Log/Pic 27 Peru

So I hit the big 5-0. Peru is my 50th country! Yeah! I arrived in Lima and the next day flew to Cusco. Cusco is a great town with houses high on the hills and many churches and museums. It has a pretty high altitude so I chilled the first day to adapt. I already found out previously on this trip that altitude kicks my butt, plus I had pulled an all-nighter in the airport the night before.

After checking out Cusco for a few days I took a train to Aguas Calientes. This is a quaint town that totally caters to folks that are there to visit Machu Picchu. In fact, I don't know that there was a town there before the re-discovery of Machu Picchu. The first day was raining so this guy from Switzerland and I went to the hotsprings. It had great views of the mountains all around us. The next morning we set out at 4 am and climbed to the entrance. It took almost 1 1/2 hours to reach the top. The thin, lingering clouds as the sun started to rise, made the trip well worth it. Below is what I saw when the sun came up.

This is from the same spot I had seen my first photo of Machu Picchu. Wayanpichu is the high peek in the background. I needed to climb that too!
This is the view from Wayanpichu looking down at all of Machu Picchu. To the left is the winding road that the buses take, the route strait up through the bus route, and the Inca Trail above that.
One of the individual buildings that make up Machu Picchu.
The guard house on top of it all.
A chinchilla I followed along the ruins that led me to three others. I thought it was a Rabbit!
More buildings
Impacas grazing within the ruins.
The city of Cusco.

A mom and her son in traditional dress on the streets of Aquas Calientes.