Because the best travel stories don't end with ". . . and everything went according to plan"
May 13 2025 So today not a whole lot happened except aimless wondering. I figured out a few places that might be interesting to go, but there were apparently a bunch of landslides that happened in March, and there’s heavy road construction blocking my access to those places. So, I aimlessly wandered. Some notes about …
May 12 2025 So I’ve made it to Santa Teresa… The bus from Ollantaytambo heading to Hydroelectrica actually stops on the side of the road outside Ollantaytambo at 8:45AM, so I woke up, got my shit together, checked out of my hotel, and made my way down there. This wasn’t some random local bus or …
May 11 2025 Today I went on a hike to Naupa Iglesia (Choquequilla). From what I was told it was only a 3 hour round trip hike. It’s turned out to be 5.5, including exploring the site, but it was an easy and pretty hike, so that was fine. To get there you head south …
May 10 2025 So I’m back in ollantaytambo. No mishaps getting here, tho the colectivos don’t go past here. If you don’t get out at the plaza they dump you at the train station at the end of town, and this ain’t a big town. My hotel is right below the archeological site I visited …
May 9 2025 Today was a more or less lazy around Cusco day. Tomorrow I’ll be taking a colectivo to Ollantaytambo again. I’ve booked two nights in a hotel there. So, I can potentially go see some more Incan sites in the Sacred Valley, or I can just hang out and be lazy in a …
May 8 2025 – Chiquisca to Cusco I had a fitful night of sleep last night. It was hot, humid, and the mosquitos were BAD. Even sleeping under a mosquito net they still got me. I ended up leaving in the morning probably a little later than I should have. I did stock up on …
May 7 2025 – Marampata to Chiquisca Woke up this morning and discovered you can see Choquequirao from Marampata. The past two days there was too much cloud cover for that. Had a quick breakfast, and then started downhill on my way back to the trailhead. Apparently I don’t take many pictures when I’m going …
May 6 2025 – Marampata to Choquequirao to Marampata Woke up around 5:30AM today well rested. Breakfast was at 7, then packed up and headed off to Choquequirao. Marampata and Choquequirao are at the same elevation, but the trail between them does a surprising amount of up and down and up and down. The elderly …
May 5 2025 – Playa Rosalina to Marampata Didn’t sleep too terribly well last night. It was hot – I basically laid on top of my sleeping bag sweating. I also did no research on the wildlife I’d be encountering on the trek. Around 3AM I had a rather large albino spider walk across my …
May 4 2025 – Cachora to Playa Rosalina I woke up this morning to rain. Not even a light drizzle either. I had some concerns about whether or not I could pull the trek off, or, given the steepness of the Andean countryside and the possibility of landslides, if it was even a good idea …