After climbing back down Wayna Picchu and taking another walk through Machu Picchu, Liz, Michael, and I (the only ones from our group who did the former) headed for the bus that would take us to Aguas Calientes.

There was literally a bus that ran every five minutes, swallowing up tourists like they were candy. After 20 minutes of winding roads down to the valley, we hopped off at Aguas Calientes.

Cuzco, the former capital of the Inca Empire and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, sits approximately 3,400 meters above sea level. As a result, most visitors often experience altitude sickness as their bodies adapt to the higher elevation. Taking preventative medicine (e.g., Diamox) and drinking coca tea had fortunately warded off most of the symptoms of altitude sickness for me.

When tourists first arrive in Cuzco, it's easy to mistake the city as a super liberal haven due to the multiple rainbow colored flags draped and hung around everywhere. However, the colors depict the flag of Cuzco and not a statement on gay rights. The flags do add a dash of color to the orange-red hue that seems to tint everything in and around the Cuzco area due to the rusty color of the surrounding mountain ranges.

I shared a taxi with Kelly, the traveler I met the previous night, to the Iquitos airport since we were heading out at the same time. At the airport, we lost track of each other; however, I bumped into Alain and Soche (sp), the San Diego couple I had met at Otorongo. Small world!