4 April 09 Inca Trail Day Four. The Final Day. I didn't sleep very well. I was just too excited. The 4am wake-up call was necessary so that our group could be the first to line up at the check-point. The checkpoint opened at 5.30am, so we had a bit of a wait before we could start walking. But once we got through, it was ON! It would be a race among the groups to get to Machu Picchu. Why? Let me explain… We all want 'unblemished' pictures of Machu Picchu....

3 April 09 Inca Trail Day Three. Ouchy! Brrr…… We woke up sore and freezing this morning. We looked outside our tent to see an awesome display of huge glaciers stretched out before us. So, the view during breakfast was definitely one for the memory bank! Ahhh… Our bodies just did not want to move. Did I mention it was freezing? It would be another one and a half hours uphill to get to our last mountain peak, and then a STEEP two and a half hours down...

2 April 09 Inca Trail Day Two. Tee hee hee!! Our guides have just congratulated us with a special hot concoction of pineapple, apple, lemon, cinnamon, coca leaves and sugar. And oh, did I mention rum? *hick* We have been singing merrily, much to the annoyance of other campers. *hick* You know what that means… WE MADE IT! You beauty! *hick* I won't lie. It was a very tough day. But I'm proud to say, there wasn't a moment where Tim and I thought that we cou...

1 April 09 Inca Trail Day One. This was supposed to be 'the warm-up day'. The first couple of hours were no problem. The last few hours? ALL uphill and a bit of a struggle and a huff and a puff - BUT WE MADE IT! We later found out that they had us do the last part of the day (which was all uphill, just to remind you) today, to take the pressure off us on Day Two. Day Two is meant to be the killer! So, in a way, I was glad to get some of the pain out the way....

31 March 09 Inca fever has hit! TOMORROW IT BEGINS (finally!!). I am sitting in our hotel room in Ollantaytambo anxiously waiting for tomorrow to come. At 8am, we will be picked up and taken to 'kilometre 82' where we will begin Day One of our hike - the classic Inca trail. BPPOOOOO!!!!!!!!! Some 42 kilometres, reaching altitudes of up to 4,200m - YESSS!!! I never thought this day would come. Surprisingly, I'm not nervous at all. I just want time to hurry up...