Had a long day today, visiting a few different Inca sites in a place called the Sacred Valley. The ruins are absolutely amazing and I can't wait for Machu Picchu. The Inca's stonework is incredible, they somehow managed to transfer these huge stones from quarries, kilometers away, sand them down by hand and then fit them together using no mortar. In Cuzco, there are still some of the walls remaining and buildings have just been built on top. We saw this one stone with 12 different edges and it fit its neighbours perfectly.

Yesterday, we wandered around Cuzco, buying last minute things for the trip, including for me a funky hat with ears - every tourist has one. Kylie and I bumped into 2 others who were going to this restaurant called 'The Real McCoy' and it has all English type food, including vegemite. I had a baked spud with tuna and mayo but Kylie and Callie had cheese and vegemite toast. They enjoyed every last lick of the vegemite.

Had a massage yesterday arvo, trying to prepare for some long days of walking and then last night we had our respective guides come and talk to us about our treks, what to expect and what to bring. We get picked up tomorrow morning and drive to our starting point where we will walk for about 5hrs to an altitude of 4200m. It´s going to be cold. I hired one of their sleeping bags as it was a lot warmer than mine, but it weighs 4kgs. Luckily, our stuff gets carried by llamas and horses so we are allowed 7kg. The Inca trail people are only allowed 5kg. Also, we are supplied with self inflating mattresses and don't have to include that in our weight, where the others only get a foam mattress and if they want to take their thermarests, need to include it in their weight. Thermarests are much better at keeping the cold from the ground off your back. So anyway, it is going to be a difficult few days but will tell you all once I have survived it. We actually walk up to 4600m which is going to be the most difficult.

Today we visited the sites of Saqsaywaman, which is Inca ruins sitting on the hilltop just above Cuzco. Then onto Pisac where an Inca fortress is high up on a hill. We walked for about 30mins here. The terracing is just amazing. We had lunch in a restaurant before being let loose in their markets, luckily only small today. Then onto our final destination of Ollantaytambo. These are on a hill next to the town and are an incredible site. There was a Temple of the Sun up above, but not much remains of it. We had a guide all day who explained much about the Inca's. They really were an incredible culture.

So that is about it for now. Need to go and finalise packing and hit the sack for our 6am collection tomorrow morning. I just hope the rain stays away.