Journey Into the Sacred Valley

Though it's quite overdue and possibly irrelevant by now, I nevertheless would like to take at least a couple posts to chronicle our trip with Dad and Mom to the Sacred Valley of the Incas and Cusco. It was just so fantastic that to not include it in our blog would seem odd. I'll be taking from my journal, so it will read from the perspective of that day. Sorry it's long.

Friday, July 27 (our second day)
How does one start to explain a day like today, after seeing, non-stop, some of the most spectacular scenery on earth? I can't believe it was only yesterday that we left Arequipa - it feels like a week. Yesterday we took a 5:50am flight out to Cusco, lasting only 30 minutes. When we landed, the driver from our hotel took us on a mini-tour of the city before setting of for the valley. Depending on who you talk to, Cusco sits somewhere above 11,000 ft., so Mom and Dad preferred not to spend a great deal of time there. But I am looking forward to taking the better part of a week in the city. Immediately we felt a different vibe there - it seems more remote, more rural, more Inca. The mountains are more dramatic, more colorful, have more vegetation. The climate is more variable, so they actually get rain, and the mountains are snowier at lower altitudes. The city buildings are more unified, Spanish-style, yet the streets are less orderly and one is immediately struck by the abundance of hills and dogs. There was something immediately endearing to Cusco. Seems to be more history - not Spanish or modern, but earlier, Inca history (and so there is: it was the capital of their empire). We continued out of the city toward our destination in the Sacred Valley (a 1-hour ride with photo stops), entering some of the most beautiful countryside I have ever seen. Beats the pants off that Colca Canyon trip. We arrived at the little town of Yukay, right next to the more-well-known Urubamba, and settled in to our touristy but very comfortable hotel. I could have spend 3-4 days just hiking in that spot, and we were only beginning to see the grandeur of the valley. The Incas had good reason in considering it sacred. This morning we got up and hiked a bit in the mountains behind the hotel, then set off in a taxi for Ollantaytambo. A beautiful town surrounded by mountains with its own set of Inca ruins, it's also the train's last stop on the way to Machu Picchu. From there we joined a zillion other foreigners and took the most incredible train ride I'll likely ever have the the privilege of taking. Soaring snow-covered peaks, unending valleys, ancient terraces, a raging river, and views around every corner that left passengers gasping and scrambling toward the windows with their cameras. Noah, having taken a nap in his backpack during the morning hike, thoroughly enjoyed the train, and continually reminded us that the river of "agua!" was still following alongside. I didn't want the ride to end, but an hour and a half later, it did, though not before the vegetation changed to jungle and we plunged impossibly between sheer rock faces and tree-covered mountains that seemed to come out of nowhere and reach dizzying heights. The end of the line is a little town called Aguas Calientes. Only accessible by rail, it is the base of Machu Picchu's mountain and home to a booming tourist-shop industry. That did make it a bit tacky, but who can blame them? There wasn't time this afternoon to make a second entrance-fee worth our while, (we have all day tomorrow) but we did all take the bus up the mountain and hike back down. The mountains are almost unreal, and I know our pictures won't capture them sufficiently. It has been a full two days, and I can hardly believe what we've seen so far. Yet tomorrow....