These past few months have been very busy, I first wanted to
do a re-cap of the multiple trips I took in November and December. In November
I turned 25 and decided to take a two week celebration trip to Peru to explore
the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu. Peru was absolutely amazing. Besides
gasping for air like a suddenly weighed 500 pounds, altitude is no joke, it was
an amazing experience! The first part of the trip we explored the Sacred Valley
and got to see a bit of local culture. We then set off on the Inca Trial hike.
We spent four days on the Inca Trail, camping in tents along the way, then two
days exploring Machu Picchu. I am so glad I decided to do the Inca Trail, you
see so many more sites than going by train. I am also so happy I choose to do it
that way because it meant the first time I saw Machu Picchu was at the Sun
Gate, which gives you a wide sweeping view of the entire site and surrounding
mountains. It was a magnificent end to the Inca Trail and beginning to
exploring Machu Picchu. Below are a few of the pictures from the trip.
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| Jungle Birthday Cake. 25! |
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| Flying from Lima to Cusco |
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| The salt mines in the Sacred Valley |
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| At the top of the first pass; 4215 meters |
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| Very early morning wake up to see Salcantay |
Salcantay is the highest peak at 6,271 meters of the Willkapampa mountain range which is part of the Peruvian Andes. One of the reasons I chose to do the five day Inca Trail hike instead of the four day was to be able to see this peak (weather permitting, it the photo it is slightly hidden by cloud cover).
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| One of the many Inca sites along the Trail. |
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| Arriving at Machu Picchu |
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| At the top of Mount WaynaPicchu; 2,667m |
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| Inca stairs |
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| Machu Picchu Mountain |
I also went back to the United States for a week to spend
Christmas with family. It was bittersweet due to how short the visit was and
how long I will have to wait until I see them again, but my projects in my community
were calling. I have been extremely busy as several projects I have are taking
up speed, which is what I will devote the next post to!
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| New Year's Eve walk on the beach |
