Somos Peru - ¡Juntos Lo Podemos!

Unfortunately I think the above slogan refers to taking advntage of
tourists. Matthew and I signed up for a five-day trek over Mt
Salkantay to Machu Picchu, covering 78 km and crossing a 4100 m peak
en route. We had a number of lowlights, including:
- a leaky tent with a zipper that required four hands and 20 minutes
to close; two inconveniences during the rainy season in mosquito
country;
- a wet down sleeping bag without a working zipper; only an issue the
first night while trying to sleep above 3600 m;
- an anti-semetic tour guide; bad in general, more of an issue because
of the six Israelis in our group...
- a booking agency that failed to buy us return tickets from Machu
Picchu, but didn't tell us until 20 minutes before the last train was
supposed to leave; no one wanted to go back to Cusco (where there is
hot water, nice food, flush toilets and clean clothes) anyway.

But honestly, despite being a bit irritated by the hassle and lack of
service, the trip was amazing. The Peruvian countryside is lovely, and
I walked over a snow-capped mountain, through a cloud forest, and
along a river valley in just a few days. I saw stars, monkeys,
orchids, llamas, hot springs... All en route to Machu Picchu, which
was a site worth any amount of hassle to visit. Plus I learned a new
card game, Yanof, from the Israelis, my Spanish got better with lots
of help from Matthew, and I met some fun fellow travelers along the way.

¡Vale la pena! To prove it, some nice photos will follow this post...