Today was the hiking day of our four-day jungle trek to Machu Picchu. Much of the time our group (pic) followed one of the old Inca Trails that were the empire's transport network. We passed through coffee and coca plantations, and the air was fragrant with the smell of mango, pineapple and avocado trees, and vast quantities of mosquito repellent.
The views over the river valley were tremendous (pic). It was very far-sighted of the Incas to put their trails through such tourist-friendly, picturesque scenery.
There was a lot of this sort of thing...
...and with 300m sheer drops like this off one side of our often very narrow path (pic), recovery of a dropped camera would be unlikely. Or of a careless hiker.
At one point we had to cross the river via this entertainingly basic apparatus (pic) run by locals, a sort of cross between a cable car, a milk crate, and a fairground ride.
Our reward at the end of the full day's walk was a dip in the thermal pools of Santa Teresa (pic), full of animated locals enjoying a Sunday out. And of tired gringos enjoying a beer.
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