August 15, 2009
Yesterday, some of us enjoyed a leisurely morning shopping in the town of Aquas Calientes, while the remainder of us journeyed to Machu Picchu early in the morning to ascend Machu Picchu mountain. This was a very steep and strenuous climb up more Inca steps, and well worth the effort.
Later that afternoon we boarded our train from Aquas Calientes for a beautiful and scenic ride which included some cultural entertainment along the way. The cultural entertainment continued in Cuzco during our celebration dinner with an excellent Peruvian band. The end of the evening was spent learning how to Salsa dance at one of Cuzco’s well known discos.
Some of the highlights of the 2009 Machu Picchu trek included ascending the many rock steps of the Inca trail up the Abra de Huarmihuanusca (“Dead Womans Pass”) at an elevation of 13,769 feet. Our second pass, Abra de Runkuracay, 13,113 feet, brought us to Phuyupatamarca (“Cloud-level Town”). The day at Machu Picchu itself was a sight that can only be witnessed in person. We were extremely lucky to catch some of the first sun rays of the day from our first vantage point at Intipunku, the gateway to the sun.
So now we have come to the end of our 10 day journey and we have all safely arrived back to the city of Cuzco, Peru. We will all now travel together to Lima by plane and take our respective flights back home. I cannot thank our Peruvian IMG team down here enough for making this a trip of a lifetime. The teamwork of Jamie and Maximo, our Peruvian guides, represented to us that they are truly passionate about their country. We are extremely grateful for their hospitality. Everyone that participated on this trek did an amazing job, it’s just too bad we don’t have another week to spend together!
Ciao y suerte,
Eric Remza
