I brushed up on my Inca history before which I found to be a big help when I was in Peru.
Anxiously staring into the abyss with great expectations.
Logan
Catching the views of the Andes for the first time, was nice to see something after traveling in the darkness all night.
Getting ready to land in Cusco, it was mountainous and brown.
I was feeling the altitude change as soon as I stepped off the plane, lightheaded and fatigued.
The hostel was awesome and super laid back. Straight ahead is the entrance and here is the main courtyard where people hang.
Tom adjusting to the altitude and looking creepy.
We had this lamb that was amazing at a classy restaurant right in the Plaza.
These guys came strolling in after we finished dinner.
The music was so relaxing and awesome, check the video.
Plaza de Armas right in the main square, you can note the Spanish influence in the building.
It was a cool spot to be at night, but you couldn't stand still for more than a minute or two without getting harassed by locals trying to take your money in any which way.
Fountain in the main square depicting a King Inca who ruled Cusco prior to the Spanish conquistadors taking over the city.
Our hostel was amazing and had a chill lounge to pop on the computer and plan trips and upload pictures. Those two plastic bottles are Inca Kola which is sugary golden goodness.
Peruvian Soles. 100 bill was about $30.
Plaza de Armas during day time. This place was especially clean.
Cusco was surrounded by mountains that were all populated with houses
This hostel had a chill vibe and the rooms were sweet, highly recommend.
Eating Lama meat at some hole in the wall off the street. The gravy was amazing.
Cusco is always bustling
This guy.
Baby lamb which I ate at the Inca grill later that night.
Andy Warhol stayed here
At Qoricancha overlooking Cusco.
Note Spanish influence as they took over all sacred sites of the Incas in Cusco.
Christianity took over with the Spanish as well forcing it upon the Inca people.
Qorikancha from the street.
Cusco as we ascend.
Our guide was amazing. He is a native Quechuan who talks about the Spanish conquest and how it impacted his people and Cusco.
Our guide talking about this fortress we visited that is on top of a hill overlooking Cusco, it was one of the most important locations to seize by the Spanish.
I took this photo quickly because I didn't want to pay the lady for it.
Our guide was the man.
The natural spring the always remains constant. This was a sacred area to the Incas. It is located in the hills outside of Cusco.
Here's that baby lamb I was holding earlier.
Getting ready for our tour in the A.M.
5:30 A.M
We hoped in a van for a 3 hour bike ride through the sacred valley
We stopped here for breakfast before our biking trip.
It was nice to finally be out of busy Cusco and surrounded by awesome scenery.
The roads were badassly built
We geared up at 14,000 feet to bike down this mountain road for 3 hours.
Our guide Wilbert and our van that accompanied us the way down.
The crew. Me, Tom and Daniel (from Switzerland)
The road was relatively quiet with a few cars, lots of falling rock debris, and half the road got torn away down a cliff.
haha
Our Hostel at Lorenzo's lodge after biking.
Henry David Thoreau
Morning before our hike
Bfast at Lorenzo's lodge gearing up for an all day hike
We had the chance to see snow capped Saltankay. At over 20,000 feet it is one of the tallest mountains in Peru and almost always hidden by clouds, this was our only sight of the mountain all trip. It was spectacular.
Coffee processing machine at a house we stopped at for water and to see the monkey.
Saltankay looked amazing.
It was really humid.
Inca trail baby!!!!!!!
Alfredo!
Just chills and eats leaves
And the occasional cracker but will only take it if you feed it to him with your mouth.
He was my favorite animal of the trip.
View of the Urubamba river which we rafted the day before.
It was awesome to hang out at the top such a perfect day in the "rainy" season.
Hiking the Inca trail was my favorite part of the trip.
Agave plants.
Refresher after hiking all morning.
Beautiful Poinsettia tree.
Ducks hanging with us after lunch
He's a lot more lively in person.
Crisp river
Most of the boards were still in tact.
Urubamba river.
It was nice to be all on our own.
Epic landscapes.
The trolley car!!!
We arrived here at the natural hot springs which was amazing after hiking all day.
Santa Teresa
Inca art
Breakfast with Coca leaves!
Frog game, which I dominated.
Zip lining was fierce
The crew. We all had a blast. Perfect day in the "rainy" season. Daniel trying to get in with the Danish chicks.
Finally arrived in the Machu Picchu area
Wilbert is a beast
Had lunch below Machu Picchu site. It sits high in the mountains.
Hammocks under the porch were amazing getting out of the hot sun.
Machu Picchu sat between those two peaks.
On the road to Aguas Calientes which was our final stop.
Had some interesting conversations with fellow backpackers on this route.
Arriving in Aguas Calientes. This is a town built strictly to house tourists who visit Machu Picchu. It was huge.
The portions were a little scarce on our trip but it tasted amazing.
We took those buses 20 min up the hill to get to the entrance gate at Machu Picchu.
Bam.
Lama's chilled and overlooked the ancient site.
We hiked the mountain straight ahead photos to follow.
Baby Lamas crossing to find their parentals up top.
They just hiked up the stairs like they do it all the time.
Famous photo
That's where we had lunch and chilled in the hammocks the day before.
Rock quarry where stones were kept in reserve if needed.
The place is massive.
Famous sun dial.
The crew, our guide Wilbert in yellow. He was a native Quechuan farmer from the high jungle of Peru and gave us such great information.
It's amazing that they polished and sanded down all of the rocks they created the wall with everything was so smooth.
They layered up steps on the hill to prevent erosion and as a farming technique.
Laying down at a quiet spot in Machu Picchu.
Getting ready to hike that mountain I was talking about.
This was at the top of the mountain.
We made it. Machu Picchu in the background. That windy road to the left is the route we took on the bus to get up to Machu Picchu.
Tommy.
Amazing how they built stuff high in the mountains.
These girls had nothing better to do but steal my phone and play my music and watch my selfie videos.
It was even funnier cause I didn't understand a lick of what they said.
Aguas Calientes before taking the train back to Cusco.
Early morning Cusco is quiet. Headed to the airport bound for Costa Rica
We were feeling it by this point.
Rainbow.
Cruising in Costa Rica, it was hot
After traveling what seemed to have been the whole trip, we were only slightly miserable.
Costa Rica had some amazing sunsets.
Lamb Chops were amazing.
Precious.
View outside our room at Vista Serena in Costa Rica. We ate breakfast here and chatted with fellow back packers.
Smelly clothes needed 3 days to air out after Peru trip.
Beach early morning low tide, humid.
Posting up, that was our coconut guy. He was miserable.
Cold coconuts = amazing game changer.
Parasailing.
Lunch spot. Beautiful day. We were already burnt to a crisp at this point.
Horse chillen outside our room.
At our hostel.
Coconuts.
Some lizard chillen in our hostel.
The water was literally 75 degrees or warmer. Amazing!
Best sunset of the trip.
Road tripping back to San Jose.
Going to visit the volcano.
Paying some guy off the side of the road for these gems.
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