we finally made it to cuzco! on monday, several flights and buses converged, and sam, kristin, mimi, and i met up in the city. after a bit of huffing a puffing between travel agencies (at this altitude, standing up was enough to wind us...scaling the many stairs of hilly cuzco was another physical feat entirely), we managed to arrange all of our excursions for our upcoming two weeks in peru. during the past few days, we have been touring ancient incan ruins around cuzco and the sacred valley. from ancient baths to agricultural experimentation terraces to fortresses, the incans have left many soaring and impressive structures behind in the region. tomorrow, we will observe a religious holiday in the city, and friday we head off for a multi-day excursion into the amazon rainforest. after that, we spend a couple days in lake titicaca, and then it's time for the crowning event: hiking the four-day inca trail to machu picchu. i will try to post more photos and updates as we go along, but for now here is a peek at the plaza de armas in cuzco!