Day Thirteen

Today, we sadly left Peru. Boarding a very early flight and heading back home, we were all very sad it had to be over. The trip was truly on of a lifetime. We ate cheap airport meals and slept for most of the plane rides, the exhaustion from our trip finally hitting us. We were able to talk over lunch about our favorite parts of the trip, and all of us agreed it was the beauty and experience of hiking Machu Piccu. It is something none of can ever forget, and we can't wait to tell our families all about it. Getting home, jet lag hit quick, and we all slept for what seemed like ages. We are upset that our trip has ended, but happy to be home and truly grateful for the experiences we shared in Peru

Day Twelve

On our last full day of being in Peru, we were debating where to go when someone mentioned The Lines Of Nazca Lines. We thought this was a great idea, because there wouldn't be a lot of walking and we would have to be in a plane most of the time anyway. So we hopped on the first bus to see the Nazca Lines after eating breakfast. It takes us about an hour and forty minutes to get to the small airport for the small passenger planes since we are in Cuzco. When we arrived we we were greeted by the pilot and got in.
While taking off he told us that we would be over the lines in 20 minutes. First we flew over was the Spider than next the Monkey, the Humming Bird, the Condor (which is a type of bird), the Whale, the Lizard, the Heron, the Parrot ect....

Map of Where They All Are

Flying away was cool as well, because for a long time we could still see them. After landing, we thanked the pilot and drove back to the hotel. It was 5:00, so we ate at a McDonald's on the way. At the hotel we packed up, which took a while, because it was our last night. We needed to get a good nights sleep for the next day, so we all went to bad early.

Day Eleven

Today was the last day of our tour. For most of the day we hiked down the mountain and only stopped to eat and rest. By the time we got to the level of the mountain where the bus could pick us up, it was already 3:00 p.m.. When we got on the bus, we all instantly fell asleep until we got off 1 hour 20 minutes after. All the days of hiking and waking up early had caught up to us. When we got to the city of Cuzco, we checked into the hotel we were previously staying at, The Pirwa Bed & Breakfast Suecia Hotel. Dropping our stuff of in our rooms we decided to go out to eat at Granja Heidi. There we ate a delicious filet mignon, a veggie plate, and a chicken dish with rice, fried yucca, and one of their signatures, magic milk. We were highly impressed with the service and the food. We finished everything and raved about the food on the ride back to our hotel.

When we returned to the hotel, we went to bed early to be ready for the next day's events.

Day Ten

Today was our last day of historical sites on the trek. We all woke up early with group so we could hike the "Sun Gate" before sun rise. We all sat and watched the sun come up, which was completely breath taking. When the sun rose, the trek leaders allowed us to go off on our own for the rest of the day. With our own free time, we decided to go walk through the ruins of the Inca's lost city again to look back on the architecture and the history, since we enjoyed it so much the last time. We thought it was so interesting how a civilization from so long ago could be so advanced.

 

After we finished looking at the main sites, we explored the surviving houses, temples, and baths. We were surprised to find that they were in great condition.We only got to see two temples, so the first one we went to was the Temple of the Moon. We noticed it was pretty small compared to others. It sits under a shelf of large rock, so when walking in you need to duck slightly in some spots.

We had time for two more sites today before our dinner reservations; The Room of Three Windows and The Temple of the Sun.

The Room of Three Windows

Three out of five of the windows remain, and they each represent each part of the world; The underground (Uku-Pacha), the heaven (Hanan-Pacha), and the present time (Kay-Pacha). The windows also represent the rise of the sun, which is a very important in everyday life for the Inca population. The view outside of the three windows was breathtaking, and we really enjoyed hearing about the special meanings of the windows. We spent a while there, appreciating the beautiful

The Temple of the Sun

In early civilization, not many people were allowed in The Temple of the Sun, because ceremonies for average people were held in the public square. That meant the only people allowed in were the priest and the Inca. They keep mummies here in royal tombs, because mummies were an important part of the cult to the Sun. We also learned that sacrifices used to be performed here to prevent disaster. The site is up high because they believed they could reach the sky and perform better.

We then headed to dinner at a restaurant near by called the Pirqa Restaurant, because we had heard many people recommend it to us. We ate salmon in native berries, potato soup, a Peruvian seasoned shrimp, and volcan, which is the equivalent to ice cream. We were very impressed with the food and service, agreeing it was the best meal in Peru we have had so far.

Afterwards, we head in for the night, extremely tired and full.

Day Nine

Today we reached the top on Machu Picchu, after the three day hike. There, we explored the amazing ruins of the Inca civilization.

Beautiful over looking scene 

A look over to the neighboring peak of well preserved ruins

We found it amazing how the structure of the temples and pathways were set up; how they wound up with the mountain and how all the stones of the walls were custom fitted so they would be completely stable. The view from the top was indescribable and was definitely a sight we will never forget.

Day Eight

Today was the second day of the three day trek up Machu Picchu.

Some pictures of the path

  

Some of the wild life (Alpaca(top) (Vizcachas)(bottom)

The wildlife and nature we encountered today was absolutely incredible. We were especially excited about the animals we saw, including the alpaca and the vizacacha. As exciting as seeing these things was, we were all very physically exhausted from all of the hiking. Going to bed tonight (in our very uncomfortable tent), we know we will be very sore in the morning. However, we are nothing but excited for the last day of our hike. We can only hope it will be as good as the others!

Day Seven

For day seven of the trip and day three of our tour, we start the three day and shortest trek so we could experience the great Machu Picchu at it's best without wearing us out too much. For the climb there will beporters to carry the main needs, such as tents to camp in and each of us will carry a day pack for personal items. Food will be provided, so we don't have to worry about it. On our way, we will be passing so nonspecific Inca ruins, some local animals like sheep, alpacas, and Viscacha and we will be able to enjoy the exotic outdoors.