I woke up at 4:15 because my room mate was raising merry hell through his nostrils so i decided to retaliate by getting ready for the trail. We set off at 6 towards a few ruins before hitting the Trail propper.
The first place we went to was Saqsayhuman (pronounced Sexy-Woman). This is juat on the edge of Cusco and is designed to look like a Pumas head. It was a ruin that Pre-Inca settelers used as a residential area and housed approximatley 700 people. it also had a natural slide that i had a go on so i can vouch that even pre-Inca children had fun here.
We then went to Pisac (Pronounced Peace-ack) which is a settlement on top of a massive hill that allowed the residents to have a full 360 view of the Sacred Valley below.
We then started our drive to the first campsite in Quishuarani and the start of the Inca Trail. Quishuarani was a lovely setting inbetween two rather large mountains. Once the tents were set up te clouds started to come in and created a lovely view.
In the evening i was mysteriously sick and this was the start of what would be a god awful day. This was then followed by anothr bout of sickness just as we were heading out of the campsite over the enormous hills that we camped at the bottom of. We started off with a gradual assent for about an hour before a flatter section for about 40 mins. I found the initial assent an absolute nightmare as i had no decent food in me so was acking energy an sleep. However thoughts (and a few tears) of home and especially my Pop ,who i am doing this for, helped me push through the wall and get through the day. To be honest there were times when i wondered if i was going to be able to do it but i was just being silly.
After a short break we had a steep accent for another 1hour 20 mins and this almost broke me in half. however when i got to the top (4356m) i had an amazing feeling of achievement. the views from the top were eppic and they were even better on the hike down hill to the campsite.
Once we arrived at the campsite the support team had already set up camp and cooked lunch so we chilled had lunch and then played the support team at football. We won 2-0 and i set up 1 and scored one. Ohe yeah the Peruvians really are that bad.
In the evening we went to teh house of teh village president and had Guinnea Pig. it was quite unnerving as there were a load more allive Guinnea Piggs in the corner and they were squeaking obveously not happy that we were eating their family members.
The next day was a massive contrast to the previous one. I had a good night sleep and my sickness had gone. I was in fine fettle. To prove how fine a fettle i was in i even ate Eggy bread. oh yeah, me eating eggs.
We started off from our campsite in Cuncan and headed off over the PumaHuanca Pass (yes its pronounced Puma-wanker) we started with a pretty solid acent for 4 hours 30 mins but i had my iPod in and didn't give a hoot, i had food in my belly a smille on my face and was having a great time. Once i reached the top i made a memorial for my Nana and Pop. This was the highest point we were going to reach on the whole trek so i thought it was a good point to do it. the decent was great fun. It was reasonably steep so i just ran down hopping from stone to stone i was having a great time. We had lunch in a field next to a lovely stream and then carried on down to our campsite. The campsite was located in a little secluded area and had a stream running down one side perfect for soaking our feet in.
In the evening we had dinner played a game that the guides had taught us the previous night and had a bomfire. It was also a really clear night so i had a go at taking some photo's of the stars.
The next morning i was feeling good again rich in the knowledge that we only had a 4 hour downhill hike to civilisation. after a few stops for food and water at some vey nice locations we got to our bus. WE HAD DONE IT!!!
We then headed to Ollantayambo and stopped off on the way to try Chicha, a local alcoholic drink, and played some random localgame that included throwing coins at a side table. surfice to say that the peruvian guide was the only on NOT to win a game.
Once we got to Ollantayambo we checked in and had a much needed shower. It was only then that we noticed how much our clothes, and probably us, stank. I was very glad to have packed some clean clothes. We then headed out for some celebratory Pizza, chips and Cervessa (beer).
The next day was Macchu Picchu so agian another eraly wake-up call but not before some very much deserved beers.
