Jill’s Travel Adventures

These first photos I recd today from Rudy, our guide on the 5 day Inca trek.   This photo below is of a lovely lady I met down a quiet street on the way to meet the gang for dinner last night. She had the cutest kids and cocker spaniel with her and had hand knit all the wooden garments she had for sale there on the street.  So of course Stetley can never have enough hats and mittens and this lady was so happy for the sale and I think her kids were too as it meant they could head home early.   Below is my breakfast at good old cicciolenes before heading to my last yoga class in Custco.  It was so tasty!   It’s been an amazing trip and so glad we made it happen.

 Today the rest of the crew was up at 4 am to start their tour of rainbow mountain.  I stayed back to take in a yoga class, catch up on work and do a bit more exploring around our new neighbor hood.. Exhale Yoga studio is on the 4th floor of the beautiful Antigua Boutique Hotel.  The concierge there was especially sweet and I arrived early so he ushered me to their beautiful restaurant for a lovely breakfast before my class.   Everything about this hotel was so cozy and warm and the calm energy in this room and from the instructor was such a treat and just what I needed.  All for just 15 Soles. On leaving the yoga class the lady in front of me and I struck up a conversation. It turns out she is from Manchester and has lived in Custco for 3 years and has her own business here.  She is a clothing designer and hires local ladies to knit her designs.  So of course her store was right around the corner and she lead me there.  Here is a photo of it. ...

 We thank goodness stayed in a nice hotel at a small town at the base of the mountain and met Steve and Kayla there.  We went out for a celebration dinner and then toured the sacred city this morning. April 12th. Our tour guide for the whole trek -Rudy. We are now all tucked into a new Airbnb in Custco and have one more full day here before flying home on Friday aft.

 This was the most amazing day of all- from waking up on top of a mountain at sunrise to all the incredible views and Inca sites and then finally - totally exhausted reaching the sacred city. The chef made this cake for our breakfast the last morning at camp. Andrea and I both burst into tears.  Lack of sleep from tenting and appreciation combined - an easy cry. This was the last Inca site we visited before arriving at Machu Picchu 3 hours later. Our last lunch on day 4 - how our chef made such amazing meals on a tiny cook stove packed over these mountains was like magic. Finally after so much walking - I was so tired at this point- Our first glimpse from the golden gates. We made it!

 Day 2  was the hardest day- we had left the villages behind and were clearly hiking in the Andes mountains - the views were amazing and seeing wild llamas at our lunch spot was a real treat. This grass they make ropes from - super strong fibre. Very excited about breakfast on the third morning. Day 2 we hiked 13 km but 270 floors I think that was over 1200 metres by the time we reached dead women pass.   Day 3 was easier at 13 km and 120 floors.  The Inca sites along the way were incredible as were the views and the ever changing ecosystems.