We´ve done it! I think we both agree, it was pretty much the most knackering thing we´ve ever done, but we have completed the Lares trek and are feeling quite chuffed.

The day before the trek we drove from Cuzco to Ollantaytambo, where we spent the night. We first stopped at a local community that GAP supports to see how they make all the beautiful scarves, gloves and hats, etc from alpaca and llama wool, using natural pigments to dye it all different colours. The drive onwards was punctuated with the odd squeal of brakes as we drove through small villages, and pigs, llamas, dogs, you name it, darted across the road on a whim. In the afternoon we visited the large archaeological park at Ollantaytambo, with our guide, Silver, showing us around the Inca ruins.

Day 1 of the trek started with a fairly long drive to our starting point, right up in the mountains. The scenery along the way was breathtaking; misty mountains, some snow and tiny little huts where the people of the highlands live, as well as the usual crop of llamas and alpacas. The ride was bumpy and precarious though, and we tried not to look down as much as possible. Not a journey for the faint-hearted! After an alfresco lunch and challenging a few of the local children to a football game (they won!), we set off at a pretty steep gradient. To say this was a tough walk is a bit of an understatement. The altitude reached over 4000m at times so the air was thin and everyone was getting tired really quickly. It was also cold. Most of our group seem to have had some form of illness at some point since Lima, and subsequently a few found this first day a nightmare. At 4300m, we reached our highest point and were met with a stunning view of the lakes and valley far below us. The rest was thankfully downhill that day. 5 hours and 12km later, we reached our camp for the night, set up by a fantastic team of locals travelling with us. We were revived with hot chocolate and popcorn, and later, a tasty dinner, and fell in to our tents exhausted.

DAY 2

Despite wearing most of my clothes, I spent most of the night awake, freezing, and cursing the fact we only had 2 season sleeping bags. Brrrrrr; it was uber chilly. We had a wake up call from cheery Carlos (a different Carlos) who provided some Coca tea to warm us up and help with the altitude adjustment (yes Coca is used to make Cocaine but this isn´t what we were drinking!). We also had pancakes with ´GAP´written in toffee sauce for breakfast so not a bad start to the day. There was fresh snow on the mountains behind our camp as we set off walking and we were looking forward to warming up as we ascended. The day was full of mud, on and off showers, plenty of uphill, and this time we reached 4600m. The scenery kept us going though, as did the smiling faces of the numerous local children who would mysteriously appear from nowhere as we walked. Our guide had suggested in advance that we bring along food or toys, or coca leaves for the adults, as we would meet lots of people on our walk. This day was in some ways tougher than the previous, and a few people who were quite sick needed a short horse journey to catch their breath. Tough going. After 8 hours walking (19km) we were glad to reach camp, eat, rest and get into our tents. This time I wore all my clothes and 4 pairs of socks. I was still cold, but slept better than the night before.

Day 3

Only a few hours downhill today and we finished the Lares trek - hurrah! I had expected some form of elation or cheers as we arrived at our fianl destination, but I think everyone was just so tired, we kind of collapsed on the floor quietly instead. A bus took us back to Ollantatambo where we lunched, and then we took the train to Aguas Calientes. This is the best scenery I have ever seen from a train. We saw the start of the Inca trail and travelled through a valley along the riverside, with dense cloud forest and huge mountains either side. I did feel a pang of jealousy for all the people that get to do the Inca trail as the scenery is very changeable and it´s quite a different trek to the Lares, but I am so glad we´ve done what we´ve done and really wouldn´t change a thing. For one thing, we got to spend the evening in the hot springs and had showers, meaning we could arrive at Machu Picchu feeling clean and rested, instead of dirty and exhausted, as we probably would have done doing the Inca trail.

Machu Picchu Day! An early start, but short bus journey up to the site. There were already quite a few people there, but the weather was fantastic, and views are amazing. It´s always strange when you see for yourself something you´ve seen photos of for many years. I have to say, this place was more spectacular than the pictures, mostly due to the atmosphere the history creates. After a guided tour from Silver, a few of us decided to climb Wayna Picchu (´young mountain´). This is the highest point you see in the classic Machu Picchu photos. It was a hot day and we were exhausted when we reached the top, but I think the Lares trek had trained us well and we made good time. The views at the top were incredible and well worth the extra exertion. A really special place.

After spending the morning at Machu Picchu, we pretty much spent the rest of the day travelling back to Cuzco, where we are now. We have a few days here to rest and catch up with the rest of the world before we head off to Lake Titticaca and La Paz. Hope you´re all Ok back home, we´re missing you lots and really looking forward to seeing you when we come home. Take care x x x