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     Oh how the time had flown by.  A month at Machu Picchu seemed to roll by like the clouds in the sky.  Incredible peaks and gorgeous green valleys provided incredible views in this unspoiled region of the world.   As a professor of archeology it had been my dream to visit Machu Picchu since I first learned about it as an undergrad.   I had an opportunity to go my senior year of college but unfortunately I broke my leg just before the trip and had to cancel.  Here I was 38 years old, a full professor, and I was finally living my dream. 

      When I heard about the program I was kind of skeptical of my chances.   I had never been to Peru.  But the grant specifically called for a professor of Archeology willing to teach a course in Ancient Incan construction and then it culminated in a month long work program where the professor and students would act as tour guides and have access for academic study to all parts of the glorious city.  128 Professors applied and I was the lucky recipient of the grant.  I had studied hard and put together a very strong application based on sound archeological theory and ancient building techniques within my application I had proposed a hypothesis for the delivery of stone up the mountain that must have grabbed their attention. 

     My class was a joy, I had 12 students and every one of them was an eager learner and excited about the archeology and the history of this glorious city.  This is one of those classes where the professor learns more from the students than they learn from him or her.  One particularly bright student, Maria had challenged my hypothesis on stone delivery and presented an alternative method that seemed both plausible and efficient.  We spent many hours after class discussing our various contrivances and I grew quite fond of her.  One day during my office hours we were discussing methods of storing drinking water in the isolated city when Maria suggested we should quench our thirst at a local bar.