We made it back from our trek in one piece and all that can be said about it is WOW! The trek had everything. It was both a very hard walk and a very enjoyable one at the same time. The first day was the hardest...not least because of the 2:30 get up and the 3 hour transfer to meet up with the 7 other people who we would be spending the next 4 days with, who started the trek the day before (it was meant to be a 5 day hike but we didnt have time). When reaching them we got the first glimpse of what we had got ourselves in for. The morning was totally uphill, setting off about 7 and eventually reaching the highest point of 4600m (1000m higher than our start point) at about 11. Those who know climbing will notice that 1000m isnt actually THAT far up, but for both of us, and most of the rest of the group this was our first time at such a high altitude and because of the very thin air ir was very difficult! But nevertheless we made it to the top where we gave offerings to the mountains to get us down safely, and then headed off down the otherside. This was much easier and after lunch we had a nice 3 hour walk through woodland to reach camp one, where Matt enjoyed a very well deserved beer with his newly aquired hiking buddy! Day 2 proved much easier and and involved a 5 hour hike in the morning through similar woodland to the afternoon before, alongside a very nice river with fantastic mountain scenery all the way along. From lunch we took a combie to our next campsite in Santa Teresa where we dumped our bags and headed off for the local hot springs to relax and wash. Following this more beer was enjoyed! Day 3 was the easiest so far. The morning involved a river crossing on a very precariouis looking "cable-car" before a very cramped ride on the bag of a truck to reach our lunch spot, at 10:30. Following this was a 3 hour walk alongside and along a railway line, again with fantastic mountain and river views. After about 2 and half hours walking Hannah arrived to find Matt and his trek buddy relaxing in the freezing waters of a glacial stream which did wonders for the aches and pains picked up from 3 days of walking. The end of this day came when we reached the town of Aguas Calientes where the first restaurant was sought out and yet more beer enjoyed. Day 4 involved the visit to Macchupiccu. We woke up at half past 4 to get an early breakfast and then caught a bus up to the Macchupiccu entrance. What followed was an....interesting....2 hour tour around the ruins with a rather excentric guide whose english was somewhat lacking but this was more than made up for in enthusiasm! After this was another hard climb to the summit of a small mountain called Waynapiccu overlooking the ruins. Unfortunately when we reached the top it was completely covered in cloud and we could see nothing. Needless to say as soon as we started our descent the clouds cleared and we got some nice views of the ruins from halfway down the mountain. From here we crossed the area covered by Macchupiccu to visit the aptly named "watchtower" where the classic view of Macchupiccu can be observed. And thats exactly what we saw...plus a few people! After this we made our way back down to Aguas Calientes to catch our train back as far as another small town called Ollantaytambo where, after some delay in finding the person sent to collect us, we travelled by taxi back to Cusco arriving at about half past 6. By 10 we were on another bus, this one heading to La Paz, Bolivia, our last stop before travelling back to Rio to fly out.