July 25, 2007
Day 665

Zach, Tina, Q, Helen and I all piled into a taxi before sunrise this morning and went to the Pisac ruins, far above the town. Nobody was there yet, including anyone checking for tickets. It was great walking around the ruins as the sun came up… Read More: The Pisac Ruins »

July 24, 2007
Day 664

There is one more set of ruins near Ollantaytambo called Pumamarca, and you don't even need the tourism ticket to see it because it's not on the radar of the big tour groups yet. I went there this morning, but there was a problem: I barely… Read More: Holistic Healers With Money »

July 23, 2007
Day 663

I decided on a change of venue for a few days. Last time I was in the area, I briefly went to the Sacred Valley of the Incas on my way to the Inca Trail, but I wanted to see it more thoroughly this time around. I took a… Read More: Ripping Off the Tourists »

July 21-22, 2007
Day 661-662

Today I met up with Katie, a French girl I originally met through Couchsurfing back in Olinda, Brazil. She was traveling around with several of her fellow countrymen and happened to be passing through Cusco at the same time I was there. We got caught up and all of… Read More: An Olinda Reunion »

July 20, 2007
Day 660

This time of year is graduation in Peru, and today there was a large parade in the central plaza of Cusco to celebrate it. The director of the private schools in town began the proceedings with some announcements, and then the kids began… Read More: A School Parade »

July 18-19, 2007
Day 658-659

I saw an article about Choquequirao a few weeks ago and decided it was somewhere I wanted to go. The ancient Inca site has been known about for a long time, but archaeologists have only recently discovered how important it really was. In fact,… Read More: Trek Preparations »

July 17, 2007
Day 657

This morning I took a bus to Cusco. The bus originated back in Puno, and at least half the passengers were tourists. Juliaca doesn't get tourists for obvious reasons. The ride took most of the day and passed through some pretty empty high altitude territory.

It was strange walking… Read More: Return to Cusco »

July 14-16, 2007
Day 654-656

Today I had to get up before sunrise to get as early a start as possible. The plan was to go to Juliaca, Peru for a heavy metal festival with Keru and his friends, who play in a band. They used to be called "SadomasoChrist," but now they're simply… Read More: Rockin' Out Juliaca »