Day 9: Huayna Picchu

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Updated: July 26, 2025

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When we signed up for this expedition, one of the main reasons we didn’t mind returning to Machu Picchu (besides the fact it is Machu-freakin’ Picchu) was that our second day here offered the opportunity to start early and climb Huayna Picchu — with our prized Circuit 3, Route 3A tickets!

Huayna Picchu is the taller mountain peak that is often pictured behind (aka. to the north) the classic Machu Picchu overview. It’s got plenty of steep steps, some narrow sections, and a decent amount of exposure to heights. Sort of like Peru’s version of Angels Landing. We never got the chance to climb it in 2022, but now we do!

Huayna Picchu? YES! (Britt you got this)

The plan for the day called for another early morning wake-up call at 4:30AM (in order to take advantage of our 7AM timed-entry tickets to Machu Picchu). We stopped by the hotel restaurant for a quick and hearty breakfast of eggs, fruit, and quinoa pancakes. The trick with your 7AM tickets is actually getting in line (much earlier) for the Aguas Calentes shuttle busses on Avenida Hermanos Ayar. Another trick is successfully convincing everybody to leave at 6AM (to meet our guides’ suggested 6:15AM departure), but even with these tricks, we still needed to be saved by Luis’ move to head over even earlier and hold us a spot in the very busy bus line. Huge MVP move!

So was it busier than usual? YES, ACTUALLY! We didn’t plan it this way, but today is June 21st, which is the Winter Solstice here in the Southern Hemisphere. And if there was ever a group of people that cared about what the Sun was up to, it’s the Incans who were hanging out at Machu Picchu.

Upon realizing this fortunate coincidence a few days ago, we mentioned it to our guides. Then we successfully convinced our expedition to add a SECOND top mission to today’s plan… get inside Machu Picchu and make a bee-line to the Temple of the Sun for the Winter Solstice sunrise — scheduled for ~7:22AM. (I think Nan, Brai and us were most gung-ho about this plan.) But could we pull it off?!?!?

7AM… We’re in!

7:18AM… Made it! Temple of the Sun above us. Let’s light this candle!

7:22AM… Hello Inti!!!

Our viewing location for the June 21st, 2025 Winter Solstice sunrise at Machu Picchu was on the terraces just BELOW the Temple of the Sun. This was dictated by the fact that our Circuit 3 tickets guide you on a restricted path via a lower route — compared to our Circuit 2 tickets in 2022 that gave us an overhead view of the Temple of the Sun.

From this vantage point, we experienced the sun’s appearance above the peaks to the east and the corresponding shadows appearing on the walls. The mostly clear skies were extremely helpful too, which was a bit unusual for this rainforest region where there is usually some mist and clouds — especially in the early morning. Guess Inti feels bad for throwing a giant snowstorm at us a couple days ago. Huge round of applause to Brai and Luis who helped us pull off this mission on short notice!

LIVE LOOK inside the Temple of the Sun at 7:22AM (probably)

Confirming the astronomical observations

One task down, one to go!

Proceeding onward from the Sun Temple, Brai showed us around the Curcuit 3 route and explained the rooms and history along the way… Rooms with the best-carved rocks were the most important living quarters… Larger nearby terraces were used for agriculture… And smaller buildings were kolkas used to store the food. So on and so forth.

Eastern side of Machu Picchu

Close up of Temple of Sun and royal living quarters

Fun fact: In 1978, the king and queen of Spain came to visit and wanted to land their helicopter right in the middle of the Machu Picchu ruins (even though there is plenty of landing space on the grassy lookout areas right next to it). In order to make room, they removed a tall stone pillar from the site. They put it back after they left, but then in 1989, a group of Andean Nation leaders wanted to do the same thing. And this time, it broke. Well, duh. So now there is a grassy platform sitting there instead.

Shadows and former heliport shenanigans

Shadows and group photos

Once we were done with the circuit inside Machu Picchu, we started on the Huayna Picchu hike. Again, Huayna Picchu is the tall green mountain right behind Machu Picchu in all of the pictures. It looks very daunting from Machu Picchu, but it wasn’t too bad (most of the time). There is a path to get to the top, where additional Incan ruins are found. We had to check in at the gate and were on our way.

Brai leads the way to Huayna Picchu

Most of the trail (which takes about 45 minutes to get to the top) is stairs fashioned out of very well-worn stones. The path was (usually) wide enough for people to pass on each side, which was helpful because it’s the same route up and down. Closer to the top, the stairs became steeper and more narrow. It becomes easier to think of them like a ladder, and use your hands to keep steady. The path then leads you up a series of steep terraces, some stairs with the edge of the cliff on your left, and some buildings on the right. The brave people ventured into the buildings. Jo focused on the stairs in front of her until reaching solid ground at the top.

Steep stairs

Steep terraces

It was fortunate that today’s weather was not rainy. The one thing that would really make this hike dangerous would be wet stones. Brai said they won’t hesitate to close the route if there is too much rain. Heck, even the morning dew made certain spots tricky (especially since the trail is almost exclusively in the shade on the western face of the mountain.

Soon enough, everyone made it to the top! Even Britt who has a legitimate fear of heights. Nothing like intense exposure theory, am I right? According to Nan, there were 1,986 stairs to get to the top.

Huayna Picchu summit arrival

The Huayna Picchu view of Machu Picchu

The climb was 100% worth it and the views were amazing. We could see the Andes mountains surrounding the area as well as the entire Machu Picchu complex below. We jockeyed with the crowd for prime picture spots and realized we weren’t technically all the way at the top. So we took care of that by climbing up the final steep rocks. Jo made it mostly there. Britt opted out entirely. Pictures were taken and we scooted back down.

Jo took this picture…

From over here!

It was nice having Brai help us navigate where to go at the peak — or as one girl shouted to the crowd, “Can somebody please tell me how to get off this mountain!?!” Turns out there is a small loop to the path that leads back down, but that path goes over those final steep rocks mentioned above.

Instead, Brai got permission from one of the rangers to help us through a “shortcut” to meet up with the correct path. It was heavily covered in vegetation, and most of us ended up with prickly plant spikes in our hands, but hey, it worked! We were back on the main trail in the correct direction. Matt thought this shortcut meant we bypassed the “cave” portion of the path he read about. Unfortunately, he was wrong.

The real stairs of death

It’s not really a cave. More of a tunnel created by rocks laying on each other. But still, it was dark, low and narrow, which may be fine for Incan-sized humans, but not so much for Matt. Fortunately, he made it through without getting stuck. A few more narrow stairs (with solid ground on both sides) and we were back on the main two-way trail. From there, it was an easy (but cautious) downstairs walk back to the beginning. We went slow and steady at first, but soon found our balance and were cruising. We made it back safe and sound and waited for the rest of the group at the control booth.

Once everyone arrived, we finished our Circuit 3 route thru Machu Picchu — passing a few more fun locations such as the Temple of the Condor. We exited and went straight to Tampu, the restaurant in the Belmond Hotel that is right outside the entrance/exit gates. We had a huge buffet lunch with excellent food, subpar desserts, and limited WiFi. BUT! There was a soda fountain where we discovered that mixing Fanta and Inca Kola is delicious.

It’s the Picasso section of Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu Yelp review still good

Huayna Picchu hike details

Mid-day outside Machu Picchu is a madhouse

Next on the agenda was catching a shuttle bus down the mountain to catch our train in Aguas Calientes. The bus line was VERY long because something had temporarily halted the usually reliable stream of busses. After about 20 minutes, Luis was starting to look worried. Finally, a bus arrived! And then several more. We were close enough to the front of the line that we got on that first bus. When we got to the bottom, we speed-walked to the train station.

When we got to the train station gate, we confirmed that Inka Terra successfully delivered our bags. The station is located within a large craft market. Luis and Brai said we had 15 minutes to wander around before we needed to be back at this exact spot in 15 minutes to board the train in 15 minutes. Did I mention the part about 15 minutes???

So we went on an immediate mission to find the souvenir coin machines on the street next to the bus stop. We found one, negotiated the proper change from a nearby shop, and acquired a shiny GOLD Machu Picchu coin soon to become our next fridge magnet. SUCCESS! We hoofed it back to the train station with a few minutes to spare. Nan and Britt were also there, but… where was Qi?

We waited a few minutes, but Peru Rail does not suffer stragglers, and we eventually boarded the train without Qi. Luis stayed back to wait/search for Qi. I was pretty sure we weren’t gonna see Luis or Qi again until later that night (or who knows when!). Thankfully, with literally seconds to spare, Luis and Qi boarded the train. After the fact, we were able to laugh about this at dinner when it was revealed why Qi was late. Turns out, she lost track of time negotiating a killer deal at one of the booths. Then Qi’s phone rang. It was Luis, calling her like the banker in “Deal or No Deal.” “HEY QI, WE NEED TO LEAVE RIGHT NOW!” Thankfully, Qi said “DEAL” and finished her negotiations.

The train ride back to Ollantaytambo isn’t quite as exciting as the ride to Aguas Calientes, but they do put on a fun fashion show of (overpriced) Alpaca clothing items and they served us more traditional Peru Rail quinoa snacks. Quinoa cookies A+! We arrived back in Ollantaytambo and met our driver in the parking lot. One the ride back to Explora, Matt re-established his Bluetooth connection and played DJ once again. Mostly soothing 80s songs as most of the van was sleeping — until our arrival with Party Rock Anthem by LMFAO to get everyone pumped up for the rest of the night! Brai simulated flashing lights with his phone and asked if we were back in the 20s (aka. the early 2000s). To be fair, he was 14 when this song came out.

As we were (re)checking-in and being shown our new room, we discovered that we were allowed to go on a half-day exploration in the morning! YAPA!!!!!!!! We asked Brai which exploration he would suggest for the morning. He recommended one called Parcco. We quickly agreed and also asked Brai (half jokingly, but also quite seriously) to go tell Mati Weber to drop all of his previous plans and be our guide. Check back tomorrow for more on that.

Before dinner, we gathered at the bar and sat down for our final Expedition team meeting. Luis read us an amazing farewell letter he wrote for us. In return, we all wrote our messages to Luis on the Peru flag we’d been carrying around with us the whole time and presented it to him.

THANK YOU LUIS!!!

Then we feasted! Luis called ahead to make sure this final meal included ALL the items we’ve been talking about trying the last few days. We had Aji de Gallino with shredded Parmesan Cheese for the main course, Lucuma-flavored Suspiro a la Limeña for dessert, and a bonus birthday cake for Nan (her birthday is in two days).

Tomorrow will now be another early morning for us to go on our Parcco exploration before we leave for Cusco. Luis took care of getting us a late check out, so we will be able to hike, eat lunch and worry about packing our bags before 3pm. We also planned to see Luis (and his dogs!) once more tomorrow afternoon before we depart, but, as it turned out, Luis cleverly pulled a Michael Scott on us, making tonight our last goodbye. That’s ok, you’re still the best! 🙂 🇵🇪

Day 8: Machu Picchu

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Updated: July 26, 2025

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Today the expedition heads northwest, where we will venture to Machu Picchu, the world-famous 15th century Incan citadel sometimes referred to as “The Lost City of the Incas”. But it’s not lost anymore… we discovered this UNESCO Heritage site all the way back in 2022 (previous visit).

With that said, seeing Machu Picchu for the SECOND time is going to be WAY BETTER because we’ve got our Expedition friends with us and we’re going to EARN IT!!! The plan is to hike the last 12km and ~700m elevation gain of the Inca Trail to arrive via the Sun Gate (Inti Punku). Let’s go!

Today’s early morning start is no bull

The day started with a 4:45AM wake-up call at the campsite. Inti seemed fully on board with the plan, providing us with superb weather and clear pre-dawn skies (already an upgrade from our rainy/cloudy 2022 visit). We had a quick bite to eat before our 6AM departure, featuring the usual fruit and cereal and some special fluffy bread (too full to try). The only thing that didn’t go right this morning was Matt’s left contact split in half when he was putting in his eyes. Uh, that’s new! I suppose the cold weather didn’t help. Thankfully he has a backup, but the new margin of error for seeing properly the rest of the trip is far more dramatic now.

Packing up our gear, we are now officially done with the camping portion of the trip. All the remaining days will conclude at hotels. Therefore, the kitchen team gave us bag lunches to take with us on the hike, complete with two sandwiches, chips, fruit, and chocolates. Once everyone was actually in the van, we peeled out for the Ollantaytambo train station about 45 minutes away. At the station, we checked our bags with a luggage service to transport them to our next hotel in Aguas Calientes. We also said goodbye to Chio at this point, who was heading back to Explora and starting her vacation days. Adiós y buena suerte Chio!

We proceeded to the Peru Rail waiting area. The no-nonsense lady with the sign for Group A (that’s us) showed up at boarding time and and looked displeased with our “lining up” skills, but we immediately rectified that and followed her to our train. We found our seats and settled in (Brai kindly switched with Jo to let her face forward).

The train departed on time and we were off… but WAIT! As we were pulling away from the station, we casually asked Brai if our bags are supposed to be on this train or a following train, because, um, we just passed them sitting on the platform. “Probably this one,” he said. As if on cue, the train stopped, reversed back into the station, and paused for a few moments. When we pulled away again, the bags were no longer sitting on the platform. Magic!

The train ride takes about 90 minutes. If the Urubamba River Valley scenery wasn’t enough, Peru Rail puts on quite a show to keep you entertained. We were (forcibly, lol) invited to go to the bar car with live music and traditional dancing. There was also a viewing car with huge windows to continue observing the gorgeous views. The only way this gets better is if enthusiastic train employees would kindly clap along to the music more than six-inches from your ear! (Go ahead and file that under first-world Peru Rail Group A problems)

Soaking in the scenery

When we were eventually booted from the bar car (to share with Group B), we returned to our seats, and started playing Booyah! — initiating Nan & Britt to the game. Rave reviews, as expected. Soon thereafter, the snack and beverage service started, featuring the familiar snack box of quinoa cereal bars and quinoa chips. Quinoa means they’re healthy, right? RIGHT?!? (For the record, the chips are much better than the bars.)

This train makes one stop before it reaches Aguas Calientes (aka. “Machu Picchu Town”), and that is at Kilometer 104 — where the adventurous Inca trail hikers get off (that’s us, again!). When the train “stops” here, you better be ready to jump! About five seconds after you get off the train, it is on it’s way again.

Second official train-pointing

We took stock of our gear (double-checked our hiking poles had the rubber footies on them per regulations), put on sunscreen and bug cream, and crossed the bridge over the Urubama River to officially rejoin the Inca Trail. And then… a bunch of paperwork! But our passports eventually checked out and we were on our way. Weather was still amazing — nice and sunny, but not TOO hot just yet.

Inca Trail 2: The Return to the Inca Trail

On our route from Kilometer 104 onward, the typical Inca Trail currently has parts that are under construction after being washed out by heavy rains and landslides in February. So we had to take a different route. While the old route was a more gradual incline, our new route is very flat followed by a heart-attack level spike in elevation. For the first hour, we had lovely views of the river and some archeological sites, as well as some very cool rainforest zone nature, including the bright red National bird of Peru called the Andean Cock-of-the-rock.

And then we arrived at the stairs section. For the next two hours, we hiked up Inca stairs for ~700 meters. We found it easier to maintain a slow, steady Geraint Thomas-like pace to the top of the climb rather than making frequent stops and starts. We remembered to stay hydrated and look at the amazing views. It was actually very fun! Once we got to the top, we found a shady spot to eat our bag lunch and figure out how to eat a Granadilla (a sweeter, less-tart version of passionfruit with translucent, jelly-like seeds) while waiting for the rest of the group. They are great! Speaking of Passionfruit, here’s a Pro Tip… Fill your bottle with cold Passion Fruit juice at breakfast to drink when you get to the top of this climb.

Up and away we go

Looks like a sea creature, tastes great!

Once everyone had time to eat and recover, we made a pit stop at Wiñaywayña, another Incan citadel built by Pachacutec in the 15th century. In Quechua, the name means “forever young” or “eternally young.” In addition to the usual buildings, this complex features 40+ terraces and an ingenious aqueduct system to take water from 10 surrounding waterfalls and propagate it thru the citadel. We spent some time exploring the place before heading back to the the main trail and continuing our hike.

Welcome to Incan Rivendell!

Double-jam is his jam

Great Urubamba River Valley views

Exploring the lower complex structures

“Be courageous and be brave. And in my heart, you’ll always stay, Forever young”

“Climb ev’ry terrace, Ford ev’ry stream, Follow ev’ry rainbow, Till you find your dream.”

Back on the Inca Trail, the remaining 6-7km leveled out with a few uphill sections, but nothing like the previous stairs section. We walked ahead with Brai to maintain a nice pace, while Luis teamed up with Qi, Nan, and Britt. To pass the time, we played the “I’m going on a trip and I’m taking with me…” game. Our best category was countries. (“Hey Brai… Albania, Brazil, Cuba, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greenland, Haiti, India, Japan, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein, Morocco, Nigeria, Oman, Peru, Qatar, Russia, South Africa, Tanzania, Urugay, Venezuela, Wales, Xylophoneland, Yemen, and Zambia!!!”)

Inca Trail fun and games

At one point, Brai warned us about the “Gringo Killer Monkey Steps” section ahead. He didn’t give a ton of details and just said, “you will see!” with a smile. Thanks, Gollum. Turns out the name is much scarier than the steps. Sure, it’s steep, but it’s also plenty wide and there are no cliff edges to contemplate. At the top of the stairs was great lookout. We waited for everyone to join and enjoyed the view. Also, there was a giant spider web complex with multiple large spiders in the rocks/vegetation near the lookout. Very Shelob lair-ish, Gollum.

Monkey steppin’

Accidentally wore the team uniform

The seven… wonders… how much farther?

After the Monkey Steps, it wasn’t long before we arrived at the Sun Gate to Machu Picchu! We soaked in the afternoon sunshine and the golden views of Machu Picchu from the ruins of Inti Punku (aka. “sun door”). The sun gate also marks a position of the sun during the Summer Solstice (which will be useful exactly six months from today, more on that tomorrow). From here, Machu Picchu is still another 1-2km in the distance, and it takes roughly another hour of walking downhill to reach the classic high view point.

Sun Gate breached

Aptly-named Inti Punku

Tip of the hat, Inti

From the Sun Gate to Machu Picchu, the trail features some steep exposures to the east. There are treetops visible, but due to the undergrowth it’s hard to say if you are looking at a 10ft drop, or a 50ft drop. Either way, you really shouldn’t drop anything over the edge, because there’s NO WAY you’re going to be able to get it back.

UNLESS… You are Qi.

While taking pictures near the edge, Qi dropped her GoPro off the side. Miraculously, there were enough branches to cradle it and keep it from falling all the way down (who knows how far!). It was too low to reach (thankfully Luis decided not to jump off the edge), so she miraculously used two hiking poles to “grab” it and gently raise it high enough to retrieve. Just, wow.

Fin Camino Inca Trail

Finally, we made it to Machu Picchu. Our route took us right onto the classic viewing area where the sun was starting to set and we had a perfect view of golden hour. On arrival, we gave the weather/cloud cover a 7/10 rating, but Nan immediately negotiated a better deal with Inti and it quickly became a 10/10.

Another huge benefit of arriving to Machu Picchu by hike later in the afternoon is that all the crowds are gone (they all had to leave early to catch the bus, to the train, to the van back to Cusco or wherever, etc. — like we did in 2022). This time, we only had to contend with the llamas.

Machu Picchu back again x2

Watching the earliest sunset of the year at Machu Picchu

Just us and the locals up here at golden hour

Inca Trail to Machu Picchu hike details

When we were done gazing at Machu Picchu and it’s surroundings, we left the park and took the shuttle bus down the switchbacks to Aguas Calientes. From the bus stop, we walked to the Inkaterra hotel. As promised, our bags were at the hotel waiting for us. We checked in and were shown to our rooms (which have real fireplaces!). There was even time to shower and get ready before we returned to the bar and enjoyed our pisco sour welcome drinks.

Back in Aguas Calientes

The rest of the group joined us and we were eventually sat for dinner. Everything was tasty, but the passionfruit sour (aka. the fruit of the day!) was the best. The food, drinks, and alcohol were all on separate checks, so Luis got a chance to do his best Lionel Messi impression by signing everything put in front of him. Star power!

EARNED it!

By the time we were done, it was pretty late, and we were all ready to sleep. Alas, we did not hit a Karaoke bar with Brai. We have another early morning again tomorrow if we are gonna try to witness the Winter Solstice sunrise at the Sun Temple in Machu Picchu! Oh, and a small hike up Huayna Picchu.

Day 7: Camp Kamcancha

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Updated: July 17, 2025

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Good morning! The sun is shining. Roosters are crowing. Dogs are barking at the roosters. And other dogs are now barking at those dogs. But who cares about all that noise… WAKE UP!!! THE SUN IS SHINING!!! You can dry out that wet jacket in about five minutes in these rays!

Glorious blue skies

Today’s breakfast featured the usual spread of fruit, granola, and yogurt. There was also orange juice, toast, ham and cheese. Plus, we were each served a large pancake. Matt constructed a tasty pancake taco with butter and jam inside. Then the chef brought out a plate of extra pancakes, and we learned the Quechua word “yapa,” meaning “a little extra or bonus.” Qi proceeded to eat two full pancakes and gave Matt grief for only eating one. But hey, somebody is smart enough to save room for chocolates.

Additional educational nuggets from breakfast include the word “granola” translating directly to big wave (aka. “gran” and “ola”), while the wheat bran cereal is called Salvador de Trigo, which directly translates to “safe wheat.” In food recommendations to try later, Suspiro a la Limeña was emphasized. Explora has it on the menu and Luis said we can get one that is lucuma-flavored to kill two tasting birds with one stone.

Before leaving, all members of the expedition (guides, travelers, and camp staff) gathered for some official introductions and shared appreciations. The horse team was no longer planning to follow our route, so we bid farewell. The rest of us marched out of camp in an eastward direction, up a steep incline, then down a giant ravine, and back up the other side.

Laura is not here to whip up a grass bridge, so we traversed this ravine the old fashioned way

Continuing along the Inca Trail (we were still the only ones going backwards), we saw many groups of hikers and porters heading the other direction. On paper, Peru has regulations about the maximum weight that companies are allowed to make porters carry, but it’s obvious the enforcement of those regulations is questionable (compared to Tanzania’s protections for Kilimanjaro porters), given what some porters were hauling past us.

Oxbow back on track

There were no major towns along this portion of the trail, but that doesn’t stop entrepreneurial locals from setting up stands on the side of the road to sell travelers various goods and refreshments. The most popular refreshment is Chica – a fermented or purple corn-based beer/kombucha-style drink. Luis, Brai, and horse guide Alejandro purchased a round (only 3 soles total – about 85 cents) and immediately downed them. It was impressive.

Cheers to the sun!

Chica-powered hikers

The rest of the hike was an Andean flat with a slight rise in elevation toward the end. The wildlife enjoyed the weather as much as the humans, with a variety of hummingbirds zipping around the side of the path. The snow-capped peak of Mt. Veronica loomed beautifully large in our sights as we followed the Urubamba River to Kilometer 82, and the bridge across the river to the town of Piskacucho — which is the traditional starting/entry point of the Inca Trail.

Mt. Veronica showing off today

Bridge to Piskacucho, Kilometer 82

Para bailar Urubama!

We have an official train-pointing

One for the calendar

Hike to Piskacucho details

After officially “exiting” the Inca Trail entrance at Kilometer 82, we found Nan & Britt awaiting us in town with a Explora Van. Given the fact that we successfully hit our time splits on the morning hike, and our Plan A Camp 4 location was only a short drive away, we all opted to make a short field trip to nearby Ollantaytambo. But first, we had a quick box lunch of chips and quinoa with trout (instead of a fancier restaurant that probably would have taken at least two hours). Nan & Britt regaled us with the story of their mountain evacuation adventure from Day 5.

On the drive from Piskacucho to Ollantaytambo, Matt played bluetooth DJ and successfully timed Free Bird to end right exactly with our arrival in the main plaza. Chio took the lead and showed us around the town. We visited a Cancha — a common architectural arrangement featuring an enclosed residential area surrounded by four houses. These houses were about 600 years old and had a whole bunch of guinea pigs running around. We’re pretty sure this is the exact same Cancha we visited in 2022. That Singer sewing machine in the corner looked very familiar.

Expedition Ladies…

… and Gents

After strolling thru a few more back alleys, we made our way to the Ollaytatambo National Archeological Park entrance where Brai donned his official Peru archeological site tour guide credentials and guided us to the top with useful knowledge about Incan masonry, engineering, and beliefs. One of the most important structures on site is the Sun Temple. It was in the process of being built, but before it was finished, the Spanish invaded. The construction quickly turned from the Sun Temple to creating a military base on the same site.

“Let them come. There is still one Inca yet in Ollantaytambo who still draws breath.”

When Indiana Jones is teaching his class

Agricultural, astronomical and military structures

The other side of the door!

Once we were done exploring the top of the Ollantaytambo site, we climbed back down thru the crowd and checked out some fountains at the bottom before exiting. We found Chio and Luis holding a table for us at Incabacks Cafe — where we ordered a quick snack of amazing empanadas, a refreshing mango smoothie, and a colorful chicha icee.

One mango smootie please!

Back in the van, we headed to our Plan A Camp 4 campsite, called Kamcancha. When we arrived, we (aka. the camp staff) immediately started a pachamanca with potatoes, corn, pineapple, beef, chicken, and trout. The operation starts with a fire and some super-heated stones. When the stones are deemed hot enough, the rocks are carefully re-arranged and the food joins the party. With everything in place, the structure is covered with metal/tarp/dirt to cook inside the earth for about an hour.

Panchamanca Masters

What a coincidence! An hour is exactly how much time we need to get one last fabulous round of massages. When we were done, the team was just about ready to open the pachamarca and prepare dinner. Because there was so much food, and so many options, tonight the food was served buffet style. Everything turned out wonderfully and we all had our fill.

There was talk of another game of “Booyah!” but with a very early start planned for tomorrow (it’s gonna be good!!!), we decided to head to sleep instead.

PS. Animal antagonist of the night: A VERY vocal bull. 🐂

Day 6: Camp Patallacta

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Updated: August 8, 2025

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We awoke this morning to gray skies and damp everything. Our “clothes pachamanca” sort of worked, but not enough to fully dry anything. So Matt opted for a new pair of socks and different shoes, while Jo switched to a fresh pair of pants that weren’t caked in mud from the knees down. On a positive note, the hot coffee delivered thru the front door of our tent really hit the spot.

Morning weather report

We made our way to the breakfast tent where the selection included the usual fruit, granola, and yogurt, plus delicious scrambled eggs. And don’t forget the bran flakes with milk. Even better, yesterday Luis and Brai noticed Matt’s appreciation of the local chocolate confections that appear during Explora’s turn down service (in the tents too!) and are now hooking him up with extras. So bran flakes with milk AND chocolates for breakfast it is!

The plan for the day was an 11km hike — mostly downhill to reach our next (Plan B2) campsite. We followed a river/stream most of the way as we descended through the lingering clouds and light rain. We learned this amount of of rain is called “Misty Manchachiq”, aka. the kind of rain that makes city folk freak out, but isn’t really so bad.

Over the river and thru the misty manchachiq

Descending to the northeast

As promised, the hike was pretty flat with gradual downhills. Dropping in altitude, we were making pretty good time. We hiked though forest, farms, and fields, eventually finding ourselves below the misty mountain clouds — which meant the rain stopped, and it was even warm enough to tentatively shed some layers.

Brai found some explosive berries along the trail

Uruk-hai clovers for better luck with the weather?

Even Chumpy deserves a break

Roughly halfway on our route, we encountered Paucarcancha, an Incan archeological site that is a part of the larger Machu Picchu Sanctuary area. It is/was situated in a convenient location to grow some crops, observe the Qhapac Ñan, and gaze admiringly at Salkantay (when not cloudy!), but we have not yet reached the most popular sections of the Inca trail, so foot traffic here is pretty low. We basically had the place to ourselves for a while.

Discovery!

The site lived up to it’s name. Paucar means “colorful” or “flowery” and Cancha means “open space” or “corral.” The weather was starting to cooperate, so we spent the next 30-45 minutes exploring the ruins and sitting/relaxing in the grassy terraces of what was once a bustling administrative outpost of the Incan Empire.

Paucarcancha

Nap time amid the ruins

Some of the terraces are fixer uppers

This “rata” plant loves it when you explore here

After enjoying Paucarcancha for a while, we walked a few hundred meters below the ruins to a campsite area for lunch. We had cucumber and avocado salad with chia bread, dry potato soup (which is different than regular potato soup — and probably one of the accounting tricks Peru uses to claim so many varieties of potatoes), and a delicious vegetable saltado. Dessert was a chia ball/RX bar-type thing with sesame seeds that no one really ate. Alas.

We got ourselves ready again and set off for the second half of the hike. We eventually merged with the main Inca Trail that goes to Machu Picchu. Because of this, we saw lots of tour groups and porters (and trash). Because the Inca trail passes thru the existing town of Wayllabamba, there are also gift shops, bars, and discos. We were actually now hiking the Inca trail in the OPPOSITE direction used by travelers who are making the four or five day trek to Machu Picchu. One hiker who passed us asked her guide, “Wait, you can go DOWN the Inca Trail???”

Onward to Wayllabamba

Inca Trail 7-Eleven

More than one way to go on the Inca Trail

As we closed the distance to our campsite, we passed a fun-looking waka (Incan term for “sacred place” or “object of veneration”), right next to another archaeological site complete with terraces. Qi, Brai and Matt ventured up the steps to get a better view of this landmark. Perhaps the location was special because the rock at the top of the climb bears roughly the same outline as the mountain range behind it?

Venturing up the waka

Bit of a waka to get up here! (Rim-shot)

There is some congruity here

After exploring the waka, we continued on just a bit further to the campsite, named Patallacta. Turns out the day’s full hike was more like 16km (rather than 11), but we still arrived at about 4:30pm. And to be fair, this is Plan B, so Explora probably didn’t have our route measured perfectly, instead relying on the locals who probably aren’t running around with their Srava GPS turned on at all times.

View of Camp Patallacta (beyond the terraces)

Welcome home!

Hike to Camp 3 details

We had plenty of time for another round of amazing massages, and Happy Hour — featuring terra chips, cheese crackers, and wine. Pro tip: Add a scoop of the diced green rocoto chilis to the cheese chips for an instant jalapeño popper. Dinner was soup, fried chicken and polenta, and poached pears in a wine sauce for dessert. Delicious.

At dinner, Chio, Brai and Luis filled us in on several of Peru’s best-known spirits and legends including Jarjachas (nocturnal beasts punished for crimes of incest) and Condenados (evil spirits, perhaps cursed to perpetually cross rivers) — and shared their own scary stories about potential sightings.

Brai broke out the bluetooth speaker and we discovered his taste in music is incredible. We also learned jukeboxes are called rocolas. Finally, we shared some of our worldly knowledge and taught the guides how to play the game “Booyah!” Now the greatest and easiest card game has gone global — originating from Matt’s parents and renamed by our friend’s 9-year-old Charles. We played until we were too tired and had to sleep.

Tomorrow we’ll continue our hike backwards down the Inca trail, meet back up with Nan & Britt, check out Ollantaytambo, and make a triumphant return to the fourth night campsite from Plan A!

Antagonists of the night/early morning: dogs, trains, and roosters

Day 5: Camp Pampa Khawana

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Updated: November 23, 2025

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The weather this morning is completely unpredictable. After what seemed like a break in the clouds yesterday evening, we awoke at 1AM to the sound of heavy rain pelting our tent which continued thru our designated wake-up time of 5:45AM. Not encouraging at all (especially if you were thinking of sending any wifi messages overnight from outside your tent).

Evidence of rain all night (and Big Agnes secret Peru branding)

Fortunately, by the time we put on our hiking clothes, packed up (keeping those rain coats handy), and had our hot water/beverages delivered to our tent, the rain stopped and the skies momentarily cleared as we gathered for breakfast and our daily briefing. As expected, the breakfasts on the trail are Explora-level delicious – featuring porridge, fruit, granola, and yogurt, plus Matt’s personal boring favorite… bran flakes and milk.

What rain???

Before we started hiking, the staff checked on Nan’s condition. Unfortunately, she was still feeling pretty bad. With the advice of the guides, she decided she would try to walk a little and use the horse to get to the lunch spot and decide what to do from there. She has experience riding, so this seemed like a good option.

Nan decides to give it a shot

The day’s hike was planned for 15k further north and higher into the Puna region, including an extra kilometer or two at the start before we pass the original night one campsite (Acopia, which was too flooded to stay at). At the start, the clouds and fog were constantly moving about, drastically restricting visibility one second, then briefly clearing up.

Weather will be an uphill battle today

We never actually saw Salkantay to our northwest as we climbed in elevation. But we kept our spirits up by asking Brai questions, goofing around with animal bones, and identifying obvious Korok locations with our nifty monoculars.

Hey, Hey! Not Salkantay!

Puna fashion accessory

Take a picture, it will last longer

From this point forward, the battle for decent weather became a decidedly one-sided affair, as banks of mist rolled in from below us, the sky darkened above us, and varying forms of precipitation started again. As Brai warned us yesterday, “Everything is Possible in the Mountains, but nothing is sure.”

13th Warrior vibes

Nothing (literally) dampens Jo’s sprit

Many portions of the trail were just completely mud. We did our best to avoid these portions of the trail and walk on the grass/straw plants whenever possible, but sometimes there wasn’t enough room, or the grass was just as wet and squishy. Muddy shoes it is!

Fortunately no one fell in the mud, just frequent slipping and questionable footing, which slowed our pace considerably. There were also two pretty steep sections where we completely disregarded the switchbacks and bushwhacked our way to the top. It was tiring, but it worked. By this point, Britt also utilized one of the horses to help him get up the steep path.

After we got to the top of a section Brai affectionately called “El Diablo,” the rain turned to sleet. Then snow. The trails were starting to get covered in snow and we couldn’t quite tell where exactly was trail anymore. Walking became very difficult without slipping — and Matt happily noted that micro spikes would have been extremely useful right about now.

Side note: Next week we are going to Inti Raymi in Cusco, but Inti is doing a really crappy job of converting us to his religion. We figured one of the main perks of worshiping the Sun God was you can actually SEE THE SUN.

White out

About six hours after leaving the campsite in the morning, we finally made it to the lunch spot at the “halfway” point. By now, the snow was really falling, we still had about seven kilometers to go, and the sun was going to set in three hours. Because they were on the horses, Nan and Britt made it to the lunch spot about an hour before the rest of us. But Nan was still feeling altitude sickness, so an evacuation plan was put in motion to get Nan and Britt off the mountain and back to the Explora hotel.

We later learned this operation involved horses, walking, AND motorcycles — which sounds kinda awesome (all things considered). Plus, the southern route they took was thru a valley with halfway decent weather.

Lunch time and decision time

Meanwhile, the rest of us gathered in the dining tent to warm up and learn our fate over another delicious Explora lunch — while the snow and rain continued. The simple bread and cheese sandwich appetizers hit the spot, but of course they also brought out trout pasta and dessert. We were thinking, “Um, Hey! Maybe we should get moving!” But Brai and company were on top of it, huddling outside the tent and putting the satellite phone to work. So… we ate lunch both leisurely AND anxiously.

Ultimately, it was determined the weather was not clearing up. A runner from the camp team scouted our planned campsite (Wilke) and confirmed it was snowed in. Therefore, given the snow, the time of day, and the extreme sogginess of everybody’s “Peru Dry Season™” gear, the guides enacted Plan B: Get to lower ground, asap.

Instead of heading toward the snowed-in campsite to the east, we headed north, targeting a new campsite located at about ~3800m. The first portion of the new route was still at the ~4600m level so we braved the snow and cold for a bit longer. Brai literally lifted our spirits at our highest elevation by lifting a spirit – a capful of anais liqueur for each of us. Shots! We were energized and ready to go the rest of the way. Brai also made an offering to Salkantay (even though he was not cooperating).

Heading down

We were still trying to beat the sunset (“sun” being used VERY loosely there) and the precipitation, so we walked as quickly as possible without slipping. Luis’ bright yellow jacket was SUPER helpful to spot him when he was more than 20 feet in front of us. We got below the snow line, and the rain finally turned to mist.

Spotting Yellow things in the Mist, Part 1

Spotting Yellow things in the Mist, Part 2

We finally got to our campsite (just before dark!) called Pampa Khawana, meaning “flat viewpoint”. Lower in elevation, it was warmer than our lunch spot in the snow, but still quite cold. Plus, everything was soaking wet. Gortex can only do so much. It was such a challenging day that even Jo opted for a massage later at camp. Turns out they are good!

We’re Alive! And thankfully not the 1993 Movie!

Hike to Camp 2 details

Because of the change in plans, the camp team only arrived slightly before us, and they did a Herculean job to get all the essentials ready for us. Matt took a boiling camp shower to warm up and we laid out/hung up what we could in order to help things dry. But since the weather was still wet and cold, nothing was gonna dry.

We went to the dining tent for dinner of veggie soup, beef, potatoes, and a jackfruit dessert. We also had more anise shots and were advised that if we wanted to order anis at a bar or restaurant, we have to ask for Anisado. Otherwise, they will try to give us the spice. I know we are aren’t fluent in Spanish, but I think we would probably notice the difference.

During dinner, the guides also told us about a fruit called lucuma that they all love, but couldn’t describe. It goes in smoothies, or ice cream, or plain. We will have to try some when we get back to Explora. They also mentioned Ochucutu sauce, which is a homemade spicy sauce. We also confirmed that Rocoto peppers (Peruvian name) and Locoto peppers (Bolivian name) are the same thing, so we are set with our Rocoto sauce at home. But here’s a new Rocoto Pro Tip! Chopped up green Rocoto peppers makes an incredibly tasty salsa. Alas, those might be harder to find in Chicago.

Guides relax (a bit) after a crazy day. Thanks guys!!!

After dinner, the camp team gave us warm water bottles to use in our sleeping bags to help keep us warm. Matt figured we could use them to make a “clothes panchamaca” and take a shot at drying some of our clothes. So… we wrapped our wet clothes around the hot bottle, wrapped that inside of a couple blankets, and put it in the bottom of the sleeping bag. Here’s hoping that we have somewhat dry socks tomorrow!

Day 4: Camp Punkuccasa

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Updated: July 10, 2025

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Today the real adventure begins! Our next four nights will be at tented camps along Explora’s curated hiking route thru the Vilcabamba mountain range. One problem. It has been raining since the middle of the night, and the usually sunny Explora cornfields are draped in clouds and mist. We are told this is unusual, considering it is the middle of Peru’s “Dry Season.” Apparently, we are good at bringing the unusual weather.

After filling up on our usual breakfast (eggs, avocado toast, fruit and yogurt, and of course espresso), we partially checked out of the hotel. We turned in our room 10 key, left our main luggage for safe-keeping, and packed our camping/hiking necessities with us in the Explora-provided Patagonia 55L Black Hole duffle bags — which DEFINITELY weight less than 10kg — unless you’re taking that military-grade Explora poncho with you, in which case your duffle weighs 75kg. We then joined the rest of the expedition team at the big map for the big send-off.

Intrepid Sacred Valley Exploration team #2

We drove through Urubamba again, which has a lot of stray dogs. They seem generally well taken care of (not skinny or sick looking), but today was trash day, and the dogs were very excited to have piles of trash bags to sift through. It was very Isle of Dogs-esque. Luis told us that he is trying to start a local campaign to spay and neuter the strays to reduce the number of new stray dogs in the area. He has three dogs of his own at home — Mango, Mulatto, and Pillie.

The drive to the trailhead took about three hours (and Jo was awake for some of it!). Along the way we stopped for some coca leaves and some “bathrooms,” which were so bad that using the Inca toilets would have been much better. The last part of the drive was up a dirt road for about 30 minutes. We stepped out of the van at 3400m. It was still raining.

Rollercoaster of a drive there

Upon arrival to the town of Misquiyaco (more like MISTY-aco, amirite?!?) we saw a portion of our support team consisting of humans, horses, and mules. We immediately put our rain gear to use. We also applied sunscreen (in blind faith, mostly) followed by some insect repellant — since we are starting the hike in the rainforest zone. Before heading out, we made a Coca-Cola offering to Panchamama (hopefully for better weather!).

Expedition staging area

Once everyone was ready, we headed north into the Misquiyaco Conservation Reserve. The name Misquiyaco means good or sweet Earth. In our case, it also means wet earth. We started hiking up the trail. And up and up and up some more. The terrain was pretty muddy from the rains overnight but we made it just fine. The rainforest was beautiful – dense with trees covered in moss and lichen, plants all along the ground brushing our legs as we walked past, and branches hanging down low.

Into the wild selfie

A brief reprieve from the rain

Misquiyaco Mushrooms for Mica!

While the majority of the support team travels separately to get to the lunch spot and our nightly camp before we do, we did have two humans (Laura and Alex) and two horse (Crespo – meaning curly, and Chumpy – meaning brownish red color) hiking with us in case of an emergency. We could use the horses to ride if altitude sickness was an issue, or they could carry our bags if they got too heavy.

Chumpy, Crespo (barely), Laura, and Alex

As we ascended, we quickly moved out of the rainforest zone and into the Puna zone. Big trees and tweeting birds were replaced with rolling grasslands and mooing cows. We continued our journey, moving off to the side a few times to let the horse team pass. Turns out you can do a lot of things with the grass in this area (if your name is Laura).

Brai is legally obligated to say the rain is good luck

After some breaks and snacks, we made it to the lunch spot. This is no ordinary backpacking lunch break. This is the full Explora experience complete with multiple plated courses. To start, we had a trout appetizer, then semolina soup (which is basically cream of wheat), and causa de pollo, with passion fruit mousse for dessert. Oh, and don’t forget the rosemary bread. The worst part was not being able to eat too much since we still had more walking to do and couldn’t afford a food coma. It was still raining on and off while we ate, but it seemed to stop as we finished and got ready to start hiking again.

Lunch spot reached

Lunch finished, let’s go, maybe the rain won’t notice!

We continued our way up through the puna. While the rain seemed to be done (lol), clouds were still passing above and below us, occasionally allowing spectacular glimpses of the surrounding mountains and the valley.

Clouds rolling thru

We also had some cows follow us for a while. Apparently Laura (one of the horse guides) owns these cows, so they were looking for her to give them some tasty salt. Laura also revealed that she had lit a candle and done a ritual to ask for rain a couple days ago to help her farm and livestock. So… she basically cursed us. She is going back home tonight (someone else is coming to lead the horses). We kindly asked if she would blow out that candle.

About an hour and a half after lunch, we closed in on the location of our first campsite, and the rain subsided long enough for some of the natural landscape to shine.

Last pit-stop before camp

The campsite appeared out of nowhere as we crested a ridge. The name of this site is Punkuccasa (the pronunciation of the two Cs indicate this is a Quechuan word) and sits at 4200m. This campsite was not the original planned site (Spoiler alert: more of that to come!), but the original site was flooded due to all the recent rain in Peru’s famous “Dry Season.”

Punkuccasa, home sweet home

What is that bright light???

Hike to Camp Punkuccasa details

But no complaints! This site was great and it was getting pretty close to sunset. In addition, the clouds had cleared and we spend some time enjoying the view and taking pictures during golden hour.

Flag series continues

Luis and Brai tolerating the guests

Group shot

We were shown our ginormous tents and settled in. A bonkers addition to our hiking team are two masseuses. Matt took advantage of the offer and got a full body massage (along with Luis) before Happy Hour. It was amazing.

By this point, Nan was really feeling the affects of the altitude and was resting in her tent. Wilderness First Aid Certified Brai and Chio spent some time assessing and checking on her. The rest of the group gathered in the dining tent for some snacks and tea for Happy Hour and then a full dinner of Pumpkin soup, carrot bread, trout with rice and potatoes (Brai says every meal in Peru is rice and something or potatoes and something, so this is double Peru-ness), and chia pudding with strawberries. Brai was not a fan of the pudding until we let him know the strawberries were hiding at the bottom. Another bonus in the dining tent are the power banks we can use to charge our electronics.

After dinner, we were all pretty beat and went off to our rooms (hard to call them tents) to sleep.

Before the rain

PS. Animal antagonist of the night: the horses.

Day 3: Wata

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Updated: July 19, 2025

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We have another full day at the Explora Sacred Valley lodge before we kick it up a notch and go off the grid. The plan for today is a hike to the archaeological site of Wata — as featured on National Geographic’s Lost Cities with Albert Lin, who, if you watch the episode about the Incas, will definitely let you know how great his LiDAR drone is.

But first! We hand-delivered a few very valuable items to one of our favorite Explora guides Mati Weber. He was our lead guide on the Tierra del Fuego Expedition. When Patagonia National Park closes for the winter, he heads up to Sacred Valley until the warmer temps return to Chile.

Another beaver imported from North America

After catching up with Mati for a couple minutes, it was time for breakfast. On the menu today: the traditional (and necessary) double cappuccino, and over-easy egg sandwiches with avocado and tomato. Mmmm.

Traditional AND Necessary

We met up with the Expedition group at 8:15AM to head out for the full-day hike. Brai explained the hike and we marched to the van. The drive took about an hour and a half. And hey! Along the way we passed by Sky Lodge (see Peru Day 11 and Day 12).

Most of the drive was typical Peru craziness (speed bumps out of nowhere, dogs and cars crossing at any moment), and the last 20 minutes was driving up a narrow dirt road on tight switchbacks. No worries though, Explora drivers are the best and we made it safe and sound.

Before starting the hike, we took a few minutes to stretch and set up/put on our gear. The route today has some uphill sections in the first half (to reach Wata at the high point), but nothing insane.

Hike 2 Group Selfie

Onward!

Upward!

Everybody proceeded at a slow and steady pace to acclimate at the ~3800m elevation. We passed through tiny villages with amazing views of the surrounding areas and Andes mountains.

Local villages nestled in the valleys

And their security staff

Wata great view! (Disclaimer: Not actually a picture of Wata, just a bad pun)

One for the calendar

After about two hours of hiking, we made it to Wata, a pre-Incan structure that was at least partially used as a Kolka (storage house). It is unsure what exactly the purpose of the entire structure was, but theories include burial ground, homes, and ceremonial center.

Now this is actually Wata

Looking for the reception desk

We took time to wander around Wata for a while before enjoying lunch, including the quintessential Explora soup.

Exploring Wata

Camp chair perfect for Wata patio seating

Luis’ superpower is he can nap ANYWHERE

After we ate our sandwiches and pasta (and soup, and appetizers, and dessert), we started the descent back down to the main road to the south. It was another three-ish miles. Not the same route as the way up, but similar nature and views.

Starting the descent

At one point along the trail, we saw a giant crawling insect that looked like a big black spider, but also has orange wings. Turns out it was a Tarantula Hawk wasp that, as the name implies, kills tarantula spiders and carries them off. They also have a very painful sting. Good thing we “noped” right out of there as soon as it went airborne.

American Kestral (maybe) feather?

American Kestral Apparel

Hiking downhill goes faster, and we needed fewer breaks, so it only took about an hour and a half to get down. That said, we were in no rush and took our time, especially on the steep sections, so we didn’t fall or destroy our knees. The very last section was to cross railroad tracks, and then a river (on a bridge). Finally, we met our driver and celebratory snacks and drinks. It was a gorgeous day, so all-in-all a great hike.

Looking back toward Wata

The promised van

Tag-team knee brace removal team

Wata hike details

Since we hiked down to the main road, we did not need to take the windy dirt road again (yay!) on our route back to Explora. Arriving at 4:30pm, we had some time to relax before dinner. We checked out the gift shop, but didn’t decide on anything just yet. Matt went to take a dip in the pool (perfect temperature and no other people) while Jo went back to the room to shower and hang out at the bar until dinner.

Tonight’s dinner is a special, traditional barbecue held in the courtyard of the spa house (which used to be an Incan house). The preparation is called a Panchamanca, which is when meat, vegetables, and pretty much anything else, are slow-cooked in a ground oven (or a hole) with hot stones covered by leaves and soil. The food is layered according to how much of the heat it needs to be exposed to. Pachamarca directly translates to “Mother Pot.” (Spoiler Alert: Panchamanca will make another appearance on this trip during Day 7.)

We enjoyed the food and live music. Luis advised us to go easy on the heavier meats the night before we set off for our expedition. Fewer Pisco Sours tonight as well. Last time we were here, there were also traditional dancers to accompany the musicians, but apparently other guests thought the dances went on too long, so they scraped it.

Dinner selfie

Once we had our fill, we went back to our rooms to get some sleep. Tomorrow we leave bright and early at 6:45AM to drive the few hours necessary to start the hike and begin the camping portion of the expedition.

Day 2: Lima to Sacred Valley

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Updated: July 17, 2025

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The new Lima airport has only been open for two weeks, and they probably have some operational kinks to work out. Therefore, LATAM suggested we arrive three hours before our flight to Cusco at 7:55am (even though LIM—>CUZ is a domestic flight). FINE… 3:30am wake up call it is.

We managed to get up and briefly hit the Wyndham breakfast buffet by 4am for a few bites and “protein bars” (aka. cookies) before catching the shuttle. Fortunately, the ride from the old airport to the new airport is all right turns, so it only took about 10 minutes.

Mean way to translate items at a 4am breakfast buffet

Lima still working out traffic patterns to the new airport

Upon arrival, we were greeted by another Wyndham employee who carted our bags into the airport and escorted us to the check-in. A bit odd, but maybe they were trying to make up for the whole shuttle bus situation. Anyways, the help was nice.

In typical fashion, we had to wait about five minutes before LATAM would let us check our bags (it was 4:50am, and they won’t allow it more than three hours in advance). The time was well spent exchanging some US dollars into Peruvian Sols for future shopping.

Once bag drop was complete, we went through security and found the waiting area for the domestic terminal. The three-hour suggestion was certainly overkill as we had about two hours until boarding. We spent the time shopping, crocheting, and waiting for the local coffee shop to open and had a delicious dark chocolate espresso.

Jo’s next crochet project

The flight was quick – only a bit over an hour — and we landed in Cusco shortly after 9am. The final 20 minutes features some great views of the Vilcabamba mountain range followed by a strong bank into the Cusco valley for the landing.

Hey, hey, Salkantay

We collected our luggage and found the Explora van. We did our best to chat with the driver in Spanish until Jo fell asleep and Matt enjoyed the scenery.

Back to Urubamba!

Corn man of Huayllabamba still going strong

Once we arrived at Explora, we were greeted by our expedition team leader Luis (aka. Chato) and our senior guide Braithan (aka. Brai). We checked in and were guided to our room. We had about 30 minutes before lunch started, so we were able to unpack a bit and change into our hiking clothes. We had a delicious Explora lunch – trout ceviche and chicha power drinks, we missed you.

With Luis and Brai

Explora room 10…

…with a view

So, so good

The other three adventurers joining us on the expedition arrived to Cusco on later fights and had to deal with some traffic, but they eventually made it in time for our introductory afternoon exploration to Machu Kolka. We were officially introduced to Lengyan (aka. Qi), Nancy (aka. Nan), and Britton (aka. Britt). Brai gave us low-down on the hike, and we hopped in the van.

Machu Kolca briefing

The hike started right next to the town of Chinchero, which we had visited when we were here in 2022. This time though, instead of seeing the town, we started hiking up a hill and back down towards the kolkas (storage houses) from the Incas. Along the way, we had amazing views of Urubamba and the surrounding mountains. We also spotted three Andean White Tailed deer frolicking about the hillside.

Starting in Chinchero

View to the northeast

No training wheel hikes this time, right up to 4000m

As we reached the highest point of the hike, the sun started to set. It made for a great backdrop… and a little motivation to keep moving. We continued the route down hill to Machu Kolka where we had some time to admire what was left of the structures. The Incas use these store houses to keep food they had harvested fresh. This allowed them to keep a reserve away from potential thieves (or the Spanish), and gave the community some security that they will still have food even if they don’t have a lot of crops.

Sunset over Sacred Valley

Machu Kolka

Navigating the Machu Kolka terraces

We made our way down past Machu Kolka and to the van where the traditional Explora post-hike spread was waiting for us. We snacked on cheese and crackers and drank some tea. By the time we were done, the sun had fully set and we hopped back in the van for the drive to the hotel. First hike a success.

Machu Kolka hike details

On our return to the hotel, we gathered for an introductory briefing about the expedition and the importance of our planned route featuring parts of the Qhapaq Ñan and Inca Trail. Chato and Brai were joined by senior guide Rocio (aka. Chio). We already knew Chio because she was one of the amazing guides we had back in 2022. She will join us for the camping portion of the trip. Once all of our logistical questions were answered, we headed to the dining room for dinner. We ate and chatted until it was time to go to sleep.

Cheers!

Tomorrow we’ll head a bit further to the west and go on a 10km hike to Wata. Even better, we get to wake up at 6:30am — a whole three hours later than today!

Day 1: Chicago to Lima

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Updated: June 26, 2025

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Today is our travel day! We woke up at 5am to get ready and add any final touches to packing. Since we were leaving so early, we opted to take a Lyft (thanks Chase Sapphire benefits!) rather than the bus to the L. Also, there is construction on the Addison bridge where the blue line stop is, so we just bypassed the whole thing. Unfortunately, that means we had no train to point at to start the trip.

Maaaaybe it’s a Peru flag

We arrived at the airport right on time and proceeded to check our bags. It was fairly crowded for 6:15 am and the American Airline agents were doing their best to shuffle people from the bag check kiosks to the various counters and then to the correct security line. Now that we are pros at printing and attaching bag tags, we breezed through the process and proceeded to the TSA Pre-check line… which was quite long. When everyone has TSA Pre-check, no one does. Luckily, an agent directed us to the next line over, where there were only a few people.

Our gate was pretty close to security, so we found seats and made our breakfast and caffeine plan. We were right next to the food court which had huge lines and long waits for both McDonald’s and Starbucks, which also both conveniently have order-ahead options on the app. We’re not sure why airports make us crave Egg McMuffins, but here we are. Breakfast plan was activated and we were soon awake and full. We also happened to be seated across from Vogues Chocolate – shout out to Jenny’s early 20s.

The flight was a bit late to board because the plane was late coming from… the hangar. What, was there traffic? We weren’t worried because we booked this early flight to ensure enough layover time in Miami. We had the 30 minutes to spare, so all was good. Once we did board, our row was full, but the row right next to us had an open aisle seat. Our window seat companion decided to jump ship to the aisle, leaving us with a bit extra room. Thanks, sir! The flight went well and we were in Miami soon enough.

Fresh from the hangar

Open middle seat karma

Upon landing, we discovered that our next gate for the flight to Lima was across from the gate we landed in. So much for needed extra time in Miami to navigate the giant airport. On the bright side, we landed in the international terminal where there is a priority pass lounge. Since we had the time, we figured we’d press our luck and see if they’d be so kind as to let us in. We started making our way over, when people on those golf cart things asked if we were heading to the lounge and gave us a ride. It really wasn’t that far as to need the cart ride, but it was handy. And we got to act like we were on the amazing race when we passed the other cart of lounge goers.

Arriving at D42, next flight D43

This map does not clarify that MIA is Super Mario 3 Giant World-sized

To make things even better, the lounge actually let us in. Thanks, Turkish Airlines Lounge! We had time to eat some lunch (mmm, Turkish food), catch up on emails, and relax. Eventually it was time to get back to the gate to board. The cart drivers were nowhere to be seen so we hoofed it a whole 10 minutes back to the gate.

When the Priority Pass lounge still works (shockingly)

The flight was the usual – crochet, movies, snacks. The plane did seem to be full of large groups of families, EF education tours, and youth groups/mission trips. It was basically a party plane with people playing card games and chatting.

Must have run out of Incan deserts on the flight to Peru

The amount of groups was helpful when we landed and they all waited for each other to go through customs — making the line pretty non-existent. We flew through customs, and our bags arrived pretty quickly, allowing us to catch the shuttle to the hotel. Fun fact, Lima opened this new airport about a week ago, using the same runway as the old airport. It still has that new airport smell.

New Lims Airport customs a breeze

The airport is all new and shiny, but they didn’t create the infrastructure and roads to really support it, causing a 25 minutes shuttle ride to the hotel that is just across from the old airport. A new hotel will open right across from the new airport, but not until the end of the month. Alas, the shuttle it is!

Shuttle to the old Wyndham (new one doesn’t open til July)

Because the hotel is attached to the old airport (which is essentially closed except for office use), the shuttle had to go through some gates and checkpoints to enter. This is probably the most secure hotel we’ve stayed at because no one is allowed in the old airport building.

Station 11 vibes at old Jorge Chavez International terminal

We checked in, made a quick stop in the room and came back down to the bar for our welcome drinks of delicious pisco sours.

Our favorite “Welcome to Peru” bar

Pisco Sours successfully acquired

Tomorrow we leave super early to make our flight to Cusco and start the adventure with Explora.

Getting Ready for Peru Again

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Updated: June 8, 2025

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Jo and I previously visited Peru in 2022 and had a pretty memorable trip :). This past winter, when our favorite South American travel company Explora announced a new Expedition called “Sacred Mountains Expedition: The Unknown Inca Trail to Machu Picchu”, we signed up ASAP!

Expedition route

The nine-day exhibition itinerary will take us thru the Vilcabamba Mountain Range and Sacred Valley, ending with another visit to Machu Picchu (and Huayna Picchu this time!). The distance and elevation of the hikes look like a good challenge comparable with our Kilimanjaro trek last year. Maybe harder? Pole, Pole, Please!

By the numbers

After we survive the Explora Expedition, we’ll spend a few days in Cusco celebrating and worshiping the Sun God, because we (by accident) will end up being in the city for the huge Annual Incan Festival of Inti Raymi on June 24th.

Inti Raymi Festival

Advance research on our new god!

When those festivities in Cusco are done, we’ll head south to Arequipa and spend a few days around Colca Canyon, which is Peru’s third most popular tourist destination. Did not know that! I imagine it is Peru’s version of the Grand Canyon — deeper in some points — but is it as “grand”? We shall see!!!

Very deep, but is it grand???

And finally, just for the record, this ridiculousness had nothing to do with our plans.

Unless it’s the Chicago Bears… BOOM! Roasted.

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