DAY 1: FIRST DAY OF INCA TRAIL

So we were finally off to see one of the seven wonders of the world....Machu Picchu!! We were picked up from our hostel at 4.30 in the morning, and at that time, trekking was the last thing we wanted to do! But it wasnt long before we had met the rest of our group and the guides were handing out our sleeping bags and ground mats to us at the start of the trekk. I dont think Mike was expecting the sleeping bags to be quite so big and bulky....oh dear...!

There were 16 people in our group plus 2 guides and 21 porters. Once we were all ready we set off for the first day of trekking...and that was after we had passed te control office and had our passports stamped with a Machu Picchu stamp...cool!! The 1st day was actually relatively easy with only a few steep climbs in parts. The scenery was lovely and we passed a few Inca Ruins as we made our way to the lunch camp. It was slightly embarassing for us as we arrived at the lunch camp - all the porters stood there and gave us a big round of applause as we all walked in...sweating and ready for a break. When we looked around, the porters (who had all been there long before we had arrived, as they had literally ran up ahead with all the equipment) had set up a tent with a table inside and chairs all laid out for lunch...and the food was ready to be served!! It should have been us applauding them, they were really amazing.

Even when we reached the camp, where we would be spending the first evening, (after a couple more hours of trekking), there was the applause again and everybodys tents were set up, along with the dinner tent and table...and the smell of food was delicious!

The food was out of this world....4 course meals for lunch and dinner and we were all amazed by the quality of the food. How the cook managed to whip up the dishes he did is beyond me (and everyone else) considering they carry up all the food and cooking equipment with them for the 4 days!!

Everyone was ready for a good sleep after a delicious tea...and needed to get some energy up for the following morning...and the hardest day of the trekk!

DAY 2: THE HARDEST DAY OF THE TREKK!!

We had been warned that day 2 would be the hardest day of the trekk and it was indeed! There was a steep climb uphill for a good 6 hours, up to the steepest part on the Inca Trail, called Dead Woman's Pass. The altitude here was 4,215m. so you can imagine the last part of this climb was quite touch...and breathing became a lot more difficult! But guess who was one of the 1st ones to reach the top....that was me :) yes I beat Mike which I am rather happy about haha!!

So that was the hardest part over with.....again we passed some more Inca Ruins and lovely scenery that was constantly changing. It did feel nice to stand at the top of Dead Woman´s Pass and look down on all the struggling people, doing their best to climb up the hill.....

It was about an hours walk downhill to our second campsite for the night. To be honest, the downhill part was almost as hard as the uphill trekk, as you always had to watch your step and it was quite slippy in parts. But eventually we all made it to the campsite, to see our tents set up. Dinner was fabulous as usual and it all went considering no one was particularly hungry - we had bowls of fresh popcorn, fried wontons and cups of tea an hour before dinner! They did look after us!

DAY 3: Rain, rain and more rain!!!

Ok, so day 3 brought the worst of the weather. It was a bit of a shame because on the trekk up to our campsite, we passed some really cool Inca Ruins, but it was just too wet to properly check them out. The ponchos covering our bags were not doing a grand job....and our sleeping bags were getting wet wet wet!! By the time we had reached the campsite late afternoon, literally everything was so damp, our sleeping bags, our clothes, the bag.....good job it was our last night in the tents lol.

Still, we enjoyed our last night....we sat round and played plenty of card games, and enjoyed a well-deserved beer (seeing as this campsite had a bar!!) And we also (sadly) enjoyed our last meal of the trekk :(

After dinner, we had a small presentation for all the porters in our group, just to show our appreciation for all their hard work over the past 4 days. Then it was pretty much time for bed, as it was going to be a very early start in the morning...to do the final trekk, to Machu Picchu.....at 4.30 am!

DAY 4: MACHU PICCHU!!

We must have been mad!! As if climbing to Machu Picchu wasn't enough, myself, Mike, Kathrina and Dave (friends of ours we made on the trip) decided that we wanted to climb Waynapicchu (an extra 50 mins of steep climbing up a second mountain lol!) They only issue 400 tickets per day to climb Waynapiccu, so that meant that we had to beat all those tourists coming up by bus, who would surely arrive before us....

So the race was on....Mike and Dave ran on ahead whilst Kathrina and I were doing our best to pass as many other people as we could, also with the same idea as us. It wasnt long before we reached Intipunku or The Sun Gate...and this where you get the first glimpse of Machu Picchu. Although, we were still on a race to get the tickets, we managed to stop and take in the view. At first, the ruins were covered in cloud, but it did clear and I have to say it was pretty impressive.... and very surreal, knowing that you were finally looking down on Machu Picchu itself.

It was only a further 20 mins (running) down to Machu Picchu and here we met up with Mike and Dave who had luckily managed to get us all tickets to climb Waynapicchu...good job!!! Seeing Machu Picchu itself was amazing, especially with the surrounding mountains. We couldnt have asked for a better day to see it too, the clouds disappeared and the sun was left shining. And the ruins were all so intact, although they had done some restoration work in parts.

Once we had had a guided tour of the ruins, the group that were climbing up Waynapicchu made their way over to the start of the mountain. The climb up Waynapicchu was not as bad as we though it would be. Once we were up at the top, we had fantastic bird's eye views of Machu Picchu and the surrounding area. There were even more ruins on the top of Waynapicchu which you could n't see from the ground, so it was fun exploring them.

So that was it....we had finally seen Machu Picchu and climbed Waynapicchu....a very successful day. It was funny walking past all the people that had taken the bus up to see the ruins, all dressed in lovely clean clothes and smelling beautiful. And here we were, sweaty after 4 days of trekking, dirty clothes, hair everyhere and also smelling beautiful :)