Inka Jungle Trek to Machu Picchu
After 3weeks in this city I decided to go and see the Wonder of the World which lies just around the corner!! The “Inka Jungle” trek seemed like a good idea at the time as we had had nothing but great weather in Peru since I arrived. The 1st day was a morning drive up to 4500metres and onto mountain bikes. I imagined and had been informed that it was a nice easy downhill ride to 2000metres with some awesome views over the valleys below – a great idea in the SUNSHINE. Try it with fog, rain and wind!! We couldn´t see beyond 10metres, didn´t have waterproofs and it was so cold that I couldn´t feel my fingers within minutes of leaving the bus! Still, challenges are there to be conquered so I perservered and made it through the clouds into a warmer environment. As if to take the piss, having just dried out it decided to rain – AGAIN!! Wearing everything I had due to the arctic conditions, EVERYTHING was soaked!! On the plus side we got to ride over some bumpy gravel roads and splashing through mud like kids!!

For the next two days we walked through the valley along the Urubamba river, joining an Inka Trail and finally arriving at Aguas Calientes – the hub for Machu Picchu. The walk was hard in places and 3 of us managed to get lost in a banana jungle after taking a wrong turn! We left at 4am from our hostel and climb up to Machu Picchu in the dark...it was a pretty hard walk, but liking a challenge I raced to the top and managed to be 10th in the queue for the entrance. Another reason for gettng up at stupid o´clock was to get a ticket to climb Huayna Pichu, which is the mountain creating the backdrop to the ruins – you can see it and its ridiculously steep sides in my pics. After a 2hr morning tour with the slowest speaking Quechuan guide in history we were ready to tackle the extremley steep climb! For me it was like breathing fire and I couldn´t help but think...“Why the hell did the Incans want to WALK up here? If you´re so clever why not build a lift, or a gondola?! Clearly not as advanced as everyone thought!” The view from the top was spectacular as Machu Picchu lies on a mountain side surrounded by huge peaks sun blessed peaks. It is one of the most breathtaking things I have ever seen...how did they think and manage to build it up here?? Crazy!! They even have working fresh water fountains flowing throughout the city!

I´m off to Argentina tomorrow heading for Buenos Aires and what i´m told is some of the best steak and nightlife on the planet.

Adios amigos...

Will