From Sea Level to High Altitude

 Pisac Ruins * Pisac Market

Today we traveled from Puerto Maldonado to Cusco. A quick 45-minute flight from nearly sea level to 11,000 ft above sea level. It was up, up, up over the Andes. We had some extra time at the lodge this morning, so we enjoyed some card games while we waited for our canoe ride back into town.

When we arrived in Cusco we were meet by our guide and treated to a very quick lunch at a fancy restaurant with a view of the main square. In fact, we were only able to enjoy the appetizer because we needed to get to Pisac by 4:30 to see the archeological site. Our guide was very impressed that we wanted to climb up to the top of the site to see the citadel despite having just landed in Cusco. Apparently, most tourists need some time to acclimate in town before heading to higher elevations. We didn’t feel overly winded as we walked to the top of the site - our guide was impressed. We were also able to make a quick stop in the Pisac market and a jewelry shop where Sydney and I purchased a few things

Tonight, we caught up with Maren and Matt in our darling hotel in Yucay, just outside of Urubamba. The hotel use to be a monastery and is very charming. There was even a wedding party going on inside the courtyard. As we were approaching the hotel the area looked pretty run down, but amazingly enough as we turned into the property, it was beautiful and well maintained.

We also met our guide for the Inca Trail and our time in Cusco - Roger. He gave us our duffle bags to pack for the porters and let us know the plan for the next day. We later learned he was very worried, and he had never started a trek on the same day as someone arrived from the US. Tomorrow Irene and Dave fly in and will meet us in Ollantaytambo for our first day of trekking. I’m not worried though.