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Blogs from Cusco, Peru, South America
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The Chuntachacka Reserve, Manu National Park
Published: May 23rd 2013South America » Peru » Cusco » Manu National Park
May 23rd 2013
Throughout the last 8 and a bit months we have done, day by day, exactly what we wanted to do. If we fancied visiting a temple we could, if we fancied a beer at 12pm we could and if we wanted to do nothing more than spend all day in bed we could (although we didn't). It has been incredible to do that but for us we decided we needed to do something productive and a little more structures for a while and so when the opportunity to work in the Manu Reserve came up we jumped at the chance. We saw the opportunity in in the most bizarre of locations, a local pub in Toogoolawa, Australia whilst visiting Laura's uncle. 5 months later and on a whole different continent we were boarding a tourist bus ... read more
May 20th 2013
Hello! Just wanted to give ya’ll a quick update. I arrived safely in Cusco, Peru! Travel was long- roughly 24 hours- and I spent the night awake in a Starbucks. Luckily, the Starbucks was full and I asked to sit at a table with a few girls, one who was wearing a Kappa Delta shirt! I asked her what school she went to and she said Cornell, and then I realized she was with Alma Sana! So I spent my overnight getting to know the girls I’ll be living with the next 3 months! There are going to be 6 of us living together. There will be a few other staff members coming in and out too, and one project manager who will be here with us the whole time. I’m the old fart of the ... read more
May 18th 2013
We completed the 4 day jungle trek to Machu Picchu around April 22, including over 50km of hiking(22 on the Inka trail), downhill mountain biking, zip lining, and amazon jungle ending at beautiful Machu Picchu at sun rise. At MP we walked through the Inka ruins, trekked the Inka bridge, Sun Gate, and Machu Picchu Mountain. It was all a bit surreal! Enjoy..... GandR... read more
Salkantay Trekking our way to Macchu Picchu
Published: May 23rd 2013South America » Peru » Cusco » Machu PicchuMay 12th 2013
Cusco is one of the top cultural cities of Peru filled with quirky shops, huge markets selling everything from wellies (which we bought) right down to deconstructed cows heads and plenty of opportunities to get your photo taken with a lamb or alpaca. This wasn't our main reason for coming though, the main reason was to eventually work our way to Macchu Picchu via the Salkantay trek. Coming from Colca Canyon we had already done a good few days walking and we were now ready for some more. Our first day in Cusco though was utilised by booking the trip and also finding some very good places to eat and drink. So we'd booked our trip with Viajes Cusco, in the Eco Packers hostel and eaten and full English breakfast at a small place called Jacks ... read more
May 9th 2013
* Today was our last day in Aguas Calientes. About half of our group went back to Machu Picchu for a short visit, and the other half of us stayed to visit the town. Matt and I were in the latter camp. I regretted it slightly. If Machu Picchu had been less crowded, and I could have felt like I could’ve just gone up and peacefully wandered for a bit, I’d have done it. But pushing your way between tour groups is just not peaceful. I’m so glad we did not hike the Inca trail. It would not have been as crowded as Machu Picchu, but it still would have been bad. * We wandered the town for a bit. I really found its haphazard/organic growth up the hill and around the many rivers in that ... read more
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Salkantay Trek with Mountain Lodges of Peru: Day 7!
Published: May 14th 2013South America » Peru » Cusco » Salkantay Trail
May 8th 2013
* Last night’s sleep was maybe the best of the trip for me, even though we went to bed a little after 9 to get up at 5 for Machu Picchu. Tony warned us these beds were magic, and he was right. I remember waking up very briefly and hearing the thunderous rain coming down outside, though. It was, as they say here, raining llamas and alpacas. Apparently Leslie was so startled that she tried to call Tony in the middle of the night to confirm we’d even be going to Machu Picchu, which was a bit silly because they’ve been making us prep for such weather the whole time. Fortunately, by morning, the rain was done. * There was already a line for the buses up to Machu Picchu at 6 AM, but they run ... read more
May 7th 2013
Some sights around Cusco area before doing our jungle trek to Machu Picchu...... read more
Salkantay Trek with Mountain Lodges of Peru: Day 6!
Published: May 14th 2013South America » Peru » Cusco » Salkantay Trail
May 7th 2013
* Our last day of trekking. Even though a bit of “vacation fatigue” is setting in, especially with the constant moving around. When I think about everything that has happened and everything we have seen, though, it feels like so much more life than a week normally brings, and so I am incredibly happy to have had every moment of it. * The morning was up, up, up, and the afternoon was down, down, down, down. The trail took us across and over a nearby ridge. Fortunately, the part that was most exposed was covered early (we left at 7), and we reached the top just as the sun was coming out, which involved entering another jungle-light forest. * Along the way, we ran into father and daughter who would cross our path many times later. ... read more
Salkantay Trek with Mountain Lodges of Peru: Day 5!
Published: May 14th 2013South America » Peru » Cusco » Salkantay Trail
May 6th 2013
* Today was our zip-line adventure (with Cola de Mono company) day. When Matt and I signed up, we assumed it was going to be an afternoon post-hiking activity, but it turns out it was at the same time as the hike, which was disappointing. Especially since the hike today stopped at a schoolhouse. Don’t get me wrong, zip-lining was a lot of fun, but getting to go in and talk with & play with the kids sounded amazing as well. Apparently, an international organization has been using that schoolhouse as a flagship program for creating better schools in the mountains. They have a program where the kids learn better nutrition, and they have also added better bathrooms, given them computers, and organized to have parents come in and cook the meals on a rotating basis. ... read more
Salkantay Trek with Mountain Lodges of Peru: Day 4!
Published: May 14th 2013South America » Peru » Cusco » Salkantay Trail
May 5th 2013
* Today was a late start, as things go around here. Which means we were on the trail at 8:30. Matt and I got up a little earlier than we needed to, though, so we could walk around the outside of the lodge again. The fog rolled in so early yesterday that we did not get to take another look at it after first arriving. I didn’t sleep well, at all, last night, so I didn’t mind getting out of bed. Being at the end of my day now, though, I think I did sleep more than I perceived I had. I only say that because I wasn’t tired today like I expected to after getting as little sleep as I thought I did. It could be because we went down in elevation (almost, a few ... read more
