We arrived in Lima early in the morning. It was 2am or so when we got to Hotel Carmel. We slept a couple of hours and were ready for breakfast by 5:30am. Pick up was at 6am and we were on our way to the airport for our flight to Cusco.

Easy flight into Cusco. We were introduced to our guide, Wilbur who took us to our hotel. The Del Prado Inn is right off the main square in Cusco so we were able to catch the parade. Our hotel room was up a few floors and the elevator was out. We didn't mind taking the stairs..... The view from the room overlooked the main square in addition to …

We took the bus ride of our life to get us to the starting point for the rapids trip. Our driver was a level 4-5! When we got to the starting point we put on our gear; wetsuits, jackets and helmets. The rapids were exciting and cold! Good trip. After our level 3-4 rapids we had lunch served. Hot soup, chicken and rice.

When we got back to Cusco …

Full day ahead of us. On our way to the Sacred Valley we stopped at the local market for some more shopping. We tried fresh baked empanada. Yummy! After the market we drove to an Alpaca farm to see how all these sweaters we bought were being made.

Pisaq was our next stop. We wondered through the urban, religious and military complexes. The stone …

The next morning after breakfast we had time to tour the archaeological site. Wilbur showed us the locations for studying astronomy, summer and winter solis and the sacred fountain. The water system is still running through the town. This is one of the most intact villages.

The terrace walls had to be at least 13 feet tall. Asked where the rocks …

This is where the stairs at the beginning of the trip come into play. (Remember the broken elevator) We had 3000 feet to climb and part of that included like 1300 stairs! Good stuff. Climbing stairs hasn't been the same since. I climb two flights going into work...it put's a smile on my face to think back to this day.

Anyways...22 years ago our …

We came to Sayaqmarka \"Standing Town\" and wondered through the ceremonial and resting place. Climbed down to the small houses and looked out over the trail. From here Qoncharmarca was in view and that was our next stopping point. It was incomprehensible when coming to Qoncharmarca and looking back over to Sayaqmarka. The trek is an …

Excited to see Machupicchu but sad to leave the Andes. I would of liked to go back through the rain forest again! We had eggs, bacon and pancakes for breakfast. Just like the 2,2,2 at home!

We climbed down approx. 2400 steps before getting to Winaywayna. We stopped here for lunch. We got there early enough so we had time to play at the …

We met up at Machupicchu for our final tour. Folks speculate about what happened to the Inca’s at Machupicchu. Our tour guide said it was no mystery at all. The king evacuated so the Spanish wouldn't find it! It was by the far the largest site and it had the most stone work. It was time to start travels towards going home.

We …