Leaving for our trek to Machu Picchu!

We will be waking up at about 5am to leave for our first day on the Salkantay Trek, an alternative to the Inca Trail. We arrived in Cusco this afternoon and, though we did not have too much time to explore, found the city very beautiful and surprisingly large compared to expectations. We were also both happy to find it much cooler at 10,000 feet than it was in Lima -- we are not ready for that much heat and humidity just yet! We also noted a parade in support of one of the candidates running in the election set to take place on April 10. It sounds like the legitimacy is already being contested because some candidates were barred from running at the beginning, so I am glad we will not be around until well after first results are announced.

Tomorrow we are set to trek for about 5-6 hours, but we look forward to this trek compared to Patagonia because we are fortunate to have a porter carrying our tent and sleeping bags! We will do a day hike up to a lake before calling it a day and settling down for dinner with our private cook. We had no idea it would be this "cushy" -- but you won't hear us complaining! We do the most trekking on day 2, but it is more downhill. Our highest altitude of the trek --before Machu Picchu itself-- is accomplished on day 1. On day 3 we continue down in elevation and eventually will find ourselves at some natural hot springs to enjoy. Our guide said they don't smell "too much" like sulfur, so we'll see if he is just used to the smell or if he has in fact found the perfect hot spring! On day 4 we sleep at a hotel in Aguas Calientes, and on day 5 we trek up to Machu Picchu at 430 am for a sunrise (as my Uncle Dan requested!) view of the ruins. Then we take train and bus back to Cusco, where we have one full day to explore the ruins around the city, including Sacsayhuaman, and the many museums. I expect I will be exhausted by the time we leave Cusco, especially with a packed last day here in the town. But I am so excited to see everything and can't wait to have these wonderful memories to look back on -- especially after the soreness in my legs begins to fade!