We are in Peru right now, and it might end up being my favorite country of them all.  We went to Machu Picchu a few days ago, and it was one of the coolest things I have ever seen.  We almost skipped it because it was so expensive and difficult to get there, at least by the standards here, but it was well worth it.  Getting there was something else though!  The Inca trail, which is how a lot of people usually get there and involves 4 days of hiking, is closed during February because of all the rain, and the train to get there is super expensive, so we heard about this DIY way of taking a bus to this small town, then taking another bus, then walking a while, then walking some more, so we decided to do that.  The bus was supposed to be five hours but ended up being 8, and it was the craziest bus trip I have ever been on.  We were hugging the side of a mountain, with sheer cliffs of 12,000 feet below us, and there were rivers flowing across the road, literally probably a foot deep.  It was insane!  We didn´t get into the town until dark, so had to spend the night there.  We were informed that we would have to leave the next morning at 6 am because there were rock slides on the road that led to the next town we had to get to, and if we didn´t leave at 6 we wouldn´t be able to cross the road.  So we get up and are ready to go at 6.  We take a car about an hour into the mountains, and then at a certain point we have to stop because there is indeed a rock slide, and there is a large group of people, some with parked cars, others on foot, standing and milling around on either side of a huge pile or rocks blocking the road, while enormous boulder size rocks fall down the side of the mountain.  A few crazies ran across the pile or rocks anyway in the midst of the rock slide and barely missed getting clobbered by giant falling rocks that would and could have killed you in a second.  Everyone else just sort of stood around waiting for something to change, although what or how that was going to happen was anyone´s guess.  We thought we were screwed and didn´t really know what to do.  Then we saw that there were a few people climbing down the mountain, into the ravine below, and up the other side, which was a ridiculously steep climb down and up, but you were safe from the rock slide.  After standing around for about an hour with no apparent change in the situation, we decided to do that.  We had our giant backbacks, and it was a hell of a journey, holding on to bamboo for dear life on the way down, but we made it!  Then we had to walk another 20 kilometers through the rain to get to the town of Aguas Calientes, which is where you go to Machu Picchu from.  It was quite a day! 
Anyway, now we are in the Sacred Valley, which is the valley that connects to where the Machu Picchu ruins are, and is also filled with Incan ruins.  This is a truly special and beautiful place, and I find myself at a loss to describe it. 
We have just a few weeks left, and then we will be rejoining you all in the US.  It will be difficult to leave here, but we are so excited to see friends and family.