Machu Picchu via Cuzco and Lima

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We arrived in Lima and headed out on a culinary tour of the city that began with pisco sours. Alex got behind the bar to mix together the Peruvian drink made with pisco (a grape alcohol), egg white, lime, simple syrup, and bitters. At our next stop, we had appetizers, including beef heart and ceviche, at a restaurant nestled among Incan ruins. We ate our main course while watching a show of various South American dances.

The next day, we met up with our friends and had a delicious lunch at La Mar. We checked out the Plaza de Armas and got some rest before our flight to Cuzco the next morning.

After a day spent acclimatizing to Cuzco’s elevation of 11,000 feet and drinking Starbucks for the first time in a year, we went with a local guide to the Sacred Valley to see some alpaca wool weavers and the Inca sites, Ollantaytambo and Pisac.

The next day, we took a train from Cuzco to Aguas Calientes, the small town nearest to Machu Picchu, where we had a great dinner at the Tree House. First thing in the morning, we took a bus up a steep switchback road to Machu Picchu, where we wandered around with the llamas. We hiked up a million stairs to more ruins called Wayna Picchu. Alex and friends climbed around stone ledges with at least a thousand foot drop-off, while Jenn found her own safer way. We all survived the hike and took the train back to Cuzco.

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Photos

Machu Picchu
The tall peak in the background is Wayna Picchu.