The Traveling Idiots-Where The Tuck Are They Now?: Skinny air.........

Peruvian lady enjoying people watching from a bench in the plaza

Three weeks ago today we were floating in the Dead Sea, which at more than 1,400 feet below sea level is the lowest place on earth. Today we are in Urubamba, Peru which is 9,420 feet above sea level. Equally magnificent but obviously quite different. We have also made the change from summer to winter. The days are sunny and in the 60's, while the nighttime temperature dips into the 40's.
Urubamba is a small town of just under 3,000 permanent residents. It is located in the Sacred Valley. It is considered a gateway to the main attraction in the Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu. We'll be visiting Machu Picchu on Monday, so more on it in future blogs.
Getting to Peru is much easier than I had imagined. It was a five hour flight from Miami to Lima. Because of the evening arrival time into Lima we spent the night at an airport hotel. If it wasn't for the multilane road with a massive roundabout it would have been within easy walking distance. The next morning we took a one hour flight from Lima to Cusco. We had arranged transportation through the hotel from Cusco to Urubamba. Luis our young friendly driver, who spoke broken English, was waiting on us. It was about an hour and a half drive to reach Urubamba. The hotel is conveniently located near the small but fairly bustling downtown area. We didn't get to see much of Cusco yet, but it did look interesting and we're going to spend our last day there.
Our biggest concern with visiting this area was the elevation. While Cusco, at 11,151 feet, is several thousand feet higher, Urubamba is quite a ways up there, especially for folks who tend to spend most of their time about 2-3 feet above sea level. So far, so good as far as any major issues with the elevation. Our game plan was to spend the first couple of days with minimal activity, just relaxing (we do this well) and getting used to the skinny air up here. Oh yeah, and the hotel has a nice indoor/outdoor pool and hot tub area which has made executing our plan even easier.Today we did enjoy a stroll through the hotel grounds and gardens which extend along the Urubamba River that runs behind the property. We also strolled through the small town of Urubamba. We visited the market which seemed quite busy, although we were told the main market days are Monday, Wednesday and Friday. We also found one of our favorite things, a bench in the shade where we could people watch for a while. This particular bench was in the main plaza in front of the main church, so the people watching was excellent. There was even a small parade featuring children and adults in festive costumes dancing down the street to the music of a 6-8 piece band. We weren't sure what the occasion was but we jumped in and followed along for several blocks. We then headed back to the far end of the hotel grounds for a picnic along the river with the Andes Mountains as a back drop.

The local market was colorful and busy even on a "slow day"

There were tons of fresh fruits and vegetables

We weren't sure what the parade was celebrating but we followed along for a few blocks

Tomorrow we'll pick up the pace a bit more. We're planning on hiring a local driver and visiting a couple of historic sites, Moray and Maras. Moray is an archeological site that features Incan ruins. Maras is known for their salt mines and salt pools which date back to the Incan times. Should be a fun day and I think our lungs are ready!