I can say I met a lot of really great people along my trip, some I have pictures of, some I do not. Here are some that I do have pictures of, and as I think you can see I had a great time... For some reason the British girls really liked wearing my Vail K9 rescue hat. Hey, far be it from me to deny someone else the pleasure of wearing my hat...

So here are two views, one with proof I was there, and one unsullied with my ugly mug. I can say that they didn't quite come out as I had hoped, you see these postcard pictures and have some grandiose vision of what it will look like. Though all these pictures you see with the sun shining and a clear blue sky don't quite have the "character" that these cloudy shots do, well at least that's what I'm telling myself so please just go with it. Machu Picchu was one of the main reasons I chose to go to South America and it was well worth the days and hours of endless, tireless travel, I can now say I have seen one of the most beautiful sights in the world, Machu Picchu wasn't too bad either.... just kidding

So when I finally got to Machu Picchu after waking up at 4am to hike my way up the mountain here is the view I was rewarded with. In order to climb Wayna Picchu (the neighboring mnt.) you need to be one of the first 400 people on line due to erosion worries. I climbed in the pitch black , passing many people on the way up, did a climb they say should take 1.5 hrs in 1hr and 10 minutes and reached the top exhauseted but certain I would be in the first 400. I can say this was the most tired I have ever been, exercise wise, excpet for perhaps when Katie had me run the first half of last years NYC Marathon about 20 minutes faster than I had ever run 13.1 miles prior, I mean climbing in the heat and humidity and at such altitude really took its toll on me. I got to the openeing gate and there were about 600 people on line already!!! They all took the damn bus up, passing me as I climbed... to say I was pissed off would be an understatement. When we got in and the view was so foggy I was a little ahppy in that I said at least those "cheaters" coudn't see antyhing either. I waited for about 4 hrs for the fog to clear and will show you the view I was rewarded with next.

I will tell you all that Peru is a very interesting country, for instance here are the bags and bags of Coca leaves you can just buy on the street and chew or make tea out of, completely legal but only in Peru (to my knowledge). Peru really surprised me, great country and a lot nicer than I could've ever imagined. As you may or may not know I have made it back to the US as of right now but will put up lots of stuff I was unable to whilst I was away due to the slower computers down there.

Once again, the computers are PAINFULLY slow so I can only give a quick pick and update. Here is a picture I took today on the train from Cuzco to Machu Picchu. I amspending the night in Aguas Calientes (the town below Machu Picchu) and I plan on getting up at 3 am tomorrow to climb it and see the sun rise there. It has been a long ride getting here but this is basically the reason I chose to come to South America. I hope this finds you all well and I look forward to seeing you all soon!!

I wanted to post more pictures as I went out and bought a new card reader and it seems to have done the trick. Unfortuantely My bus to Cuzco leaves at 2 pm and I need to leave, it takes forever to upload pictures here. Well this is a picture of Valporaiso looking across the bay from Ranaca, I took it from a car, hence the blurred flowers on the bottom. I hope this message finds you all well, and Congrats to steve and Trevi on tying the knot last night, I wish them all the best in their life together....