Memorial Day

We went hiking.

Machu Pichu

Today someone asked me what is Machu Pichu. Shocked, I explained it to her. In case you need a refresher, here is a brief history. 100 years ago (another anniversary ...see my love for numbers) a professor from Yale was on a journey to find the last Incan village. No one knew where it was, but local Peruvians showed him this large village on the Mountain Machu Pichu ("old mountain"). Because no one knew the name of the village, it was just named Machu Pichu after the mountain it was hidden on. It was actually hidden in the tropical rain forest, and the trees have since been removed to be able to see the large majesty of it all. No one knows for sure when it was built, but it is speculated that is was built in the 1400s by the Incans. However, the Spaniards overtook the Incans in the 1500s. It is thought the Spaniards didn't know about this village because the Spanish destroyed all the other Incan buildings in the town, and this was still intake. The tricky thing is that only leaves 100 years to build this large city and then abandon it. There were no bones found, which makes researchers believe that the inhabitants really did leave and abandon this huge city of stone work.


To get there, you have to take a train to a small village in the mountains called Agua Calientes.

Then you can hike or ride a bus even more up the mountain.
Then you hike a little more.
Once you have hiked higher than the clouds, the city of Machu Pichu pops out at you.

Walk through the city.
Enjoy the amazing stone work walls.
Enjoy your company.

Quick Peru Review

We saw multiple historical sites and saw Incan ruins in Cusco.

We biked through multiple towns in the sacred valley.

We hiked the Incan trail and saw the Incan bridge.

We saw Machu Pichu and were amazed at its complexity.

We are home now and are trying to settle back in. Thanks for all the help with our kids while Grant and I were able to sneak away for the week. In the (almost) 10 years since we have been married, we have never left the kids this long. Much needed.

Our New Cousin