machu picchu
Machu Picchu is one of those places where even though you’ve seen the pictures dozens of times, it is still humbling and mind-blowing to experience in person. I was lucky enough to experience it with my mom who met me for a couple of weeks during this portion of my backpacking journey.
We managed to squeak in as the last two of their daily quota of people that are allowed to climb Wayna Picchu, an almost vertical slog up a mountain with views looking down on the Machu ruins that is impossible to ever fully capture in words or pictures. Walking around this place for a day is pure magic.
We also toured other ruins in the Sacred Valley including the tiered wonder of Pisac, ambled the cobbled streets of Cusco, and spent three days deep in the amazon jungle in the Madre de Dios river. From literally the top of the world to canoeing through the underbrush, this was by far the best segment of my Latin America jaunt; and just the first of many mother/daughter global adventures.
