BRWesty

Geo: -12.0432, -77.0282We decided to get a tour guide for our final day. We wanted to see some of the city's major cultural sites and, for $160US we were able to hire a car and guide from Lima Cabs for the bulk of the day. Originally, Mike had wanted to make arrangements to try and go fishing for a day since this is a coastal city, but we were surprised to find very few recreational or sport fishing opportunities available here. I think the fish are here, but the travel industry hasn't expanded to fill this niche yet.Our guide, Fernando, picked us up at 9 and we headed south along the coast toward Pachacamac, some Incan and pre-Incan ruins that are currently being excavated, restored and conserved. The visit to the site started with a funny ... read more

Geo: -12.143, -77.0186For those of you reading this in "real time," there is a gap for the days we were out on the Inca Trail. Good news: we made it! Obviously we didn't have the time or internet connection to blog while hiking 26+ miles over and around mountains, so I'll have to go back and fill in the blanks when I return. I think the common reaction of everyone in our hiking group was that it was an epic experience, well worth doing and we never want to do it again.We got up around 7:30 this morning, still incredibly grateful for having had a shower and a night in a bed. I never really got fully acclimated to the altitude and my chest still felt a little tight so I was ... read more

Geo: -12.9122, -72.6742I thought the hard part was over. Day three started with an impressive uphill climb. I think we were all a little disheartened by having to go back up again so steeply after going down for 2 hours the afternoon before. I guess that's mountain climbing. Most of the rain we got during our time on the trail came this morning. We stopped pretty early on at ruins of Runkuracay. Our assistant guide, Eddie, gave us the tour here. He was scheduled to do his first turn as lead guide the following week so David wanted him to do some of the speechmaking. Poor Eddie, it was raining pretty hard and we were all feeling a little tired and cranky after a fitful, cold night in a tent and a rapid ascent and I ... read more

Geo: -13.52, -71.99David, our guide from Peru Treks, picked us up at our hotel at 5:30am. We then drove all around Cusco picking up the other 12 members of our group. The pair from Ireland were staying at the Wild Rover, which I thought was funny.Once we were all together we headed to Ollyntaytambo for breakfast. Since we had all been half asleep on the bus, we did a little "get acquainted " over food. This was also our last shot at a flushing toilet. I joked that there was toilet paper but no seat: amenities will disappear one by one until it is just me and a bush.Dave and Laura are from the area between Dublin and Belfast. The are near the beginning of a 6-month around-the-world adventure. Sebastien and Francois are from Paris. Brian ... read more

Geo: -13.52, -71.99Rough night.I'm not sure how altitude adjustment feels for other people, but I'm not enjoying it. We took everyone's advice and have kept the activity level low and the hydration level high. I still had to spend a good portion of the night trying to convince the reptilian part of my brain that I was getting enough oxygen. I felt like if I went to sleep I wouldn't be able to take enough breaths. I kept thinking about the oxygen tank I saw down in the lobby--when do people break down and ask for that? At any rate, my hope that I would have a nice, long sleep and wake up feeling at least close to normal was not to be. Mike seems to be doing better but he was making noises like a ... read more