The Inca trail to Machu Picchu

I wake up shivering from the cold. I can hear the rain has gotten heavier but the tent seems to be holding out. My back hurts from sleeping on the rock hard ground. I'm too cold to pull my wrist out of the sleeping bag to check the time, but this is about the tenth time my body has woken me up tonight so I reckon it's going to start getting light soon. And then we'll spend all day on our feet carrying a heavy load across 14km of mountain passes at an altitude reaching 4200 meters.

But it's night one of our 4 day trek on the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu so I really can't complain. In fact, the general mood around our camp is very positive and spirits are high. This is one of those 'must do before you die' occasions and we are all rather excited.

On day one, we get our passports stamped when entering the national park, even though we are not crossing international borders. I get a little kick out of that. It's an easy walk in the morning, until the rain set in around lunch time and the last minute scramble to buy rain ponchos at the small village stall.

Despite the heavy downpour and subsequent wet clothing, our 9 fellow group members are in high spirits for the first of our nightly meals. The Americans are the largest group here, but they are welcoming and charming. We all agree that especially considering what must be difficult cooking conditions, the food is really excellent.

Day 2 we reach the highest part of the trek, via Dead Woman's Pass. Sorry for us, we're not rewarded with the spectacular views of nearby snowcapped mountain peaks because it's too misty. Instead I reward myself with a Snickers bar, feeling 100% guilt-free having just climbed the hundreds of steep steps that no amount of time on the Stairmaster would ever prepare me for. This is renowned to be the toughest hiking day, and it lives up to the billing with a knee shuddering two hour descent, to be followed again with steep two hour climb and further one hour downward section.

On Day 3 we get our first decent nights sleep, it being warmer at the lower altitudes. Having trekked through stunning cloud forest, spotting my favourite hummingbirds and checking in at numerous inca ruins along the way, we were ready and excited for the big day tomorrow.

Day 4. We arrive at the Sun Gate just after sunrise and get our first glimpse of the enormous ancient city below. We are quite simply blown away. We stroll down to the guard house to take those perfect photos. Our guide, Flavio, takes us on a tour explaining the main sites, like the sun dial, sacred rock, astronomy mirrors, tombs etc. Then we wander around on our own, chill on the grass terraces and check out the impressive Inca bridge. We didn't bother climbing Wayna Picchu, having done enough hiking by that time.

At the end of the day we hop on the train from Aguas Calientes back to Cusco. Coupled with the amazing day at Machu Picchu, this train ride will live long in the memory as one of the most surreal experiences of my life. The train was quite full and we had already had numerous post-trek celebratory beers before boarding. So I had to check my senses when suddenly confronted by a massive fox's head that stuck it's face in mine from the seat behind me. (I presume) a member of staff who had not 5 minutes ago stamped my ticket or sold me a beer from the trolley with a straight face, was now capering up and down the aisles with fox's head, multicoloured clown costume, large spider on his back, and some sort of shepherds crook in hand. He tried to encourage various ladies to dance with him but only I enthusiastically accepted.
After a few minutes he disappeared into the guards carriage but was then replaced by the pretty train hostess modelling an alpaca jumper fresh from its packet. FASHION SHOW!! Next the frumpish trolley operator emerged but he only looked embarrassed while parading in a restrained alpaca cardy in front of an increasingly intoxicated and raucous crowd. The wolf-man-spider-thing reappeared to lead/drag me "backstage" to choose an alpaca item to model. Jumping at the chance to feel soft baby alpaca wool against my skin I opted for a fetching grey poncho creation. I was happy to strut my stuff on the "catwalk" of the Macchu Picchu express for the noisy fans.
I don't believe anybody bought any of the overpriced creations, but this weirdness topped off a memorable day. The night ended back in Cusco with our once respected Inca Trail guide, as drunk as a lord, singing at the top of his voice and stumbling off into the night.