Cusco & Machu Picchu

Fall 2007

What started as an impulsive spur-of-the-moment decision turned out to be one of the most memorable trips of my life.  While at work on an otherwise ordinary Monday morning, my good friend and previous coworker, Robbie Pallard, sent me an email advertising a very cheap round-way ticket to Lima, Peru.  Not one to be teased with an adventure, I called his bluff by purchasing the ticket and sending him a copy of my receipt.  A few months later, we were on a plane with an itinerary which would take us to Cusco (above, left), Aguas Calientes and eventually the top of Machu Picchu (above, right) - a place I never dreamed I would have stepped foot on.

Cusco had lots of different churches.  There was one down the street (above, left)  from the hostel we stayed at, which served as a great landmark when getting lost.  Inside the church were some elaborate paintings of  The Last Supper, with Cuy (Guinea Pigs) as the main plate.  The image above to the right was taken in Aguas Calientes, and that's actually a picture of the river that overflowed and took out the only traintracks, leaving hundreds of tourists stranded in early 2010.

Although Machu Picchu was on the top of a mountain, it was only about 7,800 ft about sea level.  Cusco was around 11,500 ft.  The image on the left was taken at the Sacsayhuamán sacred ruins (pronounced like "sexy woman"), which was built in prehistoric times around 1100AD, before the Inca.  The ruins were at the very top of Cusco, probably making it the highest elevation I've ever reached.  The image on the right was taken on Machu Picchu, and shows my friend Robbie taking it all in from afar.