Our next stop after Isle Royale was Voyageurs National Park, right on the Minnesota/Canada border. There isn’t a great direct route from Grand Portage, so it was close to a five-hour journey. With the ferry from Isle Royale putting us back on the mainland around 4:00pm, we were destined for a late arrival. However, after a couple of days eating nothing but snack food, a good dinner was needed. We […]
Peru, May 3, 2013: Aguas Calientes We spent our final day of the trip in Aguas Calientes, the closest town to Machu Picchu and the end of the line for the train to Cusco. The livelihood of the town centered around its proximity to the ruins, and it has become obviously touristy; souvenir shops dot every street corner. After completing the trek, one has the option of heading back down […]
Peru, May 2, 2013: Machu Picchu Our final day on the trail began with a 3:30am wakeup and a 4:00am breakfast of banana crepes drizzled with caramel, toast and tea – our last meal prepared by the porters/culinary wizards who had fed us and kept us comfortable for the last three days. By 4:45am we were lined up along the trail in the dark, awaiting our turn to pass through […]
Peru, May 1, 2013: The Inca Trail, Day 3 Our third day on the trail began with another dose of tent-side tea and hot water to clean up with. We were at a lower altitude than we were the previous night, which meant warmer sleeping conditions. It had also rained during the night (our only rain during the whole trip), which made snuggling in the sleeping bag extra cozy. For breakfast […]
Peru, April 30, 2013: The Inca Trail, Day 2 Day two on the Inca trail began with a 6:00am wake-up. The porters greeted us with a tent-side tea service and a bowl of warm water, a pleasant way to welcome the cool morning. After dressing and packing the group assembled in the dining tent for another rib-sticking meal. This time the menu included peach stuffed pancakes, oatmeal, toast and jam. […]
Peru, April 29, 2013: The Inca Trail, Day 1 Our Inca Trail adventure began with an early morning wakeup and a 4:00am rendezvous with our trail guide, Edgar, in the hotel lobby. He led us down to the intersection of two main roads in old town Cusco, where we awaited the arrival of our bus, huddling close to keep warm in the chilly morning air. Thankfully the two-hour bus ride […]
Peru, April 28, 2013: Sacsaywaman We awoke to another sunny morning in Cusco. Today’s mission: Sacsaywaman, the ruins of an Inca fortress just outside of Cusco. After obtaining a vague idea of where the ruins were located on our map, we headed out on foot. Danny seemed confident in where we were going, so I let him lead the way down many narrow, unmarked neighborhood streets and then up a […]
Peru, April 27, 2013: The Sacred Valley It was our first full day in Peru, and we were greeted by rays of sun beaming through our hotel room in the San Blas neighborhood of Cusco. The day before we had signed up for a half-day tour of the Sacred Valley, a fertile area that the Incas used for farming and that remains an agricultural production center to this day. We […]
Peru, April 27, 2013: Cusco and The Sacred Valley Rays of sun greeted us through our hotel window this morning for what would begin our first whole day in Cusco. We had arrived early the day before after a red-eye flight from Boston. Both Danny and I were a bit foggy after the trip, which included stops in Miami and Lima, and although we mustered the energy to walk around […]