October 3, 2014 Top of the mountain: A hike to Machu Picchu (Part 1) By Simon J. Lau Let the explorations begin! We arrived in Peru today. I left for Machu Picchu with my father yesterday evening and after 16 grueling hours of travel and two connecting flights, we finally made it into Cuzco this afternoon. This also happens to be my first international trip since renewing my passport last year. It is always exciting to visit a new country, […]

October 4, 2014 Top of the mountain: A hike to Machu Picchu (Part 2) By Simon J. Lau Day 2 in Peru and things are still going smoothly. My father and I embarked on an all-day tour of historic sites in and around Cuzco. This included Pisac, Ollantaytambo, and Cinchero Church. Below are some pictures from today. This is a view of the Sacred Valley, once the epicenter of the Inca Empire. It is flanked by the Urubamba River and […]

October 5, 2014 Top of the mountain: A hike to Machu Picchu (Part 3) By Simon J. Lau Day 3 in Peru. We started our hike to Machu Picchu early this morning. It was a slow start with a late departure from Cuzco. However, when we finally made it to the entrance of the Salkantay path, things started to come together quickly. Here is a group picture of our team. From left to right: Kenny (our guide), my dad, me, […]

October 6, 2014 Top of the mountain: A hike to Machu Picchu (Part 4) By Simon J. Lau Day 4 in Peru. Just as Jean had warned me, I got sick! The feeling I had this morning told me that things would not go well today. Fortunately, I did not skimp on my medication and opted for most of the recommended just-in-case medications. Best decision I made before leaving! Although I hardly ate anything for breakfast and only had Gatorade […]

October 7, 2014 Top of the mountain: A hike to Machu Picchu (Part 5) By Simon J. Lau Day 5 in Peru. I went to sleep soon after we arrived at our camp yesterday and I woke up feeling much better this morning. Good enough to hold down food and really enjoy this part of the trek. Ironically, this part of the trip was much easier than yesterday. We only hiked 15 km, compared to 24 km yesterday, and it […]

October 8, 2014 Top of the mountain: A hike to Machu Picchu (Part 6) By Simon J. Lau Day 6 in Peru. Today, like yesterday, was relatively easy. We had a big breakfast and went zip-lining all morning. Eventually, we finished the evening hiking along the railroad tracks that led to Aguas Calientes (the city just below Machu Picchu). This would be our last breakfast with our chef, Joan. Joan was only 22 years old, but you could tell he […]

October 9, 2014 Top of the mountain: A hike to Machu Picchu (Part 7) By Simon J. Lau Day 7 in Peru. We finally made it to Machu Picchu! We woke up at 4:30 AM to get ready and spent the whole morning exploring the ruins. It was pretty amazing to see for myself just how breathtaking the views were from the top of this mountain. Also, as I mentioned in my previous posts, the weather is very dynamic and […]

October 10, 2014 Top of the mountain: A hike to Machu Picchu (Part 8) By Simon J. Lau Day 8 in Peru. This is our last full day in Peru. Ironically, this day came as a bit of a surprise to us. After being away from civilization for the better part of the last week, I got confused and thought that we would be leaving today for San Francisco. Fortunately, we actually have one more night in Cuzco and one […]