Day 11

   Macchu Picchu day was a hit!  We visited the site on the busiest day of the year: the Winter Solstice.  We met at a bridge in town, which is near Carver and William’s house and hustled to the train station to catch a 6:15 am train.  The trip took about 1 hour and 20 minutes; we winded down through the Sacred Valley along the Urubamba River.  When we arrived, our transfer agent Mario made sure that we got entrance tickets and then on the bus up to Macchu Picchu.  It is an impressive operation; the train dropped us in the town Aguas Claiente where we bought tickets and caught the bus. We then rode the bus for about 30 minutes to the base of Macchu Picchu, and then we walked for another 15 minutes to the scenic panorama of the site.  Our tour took about 2 hours in which we learned about the discovery of the site, what scientists and archaeologists have put together about Macchu Picchu in the last 100+ years, and for what all of the different buildings were used.  It was a very informative tour and many of us were on info overload by the time things concluded.  We took about an hour after the tour to explore on our own, and Skylar finally got her picture with a Llama.  After that, we walked out and had lunch.  Since Macchu Picchu is a tourist site, the kids got to fill up on sodas, hotdogs, ice cream, etc.  We also ate fruit and sandwiches that Adele packed for us, so it was somewhat healthy.  Then, the bus took us back to Aguas Caliente and we walked to the train.  We arrived back in Ollantay at about 4:30 pm and we moved into the hostel.  Dinner tonight was burritos at a local restaurant and the kids devoured all of the food.  It was an impressive performance and apparently they were famished.
   Tomorrow we leave for Cusco between 9 am - 10 am.  It is a two hour drive to our hotel in the plaza of the city.  Once we are settled, we will have some time to explore Cusco and do some activities that will wrap up our experience.  We will have a closing, celebration dinner tomorrow night and the kids will “deliver” their graduation speeches throughout the day tomorrow.  Tonight they are exhausted and hyper.  The combination of our excursion today coupled with our time wrapping up in Ollantay has got them very excited.
   I am unsure if internet will be available tomorrow or if there will be time to update the blog.  If it is possible I will; but if you do not hear from us please don’t worry.  We are in transit and preparing for our flights to Lima, then Houston, and finally Denver.  Once again the kids were amazing today and although I am very excited to get home to my family I will miss the group!