We decided not to do the 4day Inca trail as after speaking to people who had recently done it we were put off by the amount of rain we would´ve had to endure. Instead we went for the 2 day bus option, which involved a 6:30 pick up to be then driven round Cusco for over an hour whilst trying to find the hostels of the other tourists. Not a good start - we were a little worried at this stage about our choice of agency, the whole trip was only costing $110!)

Finally, we found the rest of the group and with a bus full of noisy, over excited Argentineans who were singing and clapping along to their dodgy music, we were on our way.The drive took us through some really, really windy mountain roads with sheer drops & past little villages.We stopped for coffee in Ollantaytambo, a pretty village in a valley with its own Inca ruins, then for lunch in Santa Teresa. 9 hours later we were at the end of the road and begun the walk along the railway track. It felt like being in one of my favourite films "Stand By Me". We walked through a beautiful jungle valley with a gushing and very noisy river running along side us. The walk was supposed to be 1.5 hours long, but we found ourselves waling for an extra hour in the pitch dark and pouring rain.

After a raucous dinner with the Argies we hit the sack as we had to be up at 3:45 the next morning. We woke up to torrential rain and more darkness, but at 1st we felt excited and positive about our trek to MP. After 1hour walking up a vertical mountain and soaked through (even though we were wearing waterproofs), we were not feeling so positive and excited.The steps up were like walking up a waterfall, our feet were squelching inside our shoes and we were knackered, wet, cold and miserable. We arrived at the entrance at 6am feeling totally down hearted and to a huge cloud.Before we´d even got through the entrance, Stu actually said "Just let me know when you´re ready to go. I´m ready when you are."We were not happy bunnies and stood shivering and miserable listening to our guide whilst secretly thinking "This sucks.I wanna get out of here and smash a hot coffee and get dry".

We wondered around for a bit and I decided the best option would be to get out of my wet clothes, which meant stripping down to my g-string whilst in the middle of Machu Picchu (not many people can say they´ve done that I bet!). But I was that cold I didn´t care. The sun god must have been watching me because just as I was doing it the clouds began to part and the sun began to shine. The difference it made to our moods, not to mention the views, was immense.Suddenly the past 4hours of hell all seemed worth it and we instantly understood what all the fuss over MP is about. They are the most spectacular ancient ruins up in the sky, sitting amongst some of the most sheer vertical mountains you can imagine. Utterly stunning!!

We sat up on a grass bank overlooking the ruins, admiring the views and letting the now baking hot sun dry out our shoes and clothes and warm our hearts. After a few hours of bliss and on a total high we caught the bus down (allowing us to appreciate the sheer climb we had endured earlier that morning). As we sat down to lunch the rain began again and we thanked our friend the sun god for the few hours of pure sunshine and clear skies that we had been given. Exhausted, but beaming, we got the train for an hour before jumping back in the minibus to head back to Cusco.

After a few hours drive we came to a standstill. The wooden bridge crossing the river now had the river crossing over it. The mud banks around the bridge were collapsing and it seemed that crossing was going to be impossible. After an hour of deliberation, a brave taxi driver went for it and set the anti for all the other drivers to follow.All except ours, who was being a wus and refusing to cross.But peer pressure worked and at last he went for it.All the passengers had to cross on foot knowing that losing your footing would mean being washed away down the river. Oh the adventures of travelling!

Finally, we were back on our way then there was a puncture and then we got to stop for dinner in a road side restaurant (that was more like someone's house with no electricity and guinea pigs running around the kitchen, not as pets, but for food as guinea pig is a Peruvian dish!)However, they managed to produce some of the best trout we´ve had (and we´ve eaten lots of trout in Peru) and they also made the best hot chocolate that we drank whilst looking up the most star filled sky I had ever seen.All in all, it was a most memorable and amazing 2 days and even better that we got to share it with Kelly!

The next day I went with Kelly for her 2nd tattoo in 1 wk!! We had one last fresh juice at Jacks Cafe and after spending over 2 wks in Cusco it was time to move on and so we all caught the bus to Lima.