We’re wrapping up two great weeks in Peru with a flight out tonight at 1:00 am from Lima. During that timespan, we’ve dined above the Pacific Ocean and enjoyed ancient ruins at Pisac, Machu Picchu, and Huaraz. We’ve seen majestic Andes peaks, pastoral landscapes, jungle habitat bursting with vegetation and very, very friendly Peruvians. For […]

After a day of acclimatization in Huaraz, we arranged for a taxista (taxi driver) to pick us up at 6:30 am for our first real hike since Machu Picchu. We met an Australian couple at Casa de Zarela and invited them to join us for the hike. We were a bit skeptical the first time […]

After a day of rest in Lima, we checked out late from our hotel (the Sheraton Lima gave us 8pm, which is unheard of and great service) and headed for the station for an overnight bus to Huaraz, northeast of Lima and a climbing Mecca. Taking a ‘red-eye’ Cruz Del Sur bus was a very […]

The first thing we noticed about Cusco is its role as the hub of this part of the Andes. Like Kathmandu in Nepal, Cusco is the airport, railroad and highway hub that serves the outlying areas like Urubamba, Pisac, and Machu Picchu. It’s where the trekkers and tourists start and end their adventures in the […]

Today ranked in the top three of toughest days for physical exertion in our adventures together…the others being the one-day hike to Paliku Camp on Maui and our one-day summit of Mt Whitney. We started at 6:40 am with a train ride from our hotel, west along the Urubamba River, eventually reaching Aguas Calientes, the […]

Today we woke to snow in the mountains after a heavy rainstorm last night. ‘Our’ mountain above our hotel, Chi’qun, not only had fresh snow on the glacier but there was also snow halfway down the nearby peaks. We had an absolutely delicious breakfast at our hotel before walking into the town to catch a taxi […]

We were up early to catch our flight from Lima to Cusco, a change in elevation from just above sea level to 3400 m (11,200 ft). The flight was full of tour groups from China, Japan the US and Canada and we seemed to be the only ones on our own (and the youngest). When […]

The following is a continuation of Mera Peak Expedition — Hinku Valley to Lukla. Thursday, October 27 Saying goodbye was tough after so much time with such great people. The porters, guides and kitchen staff had performed fantastically and though they were paid well by Nepal standards, we felt indebted to them. Flying to Kathmandu […]

The following is a continuation of Mera Peak Expedition: Heading back down the Hinku Valley. Tuesday, October 25 Sun! Though it froze overnight, the sun rising in the morning was an excellent sign that maybe today would be warmer and less foggy. We also found out that the animals we called yaks, which we thought […]

The following is a continuation of Mera Peak Expedition — Going as high as possible on Mera Peak. Sunday, October 23 It wasn’t a great night of sleep. We finally figured out a system for keeping warm in our sleeping bags, but it was a night of tossing and turning as we exhausted ourselves on […]