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

August 20, 2010

The team is slowly integrating back to their daily lives after an amazing trip to the Inca ruins of Machu Picchu. After a baggage debacle at the Lima airport, where the McShea family patiently held out without baggage for a couple days, the trek proceeded smoothly. A pleasant drive though the sacred valley into Ollantaytambo left us resting and feasting at a beautiful Franciscan monetary converted into a hotel. Here we enjoyed our last night in a hotel before the start of our trek, where the team traded the comfort of beds and showers for sleeping bags and hot basin baths.

Once on the trek, we witnessed amazing starry nights, were fed tasty meals by the cook staff, and humbly walked in awe along the Inca trail. The weather on the fourth day could not have been nicer as the team approached the Sun Gate just after dawn to witness the illumination of Machu Picchu. We were reunited with Dave, who hiked the Salkantay trail, and we enjoyed a thorough tour from our local guide, Jaime Vasquez.

The team was bussed down to Agua Calientes where we were welcomed by beds, showers, and beers! The following day we were in Cuzco and enjoying a pleasant celebration dinner, reminiscing on the past week of adventure, laughter, and friendship.

Eric Stevenson

August 12, 2010

Machu Picchu (Photo by Jason Garnes)

Eric Stevenson dropped us a line from Machu Picchu last night:

“We are down, showered, happy, fed, tired, and ready for bed. The plan is to head to the museum in the morning, then head back to Cusco tomorrow afternoon [real time = today]. All is good and I’ll get in touch tomorrow.

Night night everybody. ”

Eric Stevenson

Want to go to Machu Picchu next year?