So our dreaded day finally arrived! Time to start our four day hike to Machu Picchu. I don't know why we were dreading it so much...four days of hiking uphill, baby wipes as showers, squat toilets the whole way.. So easy!

But our tour company was actually really good, the guides really looked after you and the food was amazing! Always three courses, and they were so delicious, we couldn't believe they cooked so well when we were all camping. The last night they even made a cake! And the porters were amazing, every morning we would leave, they would pack up camp, put it all on their backs (about 25kgs each) and run past us. When we caught up to them they would have the next camp set up and our meal cooked, we don't know how they did it!

So day one we started...it actually wasn't that bad, 6 hours of walking actually went kinda quick.We thought maybe we were fitter than we expected, this is going to be a piece of cake!

Then day two happened! Definitely a reality check! We started at 3000 metres above sea level and had 4 hours of constant climbing to a height of 4200 metres. As if the climbing wasn't bad enough, the air was so thin it was so hard to catch your breath. We had to yell 'mercy!' when we were done & ready for a break. But we made it to the summit 'Dead Womans Pass' and the view was definitely worth it. After that, the frustrating thing was, we just had to go all the way back down the other side of the mountain for 2 hours. They call the downhill section ''gringo killer'' because the steps are so small and slippery. But we made it to camp finally for a well deserved happy hour which P.S - does not mean alcohol!

Day three was supposed to be the most scenic day because there are a lot of inca ruins along the way and the walk is only moderately difficult. Only 2 hours of uphill and then 5 hours mainly downhill. They say that downhill can be harder than climbing...we didn't believe them until this day. It was raining heavy all afternoon which made the steps so slippery and it was really hard on your knees and ankles. And because of the clouds we couldn't see a lot of the sights across the valleys. But what we could see was absolutely beautiful...and we all looked pretty good in our colourful ponchos!

So day four arrived, when we finally reach our destination... Machu Picchu... the main city of the Incas. We had to get up at 4am to beat the crowds...it's only a 2 hour walk so was worth getting up early. We walked over the last summit to what we thought would be the magnificent view of the ruins and what did we see? Clouds covering all the mountains...what a let down! Four days of hiking for this? But our guide said it's like that most mornings and clears a little later. He was right...in an hour or so we saw the postcard shot everyone knows so well. We couldn't believe that we were actually there! After all the blood, sweat and tears it was so worth it, everything that everyone says its going to be and more!