In traveling more remote regions the world, I marvel at how people have adapted to their environment over time. I am not referring to citizens in the deserts of Arizona draining the Colorado River to have green lawns. The indigenous Inca of Peru are a hearty lot conditioned for centuries in harsh surroundings. Cuzco is a large city in the midst of this ancient Empire at over 11,000 feet. I hired a driver to venture into the surrounding area. Between my Portuguese and his Spanish, we managed to get by quite well. He spoke the local Quechua language as a bonus. We visited some rather remote villages where terrace farming went on as always. Most children were barefoot in a very cool forty degrees. They looked quite healthy in this a thin atmosphere – plump to ward off the cold. 
We came upon a village thrashing wheat, first with donkeys running over straw than all the people separating the grain. I commented to my driver that it was good to see all the villagers working together to make bread. He laughed and said no, that this was to make beer.
Machu Picchu is a citadel to what embodies the depth of their civilization. I was only in Cuzco for four days so I did a one-day train trip. I have a couple friends that made the four-day, three-night Inca Trail walk. Either way, the spirits have survived at 8,000 feet and you will be consumed. Liken it to the Taj Mahal or the Pyramids but nothing compares.
