The next morning we had a sad parting from Carlos as we all boarded the bus to Cusco. He had been a fantastic, knowledgeable guide, with a great sense of humor who blended nicely into our diverse group and would be sorely missed. The local guide on our bus was a poor substitute but did provide some information about the temple of Viracocha where we stopped enroute.
Once in Cusco, we were introduced to Ayul, the tour leader who would be escorting our group on to Machu Picchu. We went out for one last dinner with our group and then left them in Ayul's capable hands.