(For English, see further down)

Endelig skulle og kunne vi påbegynde eventyret, som vi havde set frem til siden september sidste år, nemlig Inka Trek mod det fantastiske Macchu Picchú.
Vi blev hentet fra vores hostel kl. 5.30 om morgenen og blev kørt til startpunktet på vores trek, ca. 2 timer udenfor for byen. Samtidig fik vi stiftet bekendtskab med de andre, som skulle være en del af gruppen de næste fire dage. Vi lagde ydermere mærke til, at vi som de eneste havde en større rygsæk med i forhold til de andre. Vi ville senere finde ud af, at det skyldes, at de andre havde hyret portere til at bære deres ting, og at de alligevel kun havde en tandbørste med og ellers regnede med at gå i det samme tøj de næste dage (bvadr!).
Vi startede ud med et gruppebillede og blev registreret og checket ind i National Parken. Naturen omkring os var enestående. Adskillige bjerge med fantastisk vegetation med en fyrig flod snigende sig igennem dem. Vi havde begge ubeskrivelig gåpåmod og var abnormt positive og glade. Dette ville, inden for den nærmeste fremtid, vise sig at ændre sig til træthed, fysisk udmattelse og psykisk nedbrudthed, fnis ;).
Vores guide på turen var utrolig dygtig. Ikke kun med at fortælle historierne bag hver enkelt ruin, men også den måde han formidlede dem på og dermed fik vores lidenskab og tørst for historie genoplivet. Han ville have været den perfekte historielærer. Udover ham bestod 'crewet' af portere, en kok og en tjener. Den mad vi fik på turen var ubeskrivelig og utrolig god, taget i betragtning af, at vi var ude i junglen, og han blot havde én kogeplade. Til frokost og aftensmad fik vi altid en 3-retters menu. Og det var ikke kun god mad, den var altid brændvarm! Hele crewet var bare super søde og hjælpsomme.
Hvad angår selve turen var den hvert eneste skridt værd. Dog i visse øjeblikke var Melanie parat til at blive hentet i en helikopter. Hvad I skal tænke er, at de stier vi gik på, hverken var flade eller lige. De var stenbelagte, ergo mega ujævne, og ligeledes smalle og kun gående opad eller nedad. Turen forløb fra 1900 m og op til 4200 m og havde en strækning på 50 km. Højdepunkterne undervejs var de adskillige ruiner vi besøgte og den dertil hørende historie og ligeledes den natur vi trekkede igennem, og selvfølgelig de fænomenale udsigter vi fik set. Når man møder sådanne enestående syn, kan man kun føle sig taknemmlig og priviligeret over at få lov til at vidne et sådan stykke af Moder Natur og historie.
Vi havde desværre kun held med vejret de første 2 dage. Det sidste halvandet døgn regnede det. Så kulminationen på Macchu Picchu blev lidt af en vandet fornøjelse ;). MEN heldigvis havde vi ekstra tøj med og kunne skifte hverdag. Og, som de mennesker vi nu er, vaskede vi os og gik i bad hverdag. Det var man simpelthen nødsaget til (-eller det tænkte vi), fordi man svedte næsten halvdelen af sin kropsvæske ud efter hver dagtur. Men dette var åbenbart ikke en holdning, som var udbredt i gruppen.
I hvert fald, kort sagt, det var en fed tur. Vi kan klart anbefale enhver til at gøre det (-bare husk vådservietter og ekstra tøj ;), fnis).

Knus herfra

We were finally ready to embarque upon the adventure leading us to Macchu Picchu. We were picked up at our hostel at 5.30 am and driven to the start point of our Inca Trail, just 2 hours outside of town. During the bus ride we got acquainted with the other people that were joining our group for the following 4 days. We noticed that we were the only ones with a big backpack. We would soon come to learn that the others had hired porters to carry their belongings and that they apparently expected to wear the same clothes during the entire trip (disgusting!!).
Anyway, we started out with a group photo and then went on to register and check in to the National Park. The nature surrounding us was magnificent. Several mountains covered in amazing vegetation with a strong river running through them. We were both very excited, optimistic and in good spirits. This would soon come to change both in to fatigue, pure physical exhaustion and mental break down, ha ha ;).
Our guide on the trip was fantastic. Not only in telling the stories and history behind each ruin we visited, but also in the way of delivering the information with such a passion and excitement. He really resurrected our urge for history. Aside from him, the crew consisted of porters, a cook and sous chef as well as a waiter. The food we received during the trip was indescribably good. And considering that we were in the middle of the jungle and that the chef only had one hot plate to cook the meals on, it was incredible. For both lunch and dinner we received 3 course meals. The entire crew was just so nice and helpful.
In regards to the trek itself, every step of it was worth it. Although there were some moments where Melanie wished she could get picked up by a helicopter ;). What you have imagine is that the paths we were trekking on weren't flat nor straight. They were made out of big stones and were therefore very uneven, also very narrow and always inclined either up or down (so after this trip I blessed every plateau road I walked on!). The trip began at 1900 m and went all the way up to 4200 m and was a total of 50 km long. The highlights along the way were the several ruins and their history in addition to the spectacular scenery that Mother Nature had created. We felt both grateful as well as privileged to bare witness to this.
In regards to the weather we were lucky the first 2 days, with beautiful sunny weather. However this changed the last one and half day, when the rain started pouring down. So the culminating wonder of seeing Macchu Picchu the last day kind of turned in to a wet pleasure. But fortunately we had plenty of dry clothes with us, so it wasn't a big issue. And also being who we are, we just had to have a shower every day. You just had to, because you were dredged in sweat after a days trek. However this was not shared by the rest of the group.

Anyway, to sum up, it was a fab trip, and we would recommend it to each and everyone of you (just remember wet wipes and dry clothes, ha ha).

Big hugs from here