Book Review
I had three different people recommend the book, The Confession of an Economic Hit Man by John Perkins. It was incredibly well written and a compelling read. The book highlighted the work that Mr. Perkins did in the 70’s and 80’s in the field of international aid and development.
He outlined the formula [...]
Aguas CalienteAfter the hike to Machu Picchu, the tour groups are dropped off in the town of Aguas Caliente. The town, as the name suggests, is known for its hot springs. We were planning on spending the day and night there but began to get conflicting reports on whether it was worth our time. We [...]
The Discovery of Machu Picchu
History books tell the story of Yale Professor Hiram Bingham discovering the "lost city of Incas", Machu Picchu on July 24, 1911. As with all good explorers and archaeologists, he wasn’t looking for it, he was actually looking for the city, Vilcabamba, one of the last strongholds of the Incas. [...]
We woke up and started our hike before dawn. The goal was to get to the Sun Gate right about the time of the sunrise. The view from the Sun Gate of Machu Picchu was supposed to be spectacular. Of course, everyone who was hiking the four day tour had the same idea as us. [...]
The third day of the hike was the longest in length but by far easier than the hike the day before. We hiked the 15 km over six hours with stops at a number of ruins along the way.
At one of the ruins, we were asked to pick up a small rock to [...]
It was the second day of the Inca Trail. It was the most difficult day according to our guides. The hike was about the same distance as the day before- 13 kilometers but the highlight and the challenge was climbing up 1200 meters to the highest pass of the trail (Abra de Huarmihuañusca or [...]
We were picked up by our tour group at 5 am. We needed to take a bus to Kilometer 82 of the Inca Trail which is where we would start of 26 mile-four day hike. It took us about three hours to get to the start point from our hostel in Cuzco.
We were joined [...]
Picture taken by Pam Lauroff.
We took a morning plane to Cuzco from Lima. Cuzco is the town where all of the journeys to Machu Picchu begin. It is small town with a lot of character. It also is 3400 meters above sea level and it is recommended that each hiker spend at least two days [...]
After my presentation at the conference in Panama, I took a few days of rest and relaxation. My friend and colleague, Kathi Dennis, was heading to the conference organizer’s beach house for a few days. When the offer for me to join her was extended, it was an offer I couldn’t refuse. I first met [...]
Dear Gentle Readers,
The past week has been hard to write and update the blog because of the lack of internet access. I have five more posts to catch up to the Machu Picchu posts-which I promise are coming soon. Hopefully these two pictures from the Inca Trail will whet your appetite.
