Day 34: we woke at 5:00am for our first day of the inca trail. After a hearty breakfast of pancakes eggs and fruit we loaded onto the bus and said bye to the lazy ones who will be taking the train to machu picchu, we will see them there in a few days! After an hour bus ride we made it to 82 km point where we begin the trail. We had a chance to meet our porters who will be carrying everything for us including all our clothes, tents, food, gas tank and table and chairs! We passed through the 1st check point around 7am where we got our passports stamped then made our way onto the trail. But before we could begin the trail we needed to make an offering to the mountains of three coco leaves and we made three wishes! I can't tell you what they are otherwise they won't come true! We walked for about 4 hours at a steady incline, we passed a number of small inca ruins that had been rebuilt after earthquakes and made our way back down the valley and along the Urubamba river where we stopped for lunch which was incredible (the food everyday on the trail was amazing each lunch and dinner we would have three courses, it's the best we have eaten the whole trip). After Lunch we walked for another 5 hours again at a steady incline we passed through the second check point and got another stamp in our passports. The views from our campsite were amazing, looking out across the peruvian highlands and where we will begin the hardest day tomorrow. After another amazing dinner we all made it to bed by 7:30.

Day 35: we were woke at 5:00 am this morning by. The porters offering coco tea and bowls of warm water, we call this tent service. Today is going to be the hardest day so we made we filled up on breakfast and were well prepared the long day ahead. We began the day with a 2 hour steep incline walk through the jungle and along the river, this wasn't too bad since. It was shaded and cool, however mikey left me well behind and reach the 1st check point 40 mins before me. But I wasn't last, I arrived with rachel and serman and we got an hours rest waiting for the last ones to come in. After we refuelled and rest fredi our guide showed us where we would be climbing to next. Dead woman's pass named because the shape of the top of the mountain looks like a woman lying down. Dead woman's pass is 4900 meters above sea level and from the point we started at this morning about 1500 meters up. This second part of the trek seemed to never end and at times looked impossible. Again mikey steamed ahead and reached the top first along with Amanda and mike, I walked most of the way by myself but I didn't care because it meant I could stop and take pictures as much as I wanted, the views were amazing . When I thought I had finally reached the top I turned the final corner to be faced with a set of almost vertical steps, if I wasn't for mikey coming to encourage be up I don't think I would of carried on. However I still wasn't last and got an hours rest again before the last ones arrived. Although we had been walking uphill for 4 hours we still had reached our lunch stop, we had to climb back down the other side of the mountain along uneven and steep inca steps, I think this part was even harder than going up, on this side of the mountain it was cloudy and windy and it was hard on your knees and ankles because the steps were so uneven, we seen a few people fall. After an hour and half we finally reached our lunch break where we were greeted by the porters high diving us and clamping us in. After lunch we had time for a power nap before we set off again along yet another steep incline along the second pass although this pass was nowhere near as long or has high as the 1st it felt just as hard because we were so tired. This time me and mikey reached the first rest stop first, we stopped at a set of inca ruins that were used as a check point for incas making their pilgrimage to machu picchu, after a short rest we set off back up the second pass where we passed to highland lakes. Me and mikey reached the top first! The day still wasn't over, we needed to make our back down the second mountain to our campsite which was another 2 hour descent into the cloud forest. Fredi offered us the chance to go and see another inca site I declined and made my way to the campsite with the rest of the girls but mikey and the other boys went to visit the ruins. Again after another amazing dinner we were all bed by 7:30.

Day 36: today we were treated to a lie in and we were woken with tent service at 6:00 am. After another hearty breakfast we set off around 7:00 am, the walked today will be relatively short and easy compared to yesterday, a short ascent to the third pass and into the cloud forest then flat almost all the way to the campsite. Today the surroundings have completely changed we are now walking through jungle covered in cloud and mist which makes the walk easy and beautiful with wild orchids growing along the path and the views into the valley below. We reached the first rest point around 9am which is a set of inca ruins the biggest and most well persevered we have seen so far, this was a site where incas lived and farmed. Here fredi gave us a brief history of where the incas originated and how far their power reached (I will give you the history lesson when we are home). After another 2 hour walk me and mikey reached the second rest point first. After everyone else caught up fredi gave us the option to go visit another site that was off the trail, we all took this opportunity and i'am glad we did because when were arrived we were the only people their. The site was beautiful and the views amazing, we all just lay there for a while taking it all in. This site was only discovered in 1982 by one of the porters doing the inca trail. After our power naps we made our way down to camp we arrived here at about 1 and we were done walking for the day! After lunch fredi told us he would take us to a waterfall close to camp but on the way he surprised us with the biggest and most well preserved inca site we had seen so far, on the way back from the waterfall after we were able to freshen up in the icy fresh water we were given the chance to explore this site in our own time. Later in the evening after we had our final meal altogether, the porters baked us a cake, in a pan over a camping stove! We were then given the chance to meet the porters and show them our appreciation, without them we couldn't have done it, they couldn't have done more for us other than carry us the whole way! We got another early night because tomorrow we have the earliest start so far!

Day 37: we were woken at 3:30am although we didn't get much sleep because from 11pm it had been raining constantly! Getting up at that hour in the cold and the wet has to be the hardest part so far. After our final breakfast we made our way down in the dark and in the rain to the check point where we waited til 5:30 for the gates to open and we could make our final ascent up to the Sungate to catch our first glimpse of machu picchu. This final walk took 2 hours and was a steady easy climb until we reached the final climb which is a set of stairs called the monkey steps. These steps are too steep to climb normally you have to use your hands to pull yourself up, after this final climb we turned the corner passed throughout the Sungate and had our first view of machu picchu. We you first see the site you have mixed emotions you are happy because of what you have achieved and that you finally made it but sad because you are at the end. After some photos and much needed rest we made our descent down into machu picchu where we encountered clean human beings and we could start to smell ourselves and know we needed a good wash. But before we could do that fredi gave us a tour of the ruins, which are incredible, how they were built the way that they were at that height is beyond belief. You have to see it to believe it. After the tour we were given some free time to explore by ourselves and then eventually we made our way back to civilisation. After 2 hour train ride and a 2 hour bus journey we finally made it back to cusco and to ruining hot water and proper toilets. After we washed up and got changed we all went out to dinner to say goodbye to our inca trail family! In total we walked 46km and climbed to over 4300masl!