This has already been an amazing and a complete vacation... and we´re only 1/3 of the way through! We completed the Inca trail 2 days ago. That was one of the most difficult and most incredible experiences I´ve ever had. We had a fabulous guide and were on the trail with 5 other hikers, 11 porters and one insanely talented camp cook. We thought we were going to be roughing it, but that part was only true for the trail itself, not at the campsites. The trail was enough. I swear that at some points (particularly on day 3, the hardest day the hardest and longest day of hiking, the day of greatest altitude and sharpest cold --25 degrees F --, and day I was dealing with a painfully gassy stomach and a total lack of appetite), I did not konw how I thought I was at all physically capable of handling this climb. But we had an amazing guide who walked with me on some of the killer staircase portions. Juan (the guide) also taught us a lot about Incan history and religion, and made the trip far richer than it would have been without him. Machu Picchu is also so much more than I ever imagined. I just can´t believe how large it is and have been caught up in its mystery...

Troy and I are now in Ecuador, where we have a day in Quito before heading over to the Galapagos. I´m very excited! This is one of the most incredible trips of my life already...