Last evening we met our guides and the rest of our group. Our guides are Leo and Juan, and our other two travelers are David and Allison Semple from Connecticut (though they are from Scotland originally).

Left to right: Leo, David, Allison, Charlotte, Frances, Norman, Juan

Today began with the drive away from Cuzco. We climbed out of the valley through the new part of Cuzco. It is the only place that poorer residents can afford to live. Many of the houses are 2 or 3 stories high and have concrete columns and rebar sticking out of the top. People do this to avoid taxes - the tax rate is much lower for "unfinished" buildings.

Along the way, we stopped at the Tarawasi ruins. Here we saw a style of Incan architecture different from what we saw yesterday. Again, notice there is no mortar holding the walls together.

 

Our next 2 stops were at projects the tour company participates in to help local people develop businesses. The first was a guinea pig and organic farm. Guinea pigs are a main source of protein in this part of Peru.

We ate lunch beside the garden after touring the guinea pig facility.
The other project is for women and the disabled. We tasted local jams and saw beautiful knitted and woven items.

After a wild and crazy bus ride up the mountains, we began our hike. The elevation was quite noticeable, and I quickly took my place at the back of the line.

The scenery is spectacular. The valley in the distance is actually higher than where took this picture.

We paused as we walked along the irrigation canal.

We're almost there!

Here is Charlotte taking a picture as we arrive at our first lodge. We'll be here for 2 nights.