Lares Trek - Macchu Picchu
12- 15 June


Cold and bleary eyed at the bus stop we were soon loaded into the bus and we headed off for our breakfast destination, Calca. Not sure whether the coach trip and sickness feeling was all excitement i hoped that breakfast would be a cure all. A group of 10 of us soon got chatty on the bus to our first hiking destination. The feeling of excitement decreased as the sickness feeling increased and not a great start to the 4 days of hiking ahead of us!! Fortunately we didnt need to carry our bags for the first three hours as the bus would meet us at the first lunch destination.
as we made our way up through the valley where water falls and llamas. We saw ancient tombs carved into the rock which safeguarded the mummies from grave robberies.
I progressively felt shocking however what can you do when your half way up a mountain!! Paul our guide was brilliant - with me most of the time checking my every breath doing the neccessary hair holding and stuff!
around our last mountain side. continually terraced harvesting some of the 4000 varieties of potatoes. In the distance there were our tents all set up for lunch, including toilet tents and a kitchen - amazing that not only could they get that far ahead of us and set it up before use they walked it with it all on their backs or on the horses!!! INCREDIBLE! A drink of chicha morada - Blue corn drink preceded the delights of the chefs kitchen. For most anyway! i just hung in the hope that i would feel better soon!

Paul insisted that i eat at least a mouthful to help the medication go down - a true modern day mary poopins was he!
pumkin soup and garlic bread was served up as well as rice steak vegetables salad and all up a mountain! amazing!

mark strapped the backpacks on and we were ready for the next 4 hours. Some more ready than others we ambled onwards and upwards.my bag was kindly taken by the porter horse. thank god i couldnt have done it otherwise!
a mixture of rough roads and paths followed in the next 4 hours. Many offers of the sick horse... for me to ride but i desperately wanted to do it on foot! Views were amazing as we caught glimpses of other valleys. our tents in sight at the end of the first day 12 little domes and an array of popcorn (instantly thought of our popcorn mad nephew kieran!!) cookies and hot chocolate to warm the cockles and detract from the tired feet. Local children greeted us at the foot o the camp. 3 local ladis in there local dress were selling alpaca hats gloves etc and a beer or two!!! dry clothes and an extra hat or before everyone huddled in for dinner.... except moi ..booo! the food was looking so good and everyone said how great it was . everyone chatted and got to know each other more. we were all proud that we had conquered a full day hike in less than expected time - 14km.
our second day we were awoken with a smile from paul and a hot drink outside the tent. A feast for breakfast including pancakes was more that mark could wish for !!!! and the fact that he got to eat mine was just a bonus!!
Weak at the thought of 6 hours of hiking ahead of us we started the steep slopes.Mark by my side willing me on made things a little easier x what a great husband! we met locals and were invited into their home an absolute privelage. views continued to impress and the hike although hard felt like a real acheivement. Pauls still doing his best to outway mary poppins was a great help offering me a ride on "medi" the emergency horse! i ploughed on convinced that i would do it on my own!!
we stopped around an hour away from the first pass for a break where 2 young girls much more interested in the cat that they had found (and now us) than shcool sat with us at the top of the mountain for a while.
The next few hours before lunch were hard! constant uphill even more when waifing away!!!A couple of times nearly knocked down by a herd of llamas in transit!The higher we climbed the more rocks we found! Mark hiked on ahead to the top with lots of energy to the pass. once at the top bless him he dropped the bag and came bag down to join me in spuuring me on!! At the top with a cheer and a hug from Paul we had a jolly good rest! Downhill for a bit before lunch woohoo!
LUnch food again looked fab before another breath taking - (literally) trek to our evening destination
we all felt really chuffed with our selves at one of the view points - and one of the highest points at approx 4200metres we continued to the scent of hot chocolate!

Getting used to the bitterness in the weather we soon layered up when we got to camp!We built a camp fire and had some hot punch to stave off the frost bugs!
day 3- i wake up and i feel better !!!!!!!! to wake with an albeit small appetite is a gift!! didnt think could do another 15 km with no fuel!
This morning is slightly easier and we have a longer hike 17km but flatter. we took it easy and met with a few local children on route. one in particular caught our attention and stayed with us . With a language barrier quite slim- we had minimal spanish as the main language . His primary language is Quechuan. We spent the next hour learning every 10 year old school boy vocab - " caca" is for all those who dont know =POO of we exchanged the english version which he repeated with amusement. we walked along with some our new friend unitl the school
we stopped at the school to share the experience of them in their classroom environment and to see them play. we were able to offer stationary,that we bought with us, fruit from our snack pack and candy ( every kid likes candy! - and to be honest they almost expect it). As we walked through the playground children of all ages appeared to greet these funny looking foreiner in unmatched outfits! bet they thought bunch of scruff!! dont they wear uniforms where they are from. And with in that sea of children,
Augusto was gone. I desperately tried to find our new friend calling his name looking out into the depths of the same uniforms repeating themselves..... they wear a terracotta bonet, rust coloured ponchos and probably little else to keep themselves warm. There little bodies visibly cold; skin weathered and in desperate need of a good scrub was there insulation. sad that Augusto was not to be found amidst the sea of uniforms i found
The kids played with us in the playground and we shared an insight into the classroom and how they learned. We had bought pencils and stationary with us to share amongst the kids They loved having new people in their class!! we learnt some stuff too.... they sang to us which we tried desperately to join in but couldnt keep up with them!
We all hopped in a group photo before heading off to Ollyuntambo , Pauls home town! we headed on our 17 km route with a couple of the kids who thought it would be much more fun on our adventure than at school!! so prarie and his gang joined us on the road.
We arrived in Ollyuntambo. Paul a local Hero, in his home town was welcomed by all and sundry. Privaleged we made our way to Pauls childhood home where the trek chefs borrowed the kitchens and we dined in the courtyard and lucky to meet his family. We said our goodbyes to the chefs and applauded the amazing entourage of horseman porters and assistant cooks that made our hiking experience something to remember before heading to our delux train ride to the village of macchu pichu, Agua clliantes.
our last night kip before the mystical wonders of M.P were at a hostel in the small town. We persuaded paul that some of us wanted desperately to get up in the wee ours to hike the last of our journey - from the town up to macchu Picchu itself. He warned us that it was a beasty climb an would probably take a good 1 half hours. Still determined to climb we promised to wake each other for the ones who wanted to - at 4 am!!!
Our last evening was great fun! Lisa and Kim had arranged a a suprise for the group- a local peruvian band that they had heard (earlier that afternoon during happy hour somewhere!!) to play during dinner. They turned up and played for all the tour groups and a bit of jammin!

BBBRRRRIIINNNNNNG!!!!!!!! It was definately 4 am and we were off with hats gloves and a torch!!!! it was pitch black ut their. mark and i, anna and rob, Ian , Ros and Marita ventured off to the darkness! It was a breath taking climb literally, the steps were more than steep ( 1/2 metre at least in depth!! - b***** came to ind more than a few times we can tell you!). 1524 of them spaced out with the road that zigzaged in between certainly were used to rest our weary legs!
The light growing as we climbed to the top was a great incentive to keep going as we wanted to get to the top before it was light and before the bus!! it was a 25 min bus ride and the were due to get there at 6! In total it took us - with team work and sheer determination just over an hour 15. Such an exhilirating feeling at the top we took pics and waited in anticipation for the rest to turn up ! the tour groups started to filter in and queue up before our bus arrived which increased the tension for when was our lot going to arrive!!!

Still there way before sunrise over the magical lost village we hurried in to find another lot of steps and hours of walking ahead of us!!! we perched our bums in a place where we waited for the sun to come into light up the mysteries and for the mist o unravel the sights of what postcards, and the media had portrayed. We all hoped the vision would hold true!

We still cant really explain how we felt when we saw it unravel - such an amazing place. Paul would tell us the old inca stories i the gaps waiting for the sun rise in specific places.
The sun rose over the muntain ranges at 7.45 . Was it worth waiting 8 years??? If you go youll know! but we thought so. A two hour tour ahead of us around the once hidden incas and then a climb up Wanapicchu - a mountain climb to tke in the views of M.P at such an incredible height. Many travellers along the way had said if you get to M.P dont leave without doing this - hard but worth it!!
So another power up a mountain and we would have conquered alot of steps this day! Only 400 hundred trekkers per day are allowed access to this mountain. a few of the early morning trekking gang, Ian, Ros, marita mark and i again took the challenge with a couple of others from our group. I cant explain it !!!!!! scared babbling with no safety barriers we scrampled to the top (ask about it when we get home) view were out of this world and so was i (out of my skin!) for most of the
mountain top bit. Edges were sheer drops and eyes didnt need to play any tricks on you!
We'd DONE it!! our dream, one of them really true.... we beamed as we looked back at the mountain at base level. We thought we would sleep well tonight....The group all met up for a beer as everyone was staing in cusco for a day or to .... as it happens the 4 am group partied till 4am the following day!!!

Sat 16 th

Bit of a different wake up this morn!! no hot choc on the mountain top or a 4 am hike!
Instead a very lazy morning!Booked our tickets for Puno - a day on the bus!! and then met up with the gang for lunch. Not your average lunch!! A roast guinnea Pig Perhaps?? CUY its called a delicacy of some kind and a national dish! not for me - although we did try it! didnt taste that great either. Think there probably best as childrens pets than on a plate!!!
Mark and i treated ourselves to a massage early evening before meeting agin with nadia ian and lisa. Again an intriguing experience, although LISA C you are so much better!! Still you can beat 4 quid for a full body massage even if my massuer did fart alot!!! quite funny looking back really!!
We ended our Cusco trip and celebrated meeting new friends with a beer at the English Pub!!
Great trip and great people! making memories x