three long days of bus rides in the Andes

From Huancayo to Ayacucho, though, was a 10-hour bus ride, through wild country

Huancayo to Ayacucho

The first part of the trip was noteworthy primarily for its stunningly well-ordered agriculture, from the valleys up onto the ridges

But we soon got into the kind of terrain that would prevail for most of the rest of the journey...

...dirt roads, winding along a wild river (which reputedly has killed more people than any river on earth)

Even here, though, the agricultural uses of the terrain were impressive

The casualness of Peru is evident here:  we males were free to relieve ourselves whenever the bus stopped

The bus stopped often in small villages 

Ayacucho to Cuzco

After the week of Semana Santa in Ayacucho I headed for Cuzco and Machu Picchu

That was two 12-hour bus rides on successive days

The trip was all through rugged mountain country, with endless switchbacks, twists and turns

thru numerous small villages

past picturesque farms

with food vendors boarding the bus at many stops

At the end of the first day, I landed in Andahuaylas, half-way between Ayacucho and Cuzco

Early the next morning, their market was just awakening

Cold and damp, I was happy to leave this town behind

This day continued the pattern:  seemingly endless switchbacks, while descending into the valley...

...only to climb again to the heights

until Cuzco, at last