6/20 - Fly Lima to Cusco

We had a morning flight from Lima to Cusco...about an hour flight. Cusco has a population of about 400,000. The altitude is about 3,600 meters (about 11,000 feet). This is higher than Machu Picchu.

Some of our group had taken altitude medicine. We did not. We did okay without. You just walk slowly and rest often. We did get out of breath easily, and perhaps have slight head aches, but is was not too bad as long as we were careful. The people who took the meds experienced some palsy-like shaking of their hands. Net, I favor the "without meds" approach.

We stopped in the Sacred Valley along the way. There was a local "farmers market" in the indian village of Pisac. Lots of interesting local outfits on folks who came in from the area to sell their goods or purchase local produce.

It is about 4 hours from Cusco to Agua Calientes...the town in the valley besides Machu Picchu. We overnighted in a town about halfway in between called Ollantavtambo. .