Hi Everyone! Sorry it's been a while since I last updated you but unfortunately they haven't yet hooked up the internet in the Andean Mountains. Well last time we spoke I had arrived in Lima. I believe I may have said that I thought that there was loads to explore etc....yeah there actually wasn't that much in the end so we were glad to be leaving to join our tour. We met the majority of those on our tour in Lima and flew out with them to Cusco. They were all couples - Nicky and Anton from Oz, Shara and Andrew from St Helena (an island in the south pacific!) and Jean and Paul from England. Jean and Paul joined us a couple of days in as they had been attached to another group. It was a really nice group of people which was lucky! I'm sure you've all heard about the issues with the altitude up here in Cusco, how you can feel a little dizzy etc...well I thought it would only affect a few people. Oh no, instead it had an effect on everyone I know here. You feel it as soon as you get off the plane, which is no suprise as you've just shot up 3700m in the space of under an hour! For the rest of the day we felt pretty shocking but hoped it would pass by the next day. Ok so it didnt really pass for me. Still felt pretty crap but my mind was taken off it as we started the tour. We were heading to a place called Pisac which were Inca runis. On our way we stopped at a small settlement and bought hats and goves from the local women. they really do look the same as the photos you see! They really are the nicest people you'll meet too, so smilely!! That night we stayed in Ollaytatambo, which is another Inca ruin location. We had arrived during day light but by the time we decided to head out to grab some food it was pitch black and unfortunately they aren't to hot on road lighting! It took us about four attempts to find the main square of this very small town. I think the locals thought we were a bit crazy! Oh yes the other issue with the roads in this town is that they have huge rivers running down each side of them. We discovered them when we nearly fell in them as two lorries tried to pass on a very tiny road. Good fun had by all! The next day we headed to the starting point of the trek. By the time we arrived, our porters had started to prepare our 3 course lunch (yes thats right!). Whike they finished off, we visited two local schools, where every single one of the children greeted us. They sang us a song too - it was so sweet! After lunch the trek began. It was scary just how quickily we were climbing. The landscape below just seemed to disappear. Unfortunately I started to feel pretty rough again. I was getting the same symptoms of the illness tash had got in Argentina. By the time we got to the top I was crippled with stomach pains and felt really sick. We made it down to the campsite that night and the porters had already set up the tents and the dinner was practically ready - they are ridiculously speedy and put us all to shame! As the sun drops when you are up in the mountains, you really feel it. We were all wearing about 5 layers, hats and gloves and it was still freezing!!! I slept so badly that night. The next morning I was still feeling like some lama had trampled all over my head and body and Anton wasn't feeling to hot either so we decided not to do the trek that day and head down to Lares, the nearest town. Anton felt a lot better once we had dropped about 1000m, he had just been affected by the altitude. I on the other hand hadnt been healed so quickly. We stayed in a hotel that night. The next morning we joined the group again as they made the final descent. I was really annoyed that I hadnt been able to complete the whole trek and we had been looking forward to it for a long time! I suppose I can at least say I made it to 4200m! On our way to Agua Calientes (Hot Springs) the town we were going to be staying in that night before we headed to Machu Picchu, we visited the ruins of Ollaytatambo. Agua Calientes looks like it was thrown together in the space of a few hours after they discovered Machu Picchu and realised how popular it would become. There are loads of restaurants and nic-nak shops. We got up at 5am the next morning to make sure we got to Machu Picchu before the crowds arrived. Considering the number of buses that passed us on the way to it, I thought it was going to be really busy already. Well I thought that until I entered the site. It is so much bigger than you can imagine. Compared to the other ruins we had visited this was just in another league!!! No matter how busy it got, you could always find a spot to yourself to admire the view around you. Although the pictures give you an idea, to really appreciate it, you have to visit it for yourself which I highly recommend!!!!