Ok, it's o'dark thirty and we were up in the dark trying to get organized to be one of the first at the checkpoint to enter Machu Picchu. Once the site opens at 5:00 am, we hiked on to the Sun Gate where we were to get our first fantastic views of Machu Picchu. What they don't tell you is that on a typical morning Machu Picchu is concealed my fog/clouds. That was a disappointment and there were too many people gathered at this small area. We continued on to the next opportunity for an overlook...the fog was lifting. As we stood there, Machu Picchu revealed itself to us. Eddy also revealed a box of red T-shirts emblazoned with the LlamaPath logo...we were more than willing to advertise what had proven to be a great outfitter. ... read more

At day break, we are greeted at the entry of our tent by porters delivering hot coca tea and a bowl of warm water to wash our hands. Quickly packed our stuff so porters could pack the tent as we ate breakfast. "Today is considered by many to be the hardest day of the trek; approx. ten hours, with 2 high passes (Dead Woman's Pass is the highest at 4200m / 13779ft) to cross and nearly 16km to walk. We get fantastic views of the high mountain ranges as we cross the 2 passes and will have the chance to visit 2 Inca sites , Runcuraccay and Sayacmarca. We will also see a variety of plant and life in the Polylepsis forests that cover this area and hopefully spot White Tailed Deer as we near Dead ... read more

We had such a good experience with Javier, Phil and I decided to take his Southern Valley tour. The tour of the Southern Valley involving visits to Tipon, Pikkillaqta and Andahuaylillas, lesser visited sites on the normal tourist route. As we made our way, Javier pointed out the different small towns that specialized in various foods. One town was known for pork, another for breads, another for guinnea pig. Then he pointed out a lake, very rare in this area...this town was know for duck. Tipon is a stunning example of Inka engineering used as a temple to water and agriculture. The site was probably used as a laboratory of agricultural products because of the various micro-climates found within the complex. (Inca developed some 8,000 different kinds of potatoes) Besides being an archa... read more

(I've embedded a number of websites...right click on web address and select "Open Link in New Tab") I was scheduled to depart 5:30pm arriving in Lima at 11:30pm, think it is central time. Sitting in the airport, I cannot get my head around the fact that a casual conversation over beer and lunch, on Phil's deck, has resulted in a trip of a life time. A big thanks to Phil for all the efforts to put a conversation into action. Also a big thanks to Lydia, my daughter, for taking on the responsibilities of taking care of my granddaughter Adelyn, not to mention the Wood Ducklings. And, of course, Ruth, who has supported and put up with me for 41 years. (If you are reading this sentence, just be aware that the blog entries for Peru ... read more

How can you go on your first trip to Tuscany and not see the Leaning Tower of Pisa. We wanted Lynn and Mike to take it in. So after saying good-bye to the gorgeous coast we headed south to Pisa...and are we glad that we did. They have done an amazing restoration to the buildings and the grounds. The buildings colors were fully displayed in the sun lit day...not the dirty, dingy grey I remember from last time. After touring the buildings and grounds we headed of to Florence. Pisa is really overridden with the cheap touristy stuff...kinda a shame. From Pisa we drove to Lucca to visit the walled city and have some lunch at a small restaurant on one of many piazzas. Then we pretty much drove thru Florence to get up in the ... read more