January 12, 2025
MACHU PICCHU, PERU
WOW! This place is magical! I would also call it organized chaos! There are so many travelers in town, and the first Sunday of each month, when we are there, is free for all local Peruvians. Shockingly it all moves very well - we get the bus to the top of the mountain in a fast moving but very large long line and find our guide right when we get off the bus. We even find the sweet girl, Hi Brittany Mahoney! I sat next to her on the train and we had a great chat about life and love!. She is an MBA student from Houston, and traveling alone and she rides the bus up with us. We entered Machu at 9 am and toured with out wonderful guide until about 11:45. Everything we had been learning about these ancient civilizations really came together while listening to our guide. He really was great at filling in the pieces of the big picture. I also think our questions were more focused, as we gained more info from the multiple days of touring.
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We toured Machu Picchu from 9 am to roughly noon , then took bus back down to Aguas Calientes and had a leisurely lunch at a restaurant overlooking the river rapids. Then we went to the towns natural hot spring pools and relaxed in the heated waters. After, we picked up our stuff at Inn and hustled, to the train station for the 4+ hour trek back to Cusco. I got to dance with mythical character on train ride back too! Stayed at same inn we had been at day before. Think we all dropped into our beds as soon as we checked in. LONG but GREAT DAY!
Our Odyssey Crew is so talented and fun loving! They put together this hysterical video spoofing all the crazy things they observed this year catering to us Residents, in a special presentation of our 2026 Horoscopes! Watch all the way through to the bloopers at the end and hopefully you will see why we love them so much!
Don't know if you have figured this out about me - I love to Sail! I constantly scour the ports we are visiting, in advance, trying to line up sailing trips. I have a core group of friends on the ship that feel similiarly and several also scout them out and we share info and invites! Today was the Catamaran Taboo operated by Viola Moorea, owner Leo. We had several back and forths calls & emails - but finally worked out a morning session, for a 1/2 day, for 8 people. The wind and rain were a little temperamental, but we had a great time skimming over the crystal clear turquoise water in the lagoons of Moorea!
We have 3 days on this lovely island of Moorea. Day 1 we just went to the beach for the afternoon and this Piggy Momma held court! She was eating baguettes and then needed to cool down in water. Walked right through sunbathers, across their blanket and then plopped right down unfazed.