Peru's Sacred Valley on Four Legs

Whenever we're planning vacations we seem to be inundated by offers and recommendations for guided tours. There isn't anything especially wrong with guided tours per se, but climbing out of the back of a minibus and being herded around with other English speakers - as is typical on many tours - is decidedly ungraceful and conspicuous.  When we were planning our trip to Peru S and I decided we wanted a different experience. No minibuses for this couple, not on this trip. I don't even remember where I found Hacienda del Chalán...

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Ollantaytambo: Intro to the Sacred Valley

I started worrying about the altitude from the first day we started planning our trip to Peru. S was less concerned. In his experience, the people most affected by altitude were the uber fit, not the moderately fit like us. I was still worried. I didn't want to get all the way to Peru only to end up spending days in bed with nausea and dizziness.  One of the blogs I read in preparation for our trip recommended seeing Cusco last. Of all the typical sites people visit in this area of Peru, Cusco is the highest at an elevation...

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