August 20, 2010
Some local Incan ruins in Cuzco. (Photo by Phil Ershler)
The day after tagging the top of Mt. Rainier on George’s 500th summit Phil took off for Russia. Two weeks (and a summit of Elbrus) later he dodged the forest fires outside of Moscow to make it back to the US but only stayed for a couple days before he jumped on another plane – this one headed for Peru and Machu Picchu.
Phil reported in this morning to say that all is well in Peru. Everybody arrived on time and with all their luggage – no small feat! They spent the day getting settled and acclimatized as Cusco sits at over 10,000ft.
Jaime showing the group some local Inca history during the tour of Cuzco. (Photo by Phil Ershler)
Tomorrow they’ll have an exciting cultural touring day. They’ll visit the local ruins of Sacsayhuaman on the way out of town then travel on to the Sacred Valley where they will tour the famous Pisak market, a good place to purchase local crafts and goods. And their last cultural visit in the Sacred Valley will be Ollantaytambo, which sits above the town in a beautiful setting. They’ll overnight in a hotel close to our departure point for the Machu Picchu trek.
Tye Chapman