This is the part of the trip that we have been waiting for since March…..The Inca Trail, Peru! The first words that spring to my mind…… How Far 48km?, Steep Hills, 51 Steps, Rough Terrain, Wet Tents, Disgusting Toilets, Spectacular Views, Amazing Ruins!!!!

I love the way I have no expectations when I sign up to these adventurous things, this can be an advantage at times!

Day one was by far a complete breeze, a lovely, take ya time walk through somebeautiful country side, Snow Capped mountains, the sun was shining and we saw some very cute Donkey´s along the way who took a shine to Rick! The day finished with our amazing porters assembling our tents in the garden of a local family, the Chef cooked rice, beef and a few veggies, first serving popcorn, followed by 3 courses……throughout the 4 days we were served popcorn every evening and Rick and I couldn’t´t help thinking that we hadn´t actually eaten so much popcorn without seeing a single movie hahah.

Off to bed we went (8pm) with a little apprehension…….day 2 is known to be the hardest! We were woken at 5am by our porter who served us with the infamous Coca Tea……certainly gets you started in the morning! Before we start we are served a hearty breakfast of pancakes, toast and omelette’s, Mmm now we have to walk…….blimey even after 5 minutes my lungs were ready to give up and run away from my body as fast as they could hahaha! All uphill is not an exaggeration (and I realise I am one to slightly exaggerate at times!) we had to climb to 4,200metres!!! Having caught my breath it was taken away again quite rapidly when I viewed my surroundings, the landscape from up here was amazing, the many valleys with the clouds rolling in…..certainly made the hike worth while! We celebrated by eating more Snickers Bars and Oreos, one must keep ones sugar level up (well that’s my excuse for eating that amount of chocolate on the trip). Well when you climb that high at some point you must come down. Giant staircase is the best way to describe the next 2 hours of walking, the steps were huge and was a little tough on the old knee´s, bless Rick his knee had been playing him up and he had to buy a Bamboo Walking Stick to help him down (and here was me thinking I had myself a Toy Boy?)

At the end of day 2 I never thought I would appreciate seeing a Tent as much as I did….the popcorn arrived and my lungs started to feel a little back to normal!

Oooo getting out of the sleeping bag this particular morning was a mission in itself…..to say that the muscles in my calves were as solid as rocks is an under statement, just walking the few steps to the Toilets (which I have to mention……how can a toilet be so disgusting, don´t all humans have the same level of hygiene when it comes to the Loo, apparently not, it appears that most of them seemed to have missed the loo and the floor seemed to be a good enough place!!!!) seemed to be a strain, blimey how was I gonna manage the rest of the day!

Morning Coca Tea, Lots more Snicker Bars, 51 steps up hill, more popcorn and day 3 was over!

Finally Day 4 had arrived an early start this morning, 4.30am! We need to be at the sun gate by 7am….I skipped the hearty breakfast of Pancakes and Omelete, far too early for such things and hurried off to the loo, mmm they weren´t too bad although I had to share the cubicle with the biggest moth I have ever seen!

The walk to the Sun Gate was very pleasant in deed, quite like the English Country Side in some parts, a small hill had to be climbed, but hey that’s nothing hahaha! We reached the top of the hill and there it was……..what we had been waiting to see for 8 months! The Lost Inca City Machu Picchu. With a congratulatory hug from our guide Silvia and a big sigh of relief we took in the view! Machu Picchu was only discovered in 1911 by an American historian and is the best known and most spectacular archaeological site in South America.

Of course one must appreciate these historic sites, but to be honest by the time I reached Machu Picchu I was so knackered after these heavy 4 days I wasn´t at all interested in walking around and listening to the history of the place! Silvia, our wonderful guide, bless her was well aware of our feelings and did a quick walk and talk and then took us straight to the train station for our return journey to Cusco!

As you can imagine all we wanted to do was fall in to bed, however this was easier said than done…….the hostel that had our bags and a double room reserved decided to rent the room to another couple and be completely full the night we returned!!!! Oooo tempers were high and Dolly´s patience was wearing a little thin….in my pigeon Spanish I told them women that I had been hiking for 4 days, sleeping in not so waterproof tents on the thinnest of mattresses and did she not appreciate how tired we were…..clearly not, she wasn´t bothered she had her hotel full so what did she care for the blisters on my feet! Rick was my knight in shining armor (minus the white horse) and off he went to find us a bed elsewhere!

So finally that night exhausted, we fell in to bed after an amazing 4 days!

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Permalink | Travel, toilets, jungle, peru, trekking, camping | 2 Comments