The 2000 foot valley below | Playing dressup in a jungle village | Flowers growing out of the cliff-hugging steps of the Inca Trail

Uphill for 5 hours!!

Looking back on the trail wrapping around the mountain.

Parrots in their native environment | Cacao in its natural form | Monkeys like mangos

Our group -- no one spoke an ounce of English except for a little by our guide, Abel. | Playing traditional Peru dress-up in a jungle village.

Banana trees line the trail | This seed is a natural dye for makeup and sunscreen | The beautiful flowers that line the trail

The only way across this raging white water river was via cart. A little scary but very necessary. There is no easy way to cross.

A true display of cultural values -- Residents of the small impoverished village of Santa Theresa live in dirt shacks, yet the soccer field of the town is perfectly manicured and guarded with barbed wire fencing.