As Tom mentioned, we just finished the adventure portion of our trip to Peru. The first part of the journey is adventure and discovery, the second part focused on outreach.
Macchu Picchu (Old Mountain) certainly lived up to the adventure billing. We set our alarms for 4 a.m. to get in line by 4:45 to catch the bus up the mountain to the ruins (the early Peruvian catches the worm!) and to be among the first of the day to see the city and watch the sun rise over the mountains. We learned about the advanced culture of the quechua people (incans) and had the chance to see a 500 year old city left virtually untouched. Talk about an uplifting culture, these people built there homes and city 8000 feet above the rivers and source of any building supplies.
In order for us to be as uplifting as we could, we decided to all take part in the climb up Waynu Picchu (Young Mountain) which is the towering, spire-like peak that you can see in all of the famous pictures of the ruins. The climb was 1000 feet straight up the face of the peak on 500 year old stairs, barely big enough to support a full human foot. No guard rails, and narrow steps mean total concentration, or face the likely plummet 9000 feet to the bottom of the mountain. We all made it to the peak, mostly in good spirits and shape :) and spent a long quiet period on the top, gazing out into Ecuador and neighboring countries from our lofty perch. One of the most uplifting experiences of our lives, that will never be forgotten.
We´re off to outreach and can´t wait to share it with all of you!
Kevin
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