Machu Picchu

We ended our trip with 2 days in Aguas Calientes and Machu Picchu. Seriously, these ruins are so much BIGGER in person than you can possibly imagine from a picture. Visiting them was one of the vacation highlights of my life.

If you would like to see additional pictures from my trip, go here (Cuzco to Salkantay Pass) or here (end of trek) or here (Machu Picchu). Someone asked me if I knew any of my travel companions before the trip. Nope! I didn't know a soul. Going on an organized tour like this gave me a chance to take the vacation I wanted without finding a partner (always really difficult). And it was fun to get to know new people.

Trek Across Salkantay Pass

After Cuzco, our group drove to the beginning of our 7-day trek. We spent anywhere from 2 1/2 to 7 hours hiking each day, and reached 15,300 feet above sea level. I think I understand a small part of what pioneers must feel, except that I had a warm bed and good food to eat each night!

A pretty lake we hiked to as an acclimatization hike:




















At the top of the pass:
















At high places, the Peruvians leave little piles of rocks as offerings to the gods. I decided to leave my own little offering:
















Things were a little greener (and warmer) once we got down from altitude and into the cloud forest:

Cuzco

My last hurrah before starting work in August was a trip to Peru. I have dreamed of hiking in the Andes and visiting Machu Picchu for years, so I decided to just GO. I took my trip through REI Adventures. It was really well organized. I highly recommend traveling with a group like this. In any case, here goes the first installment of the travel-log.

I met my group in Cuzco on July 17:















We visited some interesting archeological sites around Cuzco, such as Sacsayhuaman, a walled Incan complex just outside of Cuzco:















Cuzco at night:

Happy Birthday to Me!

I decided to celebrate making it halfway to 70 years old by flying out to Utah and going hiking with my sister Eliz. We hiked around on Mt. Timp with our friends Julianna and Simone. Then, we had yummy Mexican food with a bunch of my other Utah friends. I have decided that birthdays are a lot more fun when you celebrate away from home. I pretty much got to celebrate all day---that never happens when I'm home! So...where should I go for big 36?















Simone, Julianna, Eliz, and I in front of one of the many waterfalls we enjoyed on our hike















I love this picture of Eliz and Simone!




















I love columbines, too!















Dinner with good friends was the perfect ending to my birthday. If only I didn't have to go home!