Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Welcome to Peru

Well I have to say my wonderful wife Sara must have been a tour director in a former life.  The travel and accommodation arrangements she made are proving to be awesome.  We started out with a first class flight to Miami, then a business class flight to Peru, all on award miles.  The business class is the first time I've ever been able to make my seat go flat and sleep.

The next morning we flew to Cusco.  The view from the airplane showed lots of beautiful mountains, many with snow covered tops.  Getting of the airplane at Cusco we immediately noticed we were in a city over 11,000 feet, as it was hard to breath.

We were picked up by our driver who worked for our hotel in Ollantaytanba.  It was about a two hour drive to the hotel., which is in the Sacred valley.   We wanted to stay in Ollantaytanba  instead of Cusco because it is lower in altitude and an easier train ride the next day.

We roamed the town in the afternoon and I was able to photography some of the local people.  The hotel Sara selected was perfect.  The food was fantastic, and the Coca leaf tea and Pisco Sours finished the day off perfectly. 

Today we were up very early for the 7am train to Aguas Callientes, the town at the base of Machu Picchu.  The hotel was right next to the train station, so we walked out of breakfast and onto the train.  By pure luck we had the best seats on the train, the only ones with a front view out of the train. 

We spent an amazing five hours at Machu Picchu, it is hard to describe the sights and the feelings they created.  It is an amazingly peaceful area, full of inspiring architecture and mountain backdrops.  Walking around is less peaceful as you are climbing up steep rock stairways at around 8,000 feet. 

Tomorrow we go back for sunrise, and another five hours of exploring.  Then back on train to Ollantaytambo, and a taxi to Pisac.  We love the little towns here, it reminds us a bit of Nepal.  Click on this link to view the photos:  Welcome to Peru

Remember to go to the blog to see all the posts:  http://johnandsarastanford.blogspot.com/

More in a few days, time for an early night!



 


 

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