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Published: June 15th 2010
Day 2 - Monday
Happy Birthday Jen!
Gabriel also makes breakfast which was fruit salad, scrambled eggs, bread with some local jams made out of fruit that I cannot remember the name of, fresh squeezed orange juice, and French pressed coffee. After our big breakfast we wanted to take the small hike to the waterfall nearby (takes about 40 min each way) with Leica, Gabriel and Brian’s eldest dog. Leica leads the way and back (ok there were a couple of distractions on her part with other dogs but overall she got us there). It was nice out in the countryside and you cannot pass a single person here without them saying “Buenos Dias!”
The altitude hasn’t effected us that much (we did get a prescription prior to leaving which helps) other than a minor headache yesterday, and being completely out of breath when you shouldn’t be when hiking today. It is pretty amazing how quickly a lot of huffing and puffing comes with minimal exertion.
After the hike we took a taxi to Ollantaytambo (say that 3 times fast) which is the only original intact Incan city. The roads and most of the buildings are original,
Peruvian Tuscany
On the way to the waterfall with Leica our guide dognow occupied by businesses and families. There are large ruins there that were impressive. There are large terraces there which once guarded the Inca Complex, which is one of the few places that the Conquistadors lost a major battle in 1536. The Incans showered them with arrows, spears, and boulders before flooding the bottom.
We climbed all the way to the top…having to stop more times than we would like to admit to get more O2 in our systems! The view from the top was muy bueno.
We had lunch in a local café and ordered Alpaca, which was good but a little tough. They served it with a nice sauce and vegetables, which made it much better. We also had out first Peruvian beer, which proved to be quite good as well. There wasn’t much daylight time left after lunch, so we wandered the local streets exploring and looking for photo ops. Our taxi driver back to Huaran was very nice. I am relying on my high school Spanish which if you can imagine is not great. However, our driver spoke slowly and I kinda think we had a conversation. It was pretty cool! We are back
at the Green House with another great dinner on the way.
Tomorrow we take the train to Machu Picchu! Yeah!
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Tom Lyle
non-member comment
Alpaca
Alpaca sounds tough, but they are good for backpacking......so you get tired hiking, everyone does....you get used to it....have MORE fun. good to hear from you!