, past a few ancient tombs, to the town of Socma where we stopped to use the bathroom and admire the llamas and guinea pigs in the park that served the trail.
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| Me Before the Quarry Trail |
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| The Quarry Trail Starts at the Flag |
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Tombs on the Quarry Trail
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| Guinea Pigs in the Park |
After walking uphill for a couple of hours, we met our cook and horse drivers who had set up the kitchen and dining room tents and served us a delightful lunch, complete with a guacamole appetizer, served with wonton in the shape of a llama. We were suitably impressed with Francisco, our chef.
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| Our First Lunch |
After lunch, we followed a stream up a steep valley to the Catarata Perolniyoc, an 80 meter high waterfall. After snapping a few photos, we continued up the increasingly steep trail until we reached the top of the waterfall where the valley opened out a bit. I was still a bit shaky after my bad night and found that stretch the most difficult of the entire hike.
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| Me at Catarata Perolniyoc |
We gained something like 3,000 feet of altitude that day. A couple of hours after lunch, we reached another pre-Inca ruin with well preserved terraces, drainage, and temples. Some roofs had been reconstructed to protect the original mud and stone walls. They also served to give us an idea of how the place must once have looked.
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| Pre-Inca Buildings |
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| Pre-Inca Site |
We ground upward through terraced field after terraced field until we reached our first camp at the elevation of 12.500 feet. Our tents, mattresses, and duffel bags awaited us and I immediately took an hour’s nap. I felt much better by the time they served us tea and snacks at 16:15. We sat in the dining tent, chatting, until dinner was served at 17:15. All of our meals began with chicken and vegetable soup of one sort or another. That night’s dinner was delectable trout, served with the obligatory potatoes. The trout was amazing, but I wasn’t about to repeat the previous night’s error and only ate until I started to feel full.
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| We Kept Climbing |
It was very cold and dark by the end of dinner and we all crawled into our tents, right away. Remarkably, I had cellular data, so managed to surf the net for an hour or so before crashing. I woke up about midnight because the campsite was sloping and the nylon sleeping bag slid on the nylon mattress which slid on the plastic ground cover. My feet were crammed against the freezing wall of the tent. Getting up to put on my shoes and venture out to the toilet tent was a necessary evil. I didn’t sleep well after that.
Silvia greeted me at 6:00 on the 29th with a hot cup of coca tea. We had covered about 10 kilometers the first day and the second day’s walk covered 16 kilometers. I felt fantastic. The dawn was inspiring and we had nice hot cereal, toast, and eggs for breakfast before we started walking.
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| View from Our First Campsite |
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| We Climbed Through Terraced Fields |
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| Our Guide Silvia |
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| The Trail to the Pass |
Our morning’s walk took us up and up through terraced fields. Trees grew sparser until all was grassland, but people were still farming above 13,000 feet. The air was thin but the trail was less steep than the previous day’s. Maybe I was finally becoming acclimated because my pace was much faster than Debbie and Ian’s. Adrien would try to keep up with me, but eventually fall behind. I waited for the group atop Pasa Puca Puggio, at 4,400 meters, just slightly lower than Mt. Whitney. From there, we got our first glimpse of Veronica, the tallest peak in the Urubamba Range. It was breathtaking. When the rest of the group caught up, they took a short rest and then we proceeded slightly downhill to a small depression where our lunch camp had been established.
After lunch, we continued to traverse along a ridge. I was scampering ahead and stopped to wait atop a saddle that I had mistaken for the second pass. Unfortunately, we still had a ways to go before we reached the second pass.
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| Pasa Buena Negra |
Pasa Buena Negra was another 4,400 meter pass but was rocky instead of the open, grassy saddles we had been seeing. I waited for the group at the pass, but knew that once we started down the steep, rocky path to our second campsite, our paces would be incompatible. The others were all using trekking poles. Experience had taught me that I only tripped on them. Looking for places to set my poles slowed me down. I had a lifetime of experience with walking on slippery rocks and I quickly lost sight of the group. It was selfish of me, but I felt so fabulous that I just wanted to move at my own speed.
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| Descent from Pasa Buena Negra |
The weather deteriorated after the second pass and grew misty. We hiked in and out of the clouds. Unfortunately, by the time I reached Inti Punku (the Sun Gate) it was raining and very cold. I huddled in the gate for about ten minutes, waiting for the others, before I saw our tents below. I still couldn’t see the others and I was getting very cold and wet. I decided to make a run for camp. Despite having already waited for 10 minutes, I arrived a full hour before the others.
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| Inti Punku (Sun Gate) |
Silvia, having underestimated my ability to follow tracks, had grown concerned that I might have gotten lost and had sent Francisco back up to look for me. Fortunately, I met him just above the campsite. Wilbur, one of the drovers, admitted that they had also hurried down out of the rain. I got there before they had even set up the toilet tent.
The others arrived shortly before dark. We had tea and then dinner in short order before retiring. Everybody was tired. While we were still up about 12,500 feet, I once again had internet and spent the evening chatting with friends and editing photos before stuffing my duffel bag under my feet to keep myself from sliding down the hill and going to sleep.
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| Our Crew on the Dawn of the Third Day |
Silvia had forgiven me by morning and greeted me at 5:00 with a cup of muña (similar to pennyroyal) tea. None of us could stomach the quinoa porridge, but there were eggs and toast and we were soon on our way down through the quarry that had provided the stone to build Ollantaytambo. While there were rocks in some areas, the trail was mostly good. Adrien and I moved faster than Debbie and Ian, but stopped frequently to look at interesting sights along the way. The
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| Stones Lining the Trail |
Incas had lined their trails with small vertical stones to indicate the path when it was foggy or snowy. We followed their path down through the quarry. We saw a carved grindstone used to make sand for mortar and several places where blocks had been carved out of larger pieces. Half finished blocks littered the landscape. In the center of the quarry was a terrace that had been used for working stone. Ollantaytambo, like MachuPicchu, had been constructed where a fault had already fractured the stone, making it easier to work.
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| Pre-Inca Tombs |
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| The Square in Ollantaytambo |
We killed time in Ollantaytambo until it was time to head for our train to Aguas Calientes. We stopped at the hotel where we had stayed, previously, to retrieve the clean clothes and excess weight we had left behind and then proceeded to the train station. At the hotel, we met Lynn, another member of our group who had abandoned the Inca Trail after the first day. She was happy to see us, although Intrepid had been unable to get her a room in the same hotel in Aguas Calientes. We all took the pleasant hour and forty-five minute train ride down the river to Aguas Calientes. The train is the only way to access Machu Picchu and was quite a tourist event. They had snack service and entertainment along the way.
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| The Plaza in Aguas Calientes |
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| My First Pisco Sour |
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| My Dinner in Aguas Calientes |
Our hotel was at the top of the town and none of us were pleased to drag our duffels up the hill. The hotel was very nice and modern. For once, I had a private room and I showered and then did absolutely nothing until we met for dinner. Dinner was a fine affair in a restaurant down near the train tracks. We did get to see where we would have to meet our bus to Machu Picchu in the morning. I had been abstaining from alcohol in an attempt to prepare for the hike and finally got a chance to try a pisco sour, the national drink of Peru. I ordered chicharrÏŒn with risotto and it was fabulous. The altitude was enough lower that I managed to eat two-thirds of it. Despite being in a happening town, we trudged back up the hill to bed because we had a 5:00 start the next day.
July 3, 2025
Colonial Plaza Hotel\
Puno, Peru
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| Waiting for the Bus to Machu Picchu |
I got up at 4:30 on July 1st because we were meeting for breakfast at 5:00. We left the hotel at 6:00, leaving behind our duffle bags, to walk down to the bottom of town to line up for our bus to Machu Picchu. Our entrance time was 7:00. Signs were posted along the street where people with each entrance time were directed to queue. It was raining and I thought I was buying a plastic poncho but ended up with a weird plastic raincoat. It fit over my backpack, but made it impossible to remove the pack to get anything out of it. It seemed like we waited for nearly an hour before we were finally able to board the bus.
It was still quite a trek up a narrow, snaking road to the entrance gate for circuits two and three. Circuit one was for people entering from the Inca Trail. The road was completed in 1948. What is today a luxury hotel next to the gate was originally a supply depot for the road construction. While the government would like to get the hotel out of the park, it continues to be private property and the owners have money and influence.
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| We Saw Nothing But Clouds on the Ride Up |
We saw almost nothing but clouds on the ride up and dallied at the gate, hoping the weather would clear. It didn’t. We finally entered and then took our time following the circuit up through the farming terraces to a large, flat area near the top. There, we spent another hour waiting for the clouds to lift and hoping to get the iconic view of Machu Picchu. Hundreds of tourists vied for a spot along the edge where they could snap a photo if the mist thinned. It came and went, but never cleared enough to really see the mountain. After waiting in vain for an hour, we were getting cold and impatient and continued on around the circuit.
The circuits have been designed with consistent height, wooden steps and walkways of plastic grids to prevent erosion and mud. It was all very well planned and served to funnel large numbers of visitors through the site without making it seem too overcrowded.
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| Temple of the Three Windows |
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| Temple of the Sun |
After climbing up the farming terraces, we descended through the temple complex, the quarry, and a garden displaying some of the plants that were cultivated there.
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| The Quarry |
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| View from the Garden |
We visited the Temple of the Three Windows with its carefully carved stone blocks and giant altar. Then we strolled along above the ceremonial courtyard and up past free-roaming llamas grazing on the terraces. The weather stayed moody and we felt like we were in an Indiana Jones movie. At one point, our guide, Silvia, took us on a detour onto the third circuit so that we could see the impressive Temple of the Condor. The scenery was majestic and the clouds added to the atmosphere. Apparently, the weather is often misty at Machu Picchu, so we got a taste of what it would have been like to live there.
