Woke up at 4am grabbed our bags and headed down to reception at 4.15 to wait to be picked up. Didn't get picked up till 5am and had a 2 hour bus ride to where we would get breakfast and start our trek. I had to sit right next to the driver as it was packed and as usual I fell asleep straight away, apparently my head pretty much on the drivers shoulder, I'm sure he loved it. We met the rest of our group; 2 English guys Sam and Mark, 2 Dutch girls Ida and Mirjam, an American girl summer, Hungarian guy called Adam and an English girl called Kayleigh, everyone seemed pretty cool. Our guide was called Juan who seemed sweet. We drove up to the camp where we started an acclimatization hike, wasn't really that far but due to the height and steepness it was knackering, our hearts going 200 beats a minute was pretty strange. The altitude hit Laurie hard, he looked dead doing it and must have sucked for him watching me and Joel strolling up not feeling it too much. Him Ida and summer eventually made it up and I'm sure they were glad, the lake at the base of the volcano was incredible it barely looked real, it was unbelievably blue, looked like the water in phi phi Thailand! Once we walked down we had dinner which was 3 courses and actually really nice and filling, due to the altitude your stomach can only manage smaller meals and nothing greasy (learning something new every day). We were all shattered so we went to bed at 2030 in our tents, very rock and roll!! Got woken up at 5am to a cup of tea which was pretty nice, Ruth take note, had some breakfast and were all ready to leave at 6am. For some reason it took Kayleigh and summer an extra 1/2 an hour to get ready so me and the Dutch girls walked on with Joel and the guys not far behind. We all thought it was going to be cold so had my thermals on so they came off pretty quick, the English guys the only ones in shorts sticking to the stereotype! Today was a pretty tiring day, walked 4 hours up to 4600 metres then 2 hours down to lunch which was in the rain, I got to sport my green and pink poncho which was sweet! We were all cold and wet when we got to lunch so were happy for some tea, when Laurie turned up he looked in a bad way he looked dead, he had even given up his usual moaning and was just quiet!! He said he was so tired at one stage he said he didn't go off the track for a piss just stood there with people walking past! After lunch we set off again and it was freezing, coldest so far! Walked for 5 hours down to the next camp, with it raining so much some points were quite hard due to the mud but it was pretty cool! Me, Sam, Joel and Mark were first in camp so got to chill and have sit down banos which was long needed before the rest turned up 45 mins later looking dead! All had a nap before dinner, again it was pretty sweet and this time Laurie actually ate quite a bit so should be feeling a bit better tomorrow. Again had an early night and again slept like a baby until this horse crashed into the tent and we s*** ourselves, Joel had cuddle me to comfort my sacredness. Got up about 6am to find the killer horse had attacked the Dutch tent too, had brekkie and headed off for a gentle 4 hour walk slowly walking downhill. The views the last few days have been incredible, some of it not looking real like of a movie set!! There was a bus at 12 that took Laurie, Mirjam, Ida, Kayleigh and Mark to lunch whilst the rest of us walked an extra hour through a really cool little village. We ate then got a bus to our next camp, from there we went to the hot springs and everyone was loving it!! The group was beginning to smell pretty funky; especially Joel so was good to wash and relax for the first time in 3 days!! We all played Frisbee and generally relaxed for 3 hours before going back and having dinner. Everyone seemed happier at dinner tonight, not as tired and stayed up talking later tonight! Juan out guide has been a bit of a legend, informative and pretty funny! Went zip lining in the morning which was a good laugh and something different before walking to the Machu Picchu town along the railroad. Stopped for lunch where I managed to drop mine on the floor so had dirt and rice, was actually pretty good! Walked to the town where we talked and chilled out before me, Joel and Sam went to get everyone's bags. Thought it would be funny to take some stuff out of Laurie's bag and it turns out it was pretty funny... When he was in his room he found his aftershave was missing and was blaming the horseman and kicking off, worse when his deodorant was missing and when he realised his flip flop was missing he was going mad, me and Joel pissing ourselves in our room. We eventually told him I had it when he was punching things, was hilarious! We went out for dinner which was good and then the others went for a few beers before having another early night. Got up at 4 so we could get the first bus to Machu Picchu, was pretty sweet to it being super quiet up there! Juan suddenly became serious and did a pretty sweet tour of the place before leaving us to wonder round the site. Was really cool and lucky we had a sunny day, took the standard photos and pottered around before leaving Laurie the girl to look after the bags whilst we hiked up to the sun gate. Was good, different view of Machu Picchu and good to walk up. Me and Joel both said that whilst it was amazing it wasn't quite as good as the Angkor eat or Great Wall of China. Met the others and went back to the town and had some lunch before getting the train back to Cusco. Was an incredible 5 days, good hiking, good group and great end with the Machu Picchu.