Onto Boca Colorado
May 18, 2024 in Peru ⋅ 🌙 24 °C
Rain during the night leaves some of us a bit damp. Pack up as clouds clear and sun pops out. Spot monkeys right above our camp. Head out and immediately see a caiman doing a belly flop. TurtlesRead more
Back to civilization
May 19, 2024 in Peru ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C
Incredibly rainy night. So glad we were sleeping inside. Take a car over a rocky road and over very sketchy bridges. Transfer to a ferry and then to another car. Rain continues. Board our final carRead more
And then there were two
May 20, 2024 in Peru ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C
Day spent on various errands and the girls preparing to leave. Nice vegetarian dinner
Back to the sacred valley
May 21, 2024 in Peru ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C
Pack up and catch a ride down to Yuncay and our bikes. Load up and make our way to little home with big garden. Another big festival complete with bands and a walk up the mountain with a cross.
Salineras de Maras .. finally
May 22, 2024 in Peru ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C
Did some bike cleaning and maintenance in the morning and then headed out on bikes towards the trailhead for Salinas de Maras. Bit of a steep climb but with nice views Ali g the way. Quite busy andRead more
Up the river … almost to the top
May 23, 2024 in Peru ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C
Opted to go for a hike up to our nearby ridge. Followed the river as it cut its way down the valley. Lost the trail for a bit as we got closer to the top. Then hit a blocked trail. Gave up on ourRead more
A return to camping
May 24, 2024 in Peru ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C
Left out little house and rode further down the valley to Ollantantambo. Found a nice
Campground by the river. Walk the dusty road back to Ollantantambo and hike up Pinkuylluna - across the valleyRead more
Inti Punku sun gate
May 25, 2024 in Peru ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C
Take a ‘short cut’ back towards town that winds up being sketchy and time consuming. Finally get to the start of the real hike - up 3500 ft to sun gate. Lots of stairs and a bit of altitudeRead more
Market day
May 26, 2024 in Peru ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C
Opt to relax and enjoy the surroundings without to much exertion. Do head back to Urubamaba for the market and land upon a colorful festival.
One last river valley hike
May 27, 2024 in Peru ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C
Follow tourist circuit along a river leading into the mountains behind Ollantaytambo. Stick to the trail and catch the archeological sites. Ultimately lose the trail and wind up on the road. Opt toRead more
Up and out of the valley
May 28, 2024 in Peru ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C
Pack up and make our way to what appears to be the best road out of the valley. Follow a river and train tracks as we gradually wind our way up to the plateau. A few interesting sites along the way.Read more
And we are back in Cusco
May 29, 2024 in Peru ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C
Continue our ride along a very busy road heading towards Cusco. Have to go further up before we can go back down into Cusco. Find a relatively quieter way into the city but are a bit challenged toRead more
Cusco Highlights
May 30, 2024 in Peru ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C
Found ourselves in a huge celebration of Corpus Christi. Saints and crowds abound. Found peace and quiet in the museo del arte precolombino. Did a few errands and back up the hill we go (after againRead more
Transition to lowlands
May 31, 2024 in Peru ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C
Return to where I had walked the night before - venturing further away from the city. Retuned to pack up and ride down to our hostel. A much easier endeavor than getting up the hill. Wandered aroundRead more
Prepping for the trek
June 1, 2024 in Peru ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C
Day spent organizing, doing a bit of shopping and visiting the Inka museum. Ran into a celebration of
Peru’s military. Went to our orientation meeting and out for burgers
Salkantay Trek - Day 1
June 2, 2024 in Peru ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C
Very early morning. 2 hour van ride to mollentay for breakfast. Then another hour or so to the start of the trek. Head up into the mountains. Short hike to our first campsite. Have lunch and then upRead more
Up and over Salkantay
June 3, 2024 in Peru ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C
Very early morning! Quickly pack up, have breakfast and head off to the pass. Quite chilly but brilliant blue sky. Quite crowded with both people and pack animals. Successfully deal with the climb andRead more
Short hike, coffee & hot springs
Jun 5–6, 2024 in Peru ⋅ 🌙 15 °C
Sleep in a bit (plus they are late in rousing us and getting breakfast together). Continue following the river on an “Inca flat” trail. Lots of short ups and downs - with the path clinging to theRead more
On to Machu Picchu pueblo
June 5, 2024 in Peru ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C
Another early morning as we have a long hike. Our group had gotten bigger as the subgroups have merged. Up we go on the Inca trail. Quite crowded for most of the up. As we head down get our firstRead more
Machu Picchu
June 6, 2024 in Peru ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C
Our group is down to 6 as we climb up the steep stairs to Machu Picchu. Meet our tour guide and in we go. Lots of people but they can’t spoil the magnificent sights. Beautiful day! Back down andRead more
Wrapping up Cusco
June 7, 2024 in Peru ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C
Unable to sleep very late but lay in bed awhile. Highlights of the day include pastries, ceviche, shopping, one last museum and a nice dinner. And of course they are celebrating in the streets andRead more
A long bus ride
June 8, 2024 in Peru ⋅ ☀️ 10 °C
Last stroll through Cusco and of course more parades and celebrations. Arrive at the terminal with plenty of time to spare, only to be told that the bikes couldn’t go on the bus. Ultimately theyRead more
Lima
June 9, 2024 in Peru ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C
The sun rises as we finally drop down to sea level (after a night of lots of ups and downs and twisting roads). Sadly our furry friend is taken from us. Finally arrive in Lima and after reassembling,Read more
A last ride in Lima
June 10, 2024 in Peru ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C
Enjoy a final ride along the coast. Impressed even more by cycling infrastructure. Work on securing boxes and packing materials. Nice seafood dinner.
Packing up
June 11, 2024 in Peru ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C
After a failure with the prearranged bike boxes, managed to find other ones
relatively quickly. Did find the “cat park” - a rather large green space filled with well cared ore cats. Spend most ofRead more