We got picked up around 4am on Monday morning ready to hit the Colca Canyon after grabbing a bit of breakfast. Having not had enough sleep both Ash and I crashed out on the mini bus once we´d got settled. Before we knew it it was 2 hours later and we were at nearly 5000m high with snow all around us! Ash didnt look great and complained he didnt feel well but the guides put it down to the altitude and told us he would feel better once we descended to the next village. On arriving in Chivay we all sat down for breakfast whilst Ash still complained of feeling ill. Straight away I knew something was wrong as Ash never turns down food!

We started to head towards the village where the trek would start after half an hour and what a fantastic drive it was. Im sure even Ash would admit to this even though he was feeling awful. He was given coca leaves to chew on which made him feel worse!! On arriving at the canyon Ash headed off to the toilet to see if he could relieve his stomachache whilst I tried to get him a hot drink to try and help. After around 15 minutes I started to get a little worried where he was and so I headed off along the canyon edge to where he had gone. There was a little tent on the edge of the canyon so I took a little peak in (yes I know im nosey!) and to my surprise I saw Ash laid down in the tent with a local guy staring at me!! Ash then told me he had had an injection which made me freak out abit, both at him and the "doctor" as we where in the middle of no where and this guy had stuck a needle in his arse!! Ash did however feel much better and the guy assured me the needle was clean. I managed to help him back up the hill whilst making a few sick stops, and back to the mini bus. Our guides were fantastic and finally realised it wasnt altitude sickness but food poisoning. They took us to the next village, showed us the "hospital" and took us to a hostel which was more like someones house!! Talk about experiencing the ´real´Peru.

That day will be one we will never forget. Ash continued to be sick until around midday when I ventured out into the village to get him some Powerade and some food for myself. After sleeping all afternoon Ash perked up and we headed back to see the doctor at the "hospital" (see the pictures!!) whilst the rain had stopped. Again he assured us the needle was clean and showed us the sterile packet he had used. We spent 5 Soles (1 GBP) on lots of tablets (anti sickness, antibiotics) and then headed to a local place for some food. Ash managed some soup and I felt so pleased he was feeling and looking much better.

The following day we had been instructed to meet our group at the square at 9am. Ash was 100 times better than the previous day and we sat in the square enjoying taking in the very ´real´Peruvian atmosphere of this little village and taking smeaky photos! Thankfully we spotted some of our group and was relieved we werent going to be stranded in the village for much longer. They told us how hard the trek had been and so we didnt feel to bad that we had missed out after all... The joys of being in Peru!!!