02/12/12 Waking up just before the alarm we checked out and hailed a taxi in the main square to the bus station. After buying our ticket to Puno we mooched around for some snacks for the bus. We were ready and waiting at 8am for the bus (Its allocated time) but this being Latin America it didn't turn up until 8.20am. Loading our bags and getting on we started to enjoy the journey until about 20 minutes in when I felt my vision going a little blurry - sort of rec...

Once the whole group had returned to Aguas Calientes we ate lunch together including our guide David before catching the train to Ollantaytambo. The hour and a half journey was spectacularly scenic as the train followed each kink in the Rio Urubamba with mountains and views in all directions. Our ticket also included a hot drink and snack which was an added pleasure!! Arriving at Ollantaytambo, the train emptied as it was the final stop and we got into a waitin...

26/11/12 We had a great night's sleep - our last one in a bed for 3 nights - got up, packed up and went for breakfast. It was then into the minivan with our duffel bags and our guide for the Inca Trail - David. 45minutes later we arrived at the start of the Inca Trail. We collected our hired stuff (Just walking sticks for me), had a last wee stop and collected our snacks before walking down to the first check point at KM82. We also had a group photo taken at the...

The journey to Ollantaytambo took us through the beautiful scenery of the sacred valley for around an hour before we arrived at our hotel. We checked in and got ourselves sorted before going into Ollantaytambo to explore. It's a quaint village with cobble streets, burbling water courses and yellow stone building. The main attraction is the huge Inca terraces and store houses built on a number of the mountains which surround the village. After strolling down one...

24/11/12 Back at the hostal we left our big bags and got into the mini-bus with the first stop being a shop where we could buy some gifts for our host families. Not knowing the ages of the children Neil and I bought a range of stuff hoping it'd be suitable. Back in the van we dove high up over Cusco to the statue of Jesus on the hill - a replica of Christ the Redeemer in Rio - where we got some stunning views of Cusco below. An hour or so later we arrive at Cc...