Where's Grayleen?

Last Monday we set out on a five-day, four-night trek to visit Machu Picchu. Over the five days we walked 36 miles, crossed a mountain pass 15,255ft high, descended thousands of feet through cloud forests, met fellow travelers from around the world, and were astounded by Machu Picchu.
Day 1: Cusco to Soraypampa
The first day [...]

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If you are worry-wart please stop reading this post right now.   I know you’ll continue anyway, but by doing so you promise not to freak out.  Hey you, you know who you are – I said stop!

The bus ride from Arequipa to Cusco is advertised at 10 hours, which should be just enough time to [...]

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We spent the last few days in Arequipa, Peru’s second-largest city. It was a great stopping over point on the way to 3,326 meter (10,912 feet) high Cusco; with its elevation of 2,380 meters (7,800 feet), we could get started on acclimatization. It is extremely dry, and has three volcanoes towering over the [...]

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My twenty six hours starts mid flight to Lima, Peru at just past midnight on Friday night. Over the previous hour of our flight from Bogota, I’d had a marvelous chat with Deanna, a special education teacher from northern Virginia. Deanna was heading to Lima along with her hair dresser, Erika, and a [...]

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