Aguas Calientes

I snapped this photo from the train.

I followed my friend Moira through the mountain village, to breakfast and the great beyond…

After a long journey by car and train, our adventure to Machu Picchu began to solidify in the town below the site. It’s where I’d recommend staying for several days so you can thoroughly investigate the ruins above. You’ll see the same misty mountains that punctuate the lost city surrounding the cozy town. I finally had a tasty meal! But really, I think I was physically sustained by prayers for fortitude.

I’m still smiling after climbing and climbing. But a bus drops you off near the site, and if you choose a lower circuit, you can see the ruins without that much leg work.

I love this photo of me and my goofy Llama sweater. But perhaps it’s an alpaca. There are four kinds of camelids in Peru: Alpaca, Llama, Vicuna, and Guanuco.

Sandy, Karen, me and Moira on top of the world.

After our Machu Picchu adventure, we had my favorite meal of the trip in a fancy restaurant alongside a wild river: steak stir fry with a view. But maybe I should have ordered a local favorite like roast guinea pig. Locals eat lots of Llama and Alpaca, too.

I didn’t see that many birds in Peru. But at dinner, I watched this hummingbird, and I snapped a photo through the window.

A bridge heavily laden with locks, symboling untold mysteries. Mosaic Monday

The majesty of the lost city of the Incas! This photo marks the end of my Machu Picchu posts. I wonder if I’ll ever see this view again…

“In CHORUS OF CROWS, Sharon Wagner wonderfully weaves the humorous, the haunting, and the human. This novel is as much about growing old as growing up, written with absolute confidence. The world could use more books like this.”

~ Peter Geye, award-winning author of Northernmost