Kad's Life

Apr. 26, 2008

This morning, I got up at the crack of dawn so I could catch one of the first buses back up to Machu Picchu.  I wanted to see it in the early light before it got crowded, so I hiked up to the guard tower and sat on one of the green terraces facing the snowy peaks of the Andes.  There wre tons of swallows flying around the ruins and Llamas grazing nearby.  After an hour, I met up with the rest of the group and we hiked up the Inca Trail to the Sun Gate.  It was an uphill hike with amazing views of Machu Picchu in the distance.  When we got to the Sun Gate, we got to see Machu Picchu the way the Incas saw it when they arrived via the Inca Trail.  I wish I could have photographed the beautiful iridescent butterflies that accompanied us along the trail, but pictures never would have done them justice anyway.

After leaving Machu Picchu, back on the train to the town of Urubamba.  We checked into our gorgeous hotel and then had dinner with a local family.  We drank chicha morada, a sweet drink made from boiled purple corn.  And the entree?  Roasted guinea pigs!  It was yum-o!  The little girl sitting next to Donna ate the head!  Which is apparently the best part.

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