Our third day is no less breathtaking than the rest – and we’re all happy to be singing and walking our way down to lower altitudes!

Once we reach the highest pass through the valley we get the adrenaline rush of sliding / skiing down almost 1,000 feet of loose soil/rock you see us standing on here:

We may be a little tired by this point

– but the scenery just keeps pushing us on. If ever one finds oneself questioning

the majesty of God’s creation this is absolutely a part of the world in which to be reminded.

These mountain lakes are clear enough to see to the bottom in spots

and the scale of everything is a beautifully humbling experience.

The very small communities we hike through remind us how harsh a permanent life here would be

– a multiple hour, if not day, hike to the nearest ‘store’ for the most basic supplies. But none can deny the breathtaking sites these Peruvians wake up

to every morning.

At the end of the hike we

find ourselves on a road of sorts, and finally end in a small village where Emily hands out

the last of our school

supplies to a group of kinder-gardeners.

From here we take another small mini-bus about an hour drive to a train station where a charming train ride brings us to Aguas Calientes (the small tourist town just below Machu Picchu) where we spend the night.

Now playing: Alicia Keys - No One

Posted by Sarah Robinson on Monday, May 5th, 2008 at 4:17 pm.