Since I don’t speak Spanish or the local Peruvian language, and I don’t really camp, I knew I would need a travel company of some kind to assist me in my desire to reach Machu Picchu on foot. So far though my searches with Backroads, REI, and Intrepid have yielded results that all involve sleeping in hotels. Every night.

This probably is a more realistic option for my urban living, but the dream of this trip is to be outdoors.  Sit by a campfire, stare at the millions of stars, listen to the night noises… Surprisingly, my even more city-living husband agrees.  He wants to walk from site to site, progressing from Cusco to Machu Picchu, not take day hikes from each night’s hotel.

Stunning. My husband doesn’t like yard work or the beach and now he wants to walk and camp for a week in Peru.  I’m beginning to think this trip is more than just a hike in the mountains.