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WELCOME TO THE (PERUVIAN JUNGLE): MONKEY-ING AROUND
Oct28
In trying to organize the posts for this part of the trip I had some difficulty.
There’s so much that we experienced. I considered chronological, but in this
case, that’s quite irrelevant, so I’m just going to post as I feel.
One thing I’ll mention, is we spent a lot of time on boats. This may not be for
everyone but I loved it. Our last day, we didn’t have much time, so decided to
take a look at the monkey reserve. It’s a space run by conservationists, where
monkeys who were once people’s pets, are taken to live out their days in the
wild. There’s a space that has been set up as a preserve and is protected for
them to live.
Apparently lots of people think monkeys would make good pets and surprise,
surprise, they aren’t. It’s similar to here when people get a dog (or maybe pet
racoon) they can’t handle. Anyway, their stoop must be a popular place for
tours, because they came right out to greet us.
The white and black Cappuccino Monkeys are little rascals. They remind me of the
kid siblings of the group. Crawling all over the larger species, picking at them
and just fast enough to get away after pissing them off. This little one, sadly
has associated boats with bananas and worried his larger cousins would get all
the spoils, took matters into his own hands by getting first in line.
The Howler Monkey howled. He was not swayed by our banana bribes.
And the Spider Monkey is the monkey vision we all had as kids.
They were tons of fun and I can say for myself (and suspect for my parents), it
was enough to make you small-child excited.
Our last stop before heading home, was to a neighbouring village, where a family
of three, Three-Fingered-Sloths, sometimes stay. I know they aren’t monkeys,
rather very much their own thing, but I don’t think they’ll mind being placed in
the same post.
Like any family, these were an interesting bunch. They choose to spend much of
their time with a local human family but were not captive. They were free to
come and go as they pleased. Some days, their human hosts would look out and the
three sloths would be crawling their way back to the jungle, not to be seen for
weeks sometimes.
Pablo, or papa sloth, was the one most comfortable with humans and the one who
liked to be held, so he’s the one we handled.
Male sloths of this breed are distinguished by their beautiful back-markings.
Mamma Anita didn’t like to be handled but didn’t seem to mind having us around.
She was still getting used to being a mom.
The one thing that was interesting for me in getting to know these animals, is
the need to slow down. They really do move slowly. In handling them, they get
stressed if you move too quickly or try to move them faster than they’d move
themselves. This means that it may take a minute or two as Pablo stretched his
arm up ever so carefully, and then his other….and then one leg, and another. I
appreciated the lesson in deliberate movement and presence.
2 Comments Posted in Peru, South America, Travel Tagged Amazon Jungle, Amazon
River, animals/birds, boat ride, Libertad Jungle Lodge, monkeys, Peruvian
Jungle, sloths
WELCOME TO THE (PERUVIAN) JUNGLE: ANIMAL RIVER MAGIC
Oct28
There is no shortage of life in the jungle. People, fish, birds, mammals,
reptiles, and insects in all colours and consititutions you can dream up subsist
here. It’s plentiful. It’s challenging. It’s magical.
Leave a comment Posted in Uncategorized
WALKING THROUGH PERUVIAN CLOUDS: MACHU PICCHU GARDEN
Jun29
Attached to the Aguas Caliente museum are Botanical Gardens. We were early in
the season, tail end of dry season, so the gardens weren’t in full bloom but
here are some photos to get your imagination going.
HINT: From the gardens/museum you can take stairs up to the tracks and to a
hiking trail. Apparently, there’s a great waterfall there. We looked for it and
failed…not the best at following directions :l
Leave a comment Posted in Peru, South America, Travel, Uncategorized Tagged
Aguas Caliente, botanical gardens, flowers, museum
WALKING THROUGH PERUVIAN CLOUDS: THE INKAS MADE STONES WALK
Jun27
Augas Caliente has a very impressive museum. Seldom visited it is quiet and well
lit, very modern. There’s a large variety of Inca artifacts and interesting
information and multi-media shows. To get there, walk along the main road
towards Machu Picchu a few kilometres.
Peruvian legend as posted in the museum at Aguas Caliente: ‘The Inkas made the
Stones Walk by Whipping Them’, as told by an elder.
> The Inkas made these towns as they waked along the mountains. They walked over
> the mountains. Machupicchu and Waynapicchu are our Apus. When we make a
> ‘payment’ to the earth, we say: ‘Apu Machupicchu.’ We speak like that to all
> the Ruvales (gods).
>
> About Machupichu, my father used to tell me: ‘Behind those hills there is an
> Inka town,’ and he told us: ‘That’s where the Inka Trail goes to.’ After some
> time those gringos (foreigners) found their way. They found their way here,
> and they have been coming ever since. A lot of them started coming. Groups and
> more groups arrived.
>
> So those people of old, walking over the mountains, built the towns.
> Admirable, they built them. Some even have bathrooms in every place. When you
> look at Patallaqta from the top of a hill, it’s beautiful, as if they’d built
> it with a ruler.
>
> That was built by the Inkas because they had power; those Inkas really had
> power, that’s why they built cities at the top of mountains like that.
>
> They gave orders to the rocks and whiped them, whipping the rocks, they got
> them up to the wall, face to face.
>
> They whipped the rocks along. I wonder where they brought the rocks from…and I
> suppose others would’ve brought them using chakis (messengers) wouldn’t they?
>
> They had power, that’s why the Inkas made towns. They made terraces to grow
> corn.
>
> The water, too, they brought it along fine in Inka canals. You can see that in
> Machupicchu, and in Patallaqta too.
>
> The Inkas came to an end when their time was over. Afterwards our time
> started, so the Inkas won’t be able to come back again.
>
> These terraces were made by the people of old. They were made by the Inkas in
> their times, all of this was.
>
> These walls, they were built by the Inkas. Those are Inka walls too; there are
> lots of them around there. Here at the back there are Inka walls too. Those
> great rocks, how could the Inkas lift them up? They say that the Inkas whipped
> the rocks to make them go up.
>
> They say that the rocks were able to walk for the Inkas, so by whipping them
> they took them to the top.
>
> The Inkas had power. We couldn’t lift those tremendous rocks up. Afterwards
> those Inkas were lost. Their animals turned wild too.
>
> The fox came from the dog. The olden folks when they died, it’s as if we were
> to die and our animals go to the forest and turn wild like that. That’s why
> they appear like that, isn’t it?
>
> The fox, the deer…the deer is called ‘forest cow.’ There are pigs, too, forest
> pigs, with a thick neck and all bristly.
>
> That’s the way we will come to an end, too, with the judgment, and all the
> animals will go away.
>
> As for me, all these andenes, everything, Patallaqta, Machupicchu, I’ve always
> see them like that. Nobody, not my elders nor anybody else have told us who
> made them. They hardly ever spoke about that.
>
> These ditches that carry water, and the andenes, and Patallaqta, and
> Machupicchu, all that was made by the Inkas. That’s why these andenes have an
> extended base. Only the Inkas could do that…who else could do it?
>
> Nowadays, the people of our times wouldn’t have a clue how to do it, not even
> the grandfathers or the old folks could do it; only the Inkas were able to do
> that.
>
> These Inkas…where could they have gone? When their time came to an end, they
> came to an end.
>
> That’s how it must have been, then, so that they would come to and end of time
> of judgement. They say that the Spains chased after them. They had come from
> Spain, and that’s how they wiped out the Inkas. Since they were wiped out, no
> more work has been done on Machupicchu. Machupicchu was the Inkas’ doing.
Leave a comment Posted in People, Peru, South America, Travel Tagged Inca, Inka,
Legend, Machupicchu, Story, storytelling
WALKING THROUGH PERUVIAN CLOUDS: MACHU PICCHU SUN GATE
Jun26
We had a very busy Machu Picchu day and made our way to Inti Punku (Sun Gate)
after finding our way down Huayna Picchu. This trail is far more accessable and
user friendly than the mountain peaks. With limited stairs, it’s much friendlier
on the knees. I was surprised but it wasn’t very busy either. It’s about seven
kilometres one way and a gradual up-hill the whole way.
Much of the trail is open, offering spectacular views of the surrounding
valleys.
The gate itself is quite small, having once been a outpost/guard station. It’s
the first ‘port-of-entry’ for trekers who do the ‘Inca Trail’.
the road we rode by bus to the site
Leave a comment Posted in Peru, South America, Travel Tagged hiking, Inti Punku,
Machu Picchu, Machupicchu, Sun Gate, travel, trek
WALKING THROUGH PERUVIAN CLOUDS: MACHU PICCHU HUAYNA PICCHU
Jun23
You know that amazing shot of Machu Picchu we’ve all seen so many times? That
‘classical’ Machu Picchu view? It’s only perched on the summit of Huayna Picchu
you get it. It’s a haul though. Hundreds and hundreds of stairs it takes to get
to the top. No joke, or exaggeration. Many, many more if you choose to go all
the way to the Moon Temple. I’m pretty sure we went up and down a thousand
stairs doing the full tour. It was worth it though.
As challenging as the hike is today, we owe a lot of gratitude to the Bingham
expedition. It took them three tries before they were able to navigate their way
to the top. The trail had long been buried by the jungle and was treacherous.
I love this account of reaching Huayna Picchu as recorded by Mr Heald, the
expedition surveyor:
> I pushed on up the hill, clearing my way with the machete, or down on all
> fours, following a bear trail (of which there were many), stopping
> occasionally to open my shirt at the throat and cool off, as it was terribly
> hot. The brush through which I made my way was in great part mesquite,
> terribly touch and with heavy, strong thorns. If a branch was not cut through
> at one blow it was pretty sure to come whipping back and drive half a dozed
> spikes into hands, arms, and body. Luckily I had enough practice to learn how
> to strike with a heavy shoulder blow and for the most part made clean strokes,
> but I didn’t get away untouched by any means. Finally, about 3 p.m., I had
> almost gained the top of the lowest part of the ridge, which runs along like
> the back-plates of some spiked dinosaur. The trees had given way to grass or
> bare rock, the face of the rock being practically vertical. A cliff some 200
> feet high stood in my way. By going out on the edge of the ridge I could look
> almost straight down to the river at that distance, through its roar in the
> rapids came up distinctly. I was just climbing out on top of the lowest
> ‘back-plate’ when the grass and soil under by feet let go and I dropped. For
> about 20 feet, after which it would be a bump and repeat (2,000 feet) down to
> the river. As I shot down the sloping surface I reached with my right hand
> and grasped a mesqute bush that was growing in a crack about 5 feet above the
> jump off. I was going so fast that it jerked my arm up and, as my boy was turn
> in, pulled me from my side to my face; also, the jerk broke the ligaments
> holding the outer end of clavicle and scapula together. The strength left the
> arm with the tearing loose of the ligaments, but I had checked enough to give
> me a chance to get ahold of a branch with my left hand. After hanging a for a
> moment or two, so as to look everything over and be sure that I did nothing
> wrong, I started to work back up. The hardest part was to get my feet on the
> trunk of the little tree to which I was holding on. The fact that i was
> wearing moccasins instead of boot helped a great deal here, as they would take
> hold of the rock. It was distressingly slow work, but after about half an hour
> I had got back to comparatively safe footing. As my right arm was almost
> useless, I at once made my way down, getting back to camp about 5:30 taking
> the workmen with me as I went. On this trip I saw no sign of Inca work, except
> one small ruined wall. ~Lost City of the Incas
The top is completely stunning. I grew up in the Canadian Rockies and this took
my breath away. Surrounded by multiple mountain ranges, a few rivers, and lush
jungle, it’s the perfect vantage point to fully take it in. It’s only there you
begin to get the full picture of the ancient Andeans.
If you want to hike Huayna Picchu you need to book it in advance. It sells out.
I recommend the earlier time slot if you can. We started up around nine and had
the trail somewhat to ourselves but the top (which doesn’t have a ton of space)
filled quickly and by the time you start coming down, the next time slot is on
its way up.
The Temple of the Moon loop is significantly quieter. The reason for this is a
combination of a four-hour hike, made up completely of stairs and the occasional
ladder, and it not being particularly well-known. Whether the effort is ‘worth
it’ or not is a matter of opinion and perspective. I personally thought it was.
I L O V E D everything about it. It felt kind of bad ass going up and down all
those ladders (I think there were two) and stairs (there were thousands). The
jungle is lush and incredible. It’s quiet, you can hear the birds. It almost
feels as though you’re not in the centre of the world’s most popular tourist
destination.
The Temple of the Moon is little more than a shallow cave with a throne carved
into the centre and stairs that go into the back. It was an old ceremonial site
that dates 1500 years. The real purpose of the temple is unknown and the name is
arbitrary. Since the ancient Andeans didn’t have a written language, most of
what we know about them is little more than sophisticated guess work.
That’s why I like it.
2 Comments Posted in Peru, South America, Travel Tagged ancient ruins, hiking,
Huayna Picchu, Machu Picchu, Temple of the Moon
WALKING THROUGH PERUVIAN CLOUDS: MACHU PICCHU
Feb4
> “The sanctuary as lost for centuries because this ridge is in the most
> inaccessible corner of the most inaccessible section of the central Andes. No
> part of the highlands of Peru is better defended by natural bulwarks – a
> stupendous canyon whose rock is granite, and whose precipices are frequently
> 1,000 feet sheer, presenting difficulties which daunt the most ambition modern
> mountain climbers. Yet, here, in a remote part of the canyon, on this narrow
> ridge flanked by tremendous precipices, a highly civilized people, artistic,
> inventive, well organized, and capable of sustained endeavour, at some time in
> the distant past built themselves a sanctuary for the worship of the sun.”
Lost City of the Incas
We got to Machu Picchu at sunrise. The light had just started its crawl up the
mountainsides and you get a sense of what it must have been like 300 years ago
when the Inca populated this incredible city. Every moment, the light of the
entire valley changed as the sun continued its way up. The Inca didn’t do
anything on accident. Every rock was placed precisely and so too, the selection
of this site would have in part been for this view.
We caught the bus from Agua Caliente in the dark. We left in the first round of
transport and there was already a pretty long line. It moved quickly though. I
highly recommend this. As you can see in the photos, it’s still possible to see
patches without people. By noon, the day-trippers have arrived and then every
inch is crawling.
Residence for the common-folk Carving their surrounding landscape to perfect
detail. Principle Temple: All the temples have three walls and thatched roofs
(if any).
If you enjoy hiking, be sure to plan a hike up Machu Picchu Mountain.
Reservations needs to be done before your trip and there is a fee. We didn’t
make it up this one and wish we had. The building of the ruins wasn’t
finished as you can see from a rock quarry in the middle of the city.
View of Machu PIcchu Mountain and the local rock quarry.
The ancients world-wide are known as Astronomers in a surprising way. They seem
to know things about the stars beyond the scope of their technology. The Ancient
Andean people are no different. They are wildly aware of the cardinal
directions, time of day, and are star gazers.
North is T H A T way Espejos de Agua–mirrors for star gazing Sun Dial, it’s
somewhere between 7 & 9 a.m.
It is believed that after death, the soul goes to the lower world. From there,
the Condor descends to retrieve it and takes it to the upper world (heaven).
It’s no wonder then that the condor is so revered in Andean culture and that it
would have a temple dedicated solely to this magic bird.
Condor Wing
Huayna Picchu is the distinct mountain you see in all the ‘classic’ Machu Picchu
photos. Similarly to Machu Picchu Mountain, you have to register to hike this
peak ahead of time and there is a fee. A note of caution: the whole thing is
stairs so if you have bad knees, you may want to sit this one out. But
otherwise, get yourself up there! As I share in the next post, it’s well worth
the sweat and quite likely, tears.
Huayna Picchu and the Sacred Plaza
Leave a comment Posted in Peru, South America, Travel Tagged ancient ruins,
Huayna Picchu, Machu Picchu, travel
WALKING THROUGH PERUVIAN CLOUDS: THE PEOPLE OF MACHU PICCHU
Feb3
Everyone says the Inca built Machu Picchu and the other ruins of the Empire.
This is incorrect. The Inca didn’t build anything. They were the king class of
what would come to be known as the Incan Empire but there were no builders.
It went like this:
The Inca was the all-powerful king. Benevolent. Ruler of all.
Maco Copac was the first ruler to be called Inca. It was he who established the
Inca Dynasty.
Tupac Amaru was the last Inca (Emperor) to live at Vilcapampa before being
captured and executed. He was the last of an era.
From here, we have high priests, nobles, and generals. “The High Priest was
nearly always an uncle or brother of the reigning emperor. Under him were two
classes of priests, those who performed the most solemn rites being always Incas
by blood, and those who officiated in the less important ceremonies being Incas
by privileged, that is members of the families of powerful nobles whom the Inca
desired to honour.”
Inca nobles distinguished by large ear ornaments that stretched the lobes
orejones ‘big ears’ by spanish conquistadors
The Virgins of the Sun were priestesses of the sun in the service of the Incas,
his representatives, and his priests. They were often noblewomen and the most
beautiful of the Empire living in sanctuaries throughout the Empire. They were
skilled weavers, their cloth used by favoured soldiers and throughout the
empire. They were also taught to prepare beautiful food and beverages as used in
ceremony.
There are the regular citizens and working class people. And there are the
builders, farmers, and other ‘low-level’ employees.
For 300 years after it’s fall, Vilcapampa remained unknown to outsiders but for
a couple Spanish priests who never made it out. The sacred site the builders had
so craftily created was coveted and its secrets guarded. It was they who
built Vilcapampa (Machu Picchu) and the other ruins of Peru, not the Inca.
“Above all, there is the fascination of finding here and there under swaying
vines, or perched on top of a beetling crag, the rugged masonry of a bygone
race; and of trying to understand the bewildering romance of the ancient
builders who, ages ago, sought refuse in a region which appears to have been
expressly designed by nature as a sanctuary for the oppressed, a place where
they might fearlessly and patiently give expression to their passion for walls
of enduring beauty.”
I’m so excited to show it to you.
Leave a comment Posted in People, Peru, South America Tagged ancient ruins,
Inca, Machu Picchu, Vilcapampa
WALKING THROUGH PERUVIAN CLOUDS: SALKANTAY TREK 2
Feb1
Day 3: continues to take us down as we wander our way through the jungle. There
isn’t a ton to say about it really so I’ll let the photos speak for me. It was
pleasant. We were there at the tail end of their dry season and spring
(September) so the flowers were just starting to blossom and baby animals were
everywhere. Sort of your typical spring and I had the pleasure of witnessing it.
Would love to be there at the tail end of wet season though. I bet the colours
are breathtaking.
I hope you enjoy the gallery!
Babies! They gather like this because they are trying to get salt.
More babies!
Indian Paintbrush, called Pesco by the Quechua people, is my absolute favourite
flower because it thrives in every possible environment. I never expected to
find it here in the middle of the Peruvian jungle though!
We said goodbye to our group after lunch and went the rest of the way to the
train station by car.
Our first view of Machu Picchu Mountain. The ruins are known today as Machu
Picchu but this is actually incorrect. The ruins are actually Vilcapampa Grande,
Machu Picchu is a mountain.
The train ride was delightful.
Leave a comment Posted in Peru, South America Tagged hiking, jungle trek,
Salkantay Trek, spring, trains
WALKING THROUGH PERUVIAN CLOUDS: SALKANTAY TREK 1
Jan31
To get to Machu Picchu we decided to do the three-day Salkantay Trek. It can be
four days with a side trip to some springs but we were short on time and decided
to go this route. Speaking to people who did the four-day later on, I don’t feel
like we missed out on too much (though we were sad to leave our group).
There are many ways to get to Machu Picchu but the two main treks are the Inca
Trail and the Salkantay. While the Inca Trail is made up mostly of stairs and
passes through several ruins along the way, Salkantay is considered more scenic,
passing through some of the larger Andean mountains, and not a stair in sight.
Since the trip was for my dad (an absolute mountain man), we went with the
mountain route. Despite being at high altitude, we felt it would also be easier
on our bodies overall, sparing our knees the pain of thousands (probably an
exaggeration, I have no idea how many there are) of stairs.
The trail head is quite the drive from Cusco. Our group consisted of
nine travellers (including myself and parents), our guide, a cook, assistant
cook, and a horse wrangler. All except the wrangler travelled in a mini
bus/large van through the often narrow, and blind spot riddled, curvy roads that
rose very high in elevation. Turns out I’m not a great passenger and got fairly
motion sick, along with a couple other in the group. Luckily I’d brought
peppermint essential oil and smelling that helped. Peppermint oil should be part
of any travel kit, along with tea tree and lavender, which I used in place of
mosquito repellent. While I still got bit, it wasn’t bad, and so did everyone
else. (If you’re a mosquito favourite it may not be the best choice for you, but
it did the trick for me)
We finally make out way to the trail head and start out. Our cooks and guides
only spoke Quechua (traditional language of the Andeans) so we didn’t speak much
with them. However, our guide did his best to teach us words along the way.
Sullpaiqui (thank you) was the only word that stuck for me though.
Pappa, our horse wrangler, hikes this trail several times a month in nothing but
sandals. At 70 years old, his taped feat don’t seem to phase him, he’s a
mountain man.
Day 1: was a gentle, gradual incline that followed an old Incan aqueduct still
in use today. It was an easy start to the trek, around ten kilometers. Our base
camp for the night was at the base of Soray Mountain (a 19,437 foot mammoth). It
was pretty chilly when we arrived but ventured out for the afternoon side trip
just the same. It was only an hour or so to reach the lovely (dare I say
‘majestic’) glacier and blue-green lake.
First view of Soray Mountain
Rewarding view at the end of Day 1
All the tour groups seem to follow the same basic itinerary so we shared camp
with several other groups each night. We were served a warm meal, tasty soup,
and all the hot tea you could handle. Coca tea non stop, all day, every day
throughout the trek. Especially the first two while we were dealing with the
cold and altitude.
Because we were so high up, it gets quite chilly at night, so all the tents from
all the groups were put under the same shelter to keep the warmth in. It also
kept the snoring together, in one place. I’m not the best when it comes to this.
In fact, nothing makes me rage faster than having to listen to snoring. I just
cannot get past it. So around 4 am I took myself and my sleeping bag outside and
slept under the stars. Our guide had called the camp the ‘million star hotel’. I
have to say he was right. The night was so perfect and so clear. I’ve never seen
anything like that. I grew up in Northern Canada, where we are blessed by
northern lights and regular visits from the Milky Way, but this was something
else. Just before sunrise, the horses start rustling as they get let out. I’ll
admit, I was a little nervous then and snuck back to my tent just in time for
the cooks to bring us our wake-up-tea in bed.
Soray Mountain at sunrise. I could photograph him for days.
Neighbouring peak, name unknown (to me)
One of my favourite photos of the trip. Camp activity first thing in the
morning, the shadows are still lingering on the lower parts of the mountains.
Day 2: we were scheduled to climb Salkantay Pass first thing. The entire morning
was spent trudging our way to her, ever-increasing in altitude. The hike itself
wasn’t particularly hard. Most of it is fairly gradual. About half way to the
pass, it begins to incline some and more again right before, but it’s quite
manageable. Where the challenge lays is in the altitude. Each step takes you
higher, and as you near the 15,000 foot mark of the pass, air is sparse and you
feel your lungs burning. That being said, there are ways to deal with this to
make it easier on yourself.
As I mentioned in other posts, altitude pills do wonders but they need to be
taken ahead of time. There’s also the coca tea and the leaves to chew. I was
particularly nervous for while I grew up in the Canadian Rockies, I’ve lived at
sea level the last two years and the only exercise/training I do is yoga. That
being said, it was quite manageable. It’s a testament to yoga how well I felt.
If you have a well-balanced, regular practice (that includes breath work),
you’re most of the way there. While I recommend you be fit before coming to Peru
in general, you don’t have to be a marathon athlete, or even a mountain person
to be comfortable on this hike. You do need to be fit.
First view of Salkantay Mountain (20,565 feet) There were little stations and
settlements like this all over the place. It’s amazing where people live!
We made it to the pass around noon and our guide led us though little ceremony.
He offered us some stories of the culture in that area, then each of us chose a
rock and made a communal pile, as all the groups before.
We are just over 15,000 feet here so that stunned look on our faces is a strange
combination of elation and mild elevation sickness. Our little piece of the
mountain.
Almost immediately after going over the pass, the landscape changes and it
starts to warm up as we shift into the jungle. All that work we’d spent going
uphill in the morning, was now doubled, as we walked down over the next five
hours. Night two was much warmer than the previous and we were all in better
spirits as our bodies were able to produce white blood cells again.
Jungle Camp Floripomdio (Angle Trumpet) a key ingredient in the making of
Ayahuasca Kamtu (Jesus’ Blood)
When I walked up to camp I noticed that some of the people were butchering a
pig. Children and dogs crowded around excitedly. I didn’t see the slaughtering,
but two men in my group did. They said the family walked the little pig up on a
rope, it trotted along, seeming happy to be out with everyone. The dogs and it
played and they thought, oh look how nice that is, the little pig is out on a
walk. Then, the knife came out, brief squealing, and suddenly the dogs forgot
their earlier friendship. Life is funny.
This camp had beer. And chips.
4 Comments Posted in Peru, South America, Travel Tagged ancient ruins, guided
tours, high altitude, Machu Picchu, Salkantay Mountain, Salkantay Trek
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