From Perú With Love: Machu Picchu On My Mind

The time has finally come and passed! My brother and I had an idea of a trip for months to Machu Picchu (one of the seven wonders of the world, people!), and he and I finally got to take that trip two weeks ago.

I was starting to get a little homesick, so his trip down here was perfect timing. Once again, thank you, Lord! We had a few days in Trujillo before taking off where we spent time with my family and exploring the city. His Spanish was actually quite impressive, and everyone loved him (of course).

After dinner with my families!

We had such a fun trip visiting Cusco and the outlying ruins on the first day after spending the night in the airport. Unfortunately the altitude affected us a lot. It was about 3300 meters above sea level. Thank goodness for coca tea!

View of Cusco from Sacsayhuaman ruins.

The second day, we headed out with only my backpack to visit The Sacred Valley and ruins along the way. This was our first real view of the mountains, and it was beautiful. Unfortunately, the height was affecting poor ole Robby, but we made it through the day and took the hour and a half train to Aguas Calientes (the city below Machu Picchu) in the evening.

First view of the Sacred Valley.

View of the Sacred Valley from the Pisaq ruins.

Ruins in Ollantaytambo. Awesome!

Finally, on Thanksgiving Day, we got to Machu Picchu! What a thing to be thankful for, am I right!? I never imagined that I would spend any Thanksgiving out of the country and much less on Machu Picchu! The ruins themselves truly weren't as interesting as the ruins in Ollantaytambo, but the view truly was breathtaking.

First look at Machu Picchu!

Machu Picchu from above on Huayna Picchu.

This trip wouldn't have happened without my big brother taking an adventurous leap and coming down here, so I'm very thankful for him! We were quite the pair maneuvering the country side, bartering with all the annoying vendors, and eating lots of weird food (from guinea pig to al paca)