We have spent a month travelling around Peru so to make for easier reading I have decided to split the Peru blog in two; everything up to and including the Inca Trail and then everything after.

Puno a small town nestled on the shore shore of lake Titikaka was our first stop off over the border. Lake Titikaka is the highest lake of its size in the world, which sits around 3600ms and is so large it is shared by both Bolivia and Peru. We arrived in time for 'Puno week'. A huge annual celebration of the town that included jam pack streets with stalls and markets, what seemed to be a twenty four hour continuous marching band with local dancers that patrolled the streets in an ongoing loop and every resident of Puno, young and old, enjoying the carnival festivities on the streets. The next day we took off for an overnight home stay on lake Titikaka. After being dropped off at the port in our somewhat suicidal bicycle taxis, we first visited the floating islands. A local family showed us how they created their floating home with reeds and straws, literally! And we were dressed up in local traditional clothing which made for some great photo shots. We then travelled 4 hours on a boat to an island called Amandanis situated within lake Titikaka. Here, me and three other girls were teamed up with a local villager called Vicky (our host sister) who welcomed us into her home to stay the night. After playing football with some of the islanders (yes this small island where meat is scares, has a developed football stadium) we hiked up the central mountain of the island. This was our first (and certainly not our last) experiencing of tramping at altitude. What seemed to be a fairly simple meander up a hill side was nothing short of exactly what is actually was, a massive trudge shuffle by shuffle up to 4200ms. However we were greeted with 360• views of the island and lake Titikaka, making it all worth while. As the sun set we began to freeze, as it does in altitude hot days and cold nights. To warm us up the locals organised a dance at the community hall. We again donned traditional dress and spent the evening dancing hand by hand in circles that weaved round and round and in and out until it sped up so fast that someone lost their grip and broke the circle or got so dizzy that they had to step out. Great fun! The next morning we made our way back inland via another couple of small islands. The size of lake Titikaka is astonishing, feeling more like an ocean than a lake when you are out exploring it.

From Puno we headed south to Cusco, the capital of the Inca empire. Entering the surrounds of the city we were greeted by our first Inca ruins in the shape of two large face statues jutting out of the mountain side on either side of the road, hard to believe they have been there thousands of years. Cusco became our base for the next nine days with the last four of those spent on the Inca trail on our way to Machu Picchu. My first few days I explored Cusco centre and its surrounds. Through out my exploration of the town I came to the realisation that Cusco was by far the prettiest town I have visited in my worldly travels. The main plaza boasts not one but two beautiful churches surrounding a patch of greenery encasing a fountain. Small alleys and cobbled streets sprout off the main plaza that lead you to bustling markets or further fountains and plazas that overlook the town. We found the best chocolate cake South America has to offer and 'proper' coffee (a big deal after 2 months of terrible coffee). Our days were filled with meandering around the streets and drinking coffee while sunning ourselves in the central plaza. I managed to drag myself away from the centre for a day to visit the surrounds of Cusco known as the sacred valley. Our guide Ruben gave us a whistle stop run down of the Inca history explaining that Inca essentially means King. The Inca originated in Cusco and together with his follows slowly conquered Peru, Bolivia and as north as Colombia. Our scared valley took us on a tour of three Inca sites. We began in Ollantaytambo of which locals consider to still be an Inca town as the original aqueducts are still in use and all the building are built on original Inca foundations, lasting through many an earthquake apparently. Climbing huge Inca steps that literally take the breath out of you the hillside ruins boasts an impressive half finished sungate. Both Moray and Pisac, the following two ruin sites are spectacular examples of the traditional Inca terrace systems used to support large hillside structures and develop agriculture techniques. It is easy to see why the Inca ruling period is so renowned as they absorbed and nurtured the best techniques of the people they conquered.

It was then time to begin what has become one of the world's most famous tramps. The four day Inca trail to Machu Picchu. Only 500 people a day are permitted to tramp this route each day and this is half of the reason of what brought me to South America so needless to say I was feeling excited but somewhat anxious (particularly after my cake, red wine, steak, icecream etc eating habits of late). After some trouble involving a minivan trying to pass our bus on a very narrow road which resulted in the van and our bus literally being jammed against each other. Meaning our porters started work early by then having to maneuverer the van manually away from us by picking it up. We arrived at kilometre 82, the starting point of the Inca trail. Day one of the trail is 'Peruvian flat' meaning a series of ups and downs, which we managed nicely. Our porters dotted along ahead of us loaded with all our gear to ensure that lunch was nicely prep'd for our arrival (It was impressive). To our group of 19 we were supported by 20 porters, a cook and three guides. We reached camp on day one around 4pm nestled on a mountain side with some glimpses of civilisation still surrounding us.

Day two (dooms day) we were prepared for that 'the only way is up.. Baaabbyy' ... The day included three series of uphill climbs with the initial two taking around 3 hours including a reintroduction to those famous Inca steps I talked about earlier. The third uphill climb was a gruelling 3 hour in altitude-slog up what is called dead women's pass (it was almost the death of me for sure!)! I got to known one of our guides Ian particularly well while he walked the final hour with me in what seemed like 10 step blocks. I found that physically my body was keeping up, it was my breathing however which was my downfall feeling like I was breathing through a straw not being able to get enough air in. With some serious pet-talks to myself, higher power motivation and along side Ian my guide and Hannah a fellow Tucaner we made it over the lip of pass to the top of the mountain. It felt like both physically and mentally I had accomplished climbing a mountain.. literally! From there we were greeted with an almost two hour trudge down to camp compliments of the Inca steps leading us off the pass (of course it was raining too to add to our slippery fun). Arriving at our camp around 2pm was a great celebration, what a day! Camp day two was situated in a valley surrounded by shear mountain sides making for some stunning views. Our two course lunch was served promptly followed by our three course dinner only a few hours later.. We were definitely not without on our tramping excursion.

Day three started with a gradual uphill, the second pass followed by some more (can you believe it?) steps down that led us to our lunch break. At lunch some of the boys decided to trade places with the porters and carried our gear up our third (and final) pass. At this point we had the opportunity to wander through the high jungle, unfortunately our views off the mountain side were obscured with cloud however the jungle itself was pretty spectacular. To wrap up out final full day of tramping we spent almost 3 hours climbing down an array of odd sized Inca steps clutching firmly to our hiking poles while we watched porters run (literally) past us down the trail. Day three was my favourite of all the walking days as we also had the opportunity to stop off at small Inca ruins along the way and Ruben continued to explain some of the history behind the Inca and his people. We were early to bed that evening as day four began at 4am. In order to be front of the que to reach the sun gate and allow our porters to catch their ride back home breakfast was served at 4.10am... Pancakes if I'm remembering correctly ??!! The trail gate opened at 5.30am and we stormed our way along the last 2 hours of the Inca trail that brought us to the Inca sun gate and our first glimpse of Machu Picchu. The feeling of accomplishment and the realisation of another bucket list tick off completed was somewhat overwhelming! From there we made our way down to Machu Picchu taking lots of photo stops on the way. Reaching this ancient civilisation was no disappointment and we spent the rest of the morning touring the city. Words can not describe how amazing the constructions are so I won't attempted too however pictures begin to give you an understanding so have a look if your interested. In the afternoon we caught the train back to Ollantaytambo and from there a bus to Cusco. The first shower was amazing.. And as a little treat to myself I had a massage. I'll be sad to be leaving Cusco and all its Inca influence however I'm also excited to see what more Peru has to offer! Next stop Colca Canyon! Lxx