We had the morning at leisure in Aguas Calientes (literally "warm waters"), named after the hot spring baths which are available in town. Originally a farming community from around 1910, Aguas Callientes grew along with the railroad and is now filled with shops, restaurants, and hotels for the many visitors to Machu Picchu. Our hotel offered a couple of naturalist led walks, and we signed up for a morning bird watching stroll through the rain forest, along the...

9/1-Afternoon Following the train journey from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes, we were on our way to Machu Picchu (from the Quechuan Machu Pikchu, "machu" literally meaning old, old person and "pikchu" meaning pyramid or similarly shaped mountain), the highlight of the week. But first, we had to walk across town and board another bus for the 30 minute drive up a seemingly endless series of switchbacks to Machu Picchu, yet another UNESCO WH Site. We've...

9/1-Morning In the morning, we made our way from Cusco to the train station at Ollantaytambo, making a few stops along the way, primarily a rural kindergarten. We were traveling with Gate1, and the company maintains a foundation which helps to sponsor schools in the less affluent parts of the world where they lead tours. We were advised ahead of time that our tour included a stop at a rural kindergarten, and we were encouraged to bring school supplies to share...

8/31 Central Lima, inaccessible by American-style super highways, is an hour's drive from the airport, so we had an early departure for our flight to Cusco (frequently spelled as Cuzco in English and as Cusco in Spanish, it is the traditional capital of the Quechuan people who would spell it Qosco). Everyone in our group was expecting a big change, moving from near sea level in Lima to Cusco's 11,000 foot altitude, and Wilfredo warned us to walk slowly and rest b...

8/29-30 We arrived in Lima late in the evening. Busing to the hotel in the dark, we could tell that Lima, home to about 10 million inhabitants, was an unusual city: part modern and part ancient; part affluent high rises along the coast and part poverty ridden barrios. Lima residents claim an average income of 2,000 to 3,000 Sol per month, or roughly $600 to $1,000, though appearances suggest many subsist well below that level. Situated in a desert area, Lima is w...