Elevation Nicknames, Ancient Ruins And Treking Off The Grid

I wanted to write a short note today just saying a quick 'what's up' and signing off for a few days. As of tomorrow, thursday, december 6th, I will be off the grid for five days as I walk the Inca trail here in Peru with my brother Jake and his wife Rebecca. In the interim, feel free to read some of the older blogs on the pages from november and october. Just click on the icon with those words to the right. There are photos here and on my myspace page at www.myspace.com/cienfuegos2008

I met up with Jake and Rebecca on monday morning after they arrived from Ecuador. We had a fun day that day touring the city of Cusco and some Incan archeological sites outside of town. We had a really funny guide and a lot of laughs. Jake was really feeling the elevation and his nickname that day was Fainty because he kept having to sit down in order to not tip over. That night we got our stuff planned for tuesday and had a fun dinner. We were all zonked out and so we hit the hay early. I was still feeling the altura at that point too. Not as bad, but it was still there. It is amazing how strong that feeling is. Your brain thinks everything is just fine but your body doesn't behave in its usual way. Lungs, brain, blood flow; all gone on strike!

The next morning we took a really cool trip to a region known as the Sacred Valley. Jake had thrown up a lot the night before so that day his nickname was Pukey. El Valle Sagrado is full of old Inca ruins and we climbed around on them and hiked around for most of the day. The vastness of this place is really difficult to relate over the computer. These mountains are so huge! The valleys in between are giant chasms that are still full of people, the descendants of the Incas. The people all still speak Quechua and worship in the same way as their ancesters, despite the domination of the Spaniards and the force feeding of christianity. It is interesting to see this living culture still doing its thing. There are a lot of tourists here, but the place retains it's magic nevertheless. It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. Ok, as I said, I don't have much time now, but I will post a few photos. I took over one hundred yesterday alone. It is overwhelming all the things to see here. I hope everyone is well, feel free to send me news of your lives...I am always interested!!