The trek that we decided to take us to Machu Picchu was the Salkantay Trail on which we would cover over 100 kilometres in 5 days ascending to 4,700m at the highest point at the foot of the Salkantay Glacier (Salkantay itself is 6,271m high so no chance of climbing that!). After the failure at Cotopaxi we were both a little concerned at the walking, but this proved unfounded as the trek was pretty straightforward if hard work.

Things didn't start out too well, we were supposed to be picked up at 4.30am (which wasn't a pleasant time) however the guides only turned up at 5.10am. Following the disaster of our Galapagos cruise we began to wonder if our Machu Picchu trek was going the same way.

There were 25 or so trekkers on our trip and we were split into two groups and assigned a guide. Our guide was called Marko and he turned out to be brilliant, in fact we couldn't wish to have done the trek with a better bunch. There was a Dutch couple (Frank and Bianca) two English girls (Hannah and Nicole) an English couple (Fai and Ollie) another English couple (Matt and Amy) two Mexican guys (both called Alejandro) and finally an old German woman (Nina) masquerading as a Kiwi. Almost immediately everyone got on and was talking to each other as we walked for 7 hours and 22 kms through the winding forest trail from Mollepata there was never a dull moment. We all exchanged stories, explained who we were and what they were doing. All except Nina who turned out to be a very sour Kraut!

This was proper trekking which meant that we were camping on three of our four nights. After the first day of trekking we were delighted to see camp, our delight was tempered by the fact that we were at an altitude of 3,800 and it was freezing cold. A clear night didn't help, other than to make the sight of the moon rising from behind the mountains more spectacular. At dinner Marko insisted that we give our group a name and, due mainly to Nicole & Hannah, we became the MPP or Machu Picchu Pussies. We then went around the table and gave each other nicknames for the trek. Gemma became Innop**** and Craig became eyeforcoffee due to an unfortunate incident at dinner involving the opening of some foil-sealed coffee at high altitude. Figure it out yourself, the only clue we'll give is that there is less air pressure at altitude. It was a raucous evening and there hadn't even been one drop of alcohol.

Early to bed, early to rise should have been our motto on the trek. Our second day began at 5.30am and was the hardest as we reached the Abra Salkantay pass at 4,700m and marvelled at the glacier. There were some tiring parts to the ascent, but by and large we managed it without incident as did most of our group save for Hannah who was struck with altitude sickness but still made it. The landscape on this day was sparse and dry with little plant life. In the afternoon we descended into cloud forest and to our second campsite. After walking 28kms in around 8 hours we were very tired. We had the same raucous dinner, but called time earlier because Craig was struggling with a painful calf. We went to bed hoping that a good night's sleep would cure it.

Our third day of the trek was probably the easiest as the terrain was quite flat as we hiked along the White and Santa Teresa Rivers and we only(!) covered 22kms. We reached camp in Santa Teresa during the early afternoon which gave us a chance to visit the nearby thermal baths. After three days of trekking without a shower (or any means of washing) it was pure heaven, and as was by now usual, we had a boisterous time in the pools. That night (it was Friday) we had a party involving a bonfire, lots of rum and coke and the Macarena. When we awoke the next day, with Nina gone and nobody and nobody being able remember a thing about the events during the previous night. Were it not for some photos that Frank and Craig had taken it could have remained a mystery.

Hungover we began our fourth day of trekking. It was very hot and it was going to be a hard day. We could have taken a bus for this section of the trek, but in a fit of enthusiasm the night before we'd opted to walk the 10kms to the hydroelectricity plant and then the 8kms to Aguas Calientes or Machu Picchu village. We swear that people were ready to die on this part of the walk due to their hangovers. Aguas Calientes looked like a pleasant enough sort of place when we arrived, but we had no time to explore. We checked into a hostel, had a shower and were fed by our cooks from the trail, who, despite having a kitchen to work in still served the same stuff we'd been eating on the trail. After food it was time for bed to ensure that we got some sleep before our 3.30am alarm call to start the climb to Machu Picchu and hopefully Huanapicchu.