ckendall

We completed the Inca Trail June 19 - 23. First, I want to let everyone know that yes, all 4 of us completed the trail, and all are well and healthy, albeit a tad stiff. This entry will cover the four days of the trip. On Sunday evening, June 18, our trekking company dropped of the two duffle bags for Kathryn and me that contained our sleeping bags, with room for our personal belongings up to 6 kg total. Bryan and Lloyd decided not to hire the additional .3 porter and instead they carried their own belongings. Packing our bags, I couldn't help but wonder if this really was a good idea. I consoled myself with the knowledge that many have completed this trek before, including some folks in their 70s that I met on my ... read more

Friday, June 16. In the afternoon we took the obligatory City Tour. The ruins above the city, Sacsayhuaman, are always impressive. The ruins continue to be restored, and more uncovered as the site expands. Workers were present assembling seats for the upcoming Inti Raymi festival. Our guide was a bit of a naturalist - he knew many of the native plants and herbs, showing us those that are good for various ailments. We also visited the Koricancha, which was the Inca Temple of the Sun. Unfortunately the gold was stripped from the site by the Spanish, and a church built on top of the Inca holy temple. We visited additional ruins beyond the Sacsayhuaman fortress, including Tambo Machay, an Inca ritual holy bath, where waters still flow. We dipped our hands in the water, so we ... read more

Yes, finally updating the travel blog! So far the trip has gone quite smoothly. I will be doing multiple entries today in order to catch up. The flights to Lima were good. Detroit to Newark smooth, and Newark to Lima we were quite excited to get the emergency row. That is, until we boarded and realized that the emergency row seats do not recline. Ugh. For a 7.5 hour trip not quite as comfortable as one would think. The line to process passports was slow - 45 minutes to pass through, then on to pick up the luggage. I was watching the 3 gates to pass through with luggage - in Lima you push a button - red light means you have to go through a customs search. Green light means you can simply pass through ... read more