Had a rushed brekka of scrambled eggs on toast with homemade beans at The Real McCoy before the journey to the Sacred Valley. So nice to have a proper breakfast after all the jam & bread! Visited an animal sanctuary with condors, llamas, alpacas and very cute little mountain cats. Visited the Inca ruins at Pisac and Ollantaytambo, then went to our homestays, quite obviously in someone's house!! Didn't risk the shower as it was giving off electric shocks!! Set off for the start of the Inca trail at km 82 checkpoint, where we got held up by a small problem with not enough porters to carry all the baggage. Once we did get started the walk wasn't too hard and the sun was shining :) The second day, however, was a totally different kettle of fish! We had to trek up 1200m to Dead Womans Pass at 4200m above sea level!! I managed it in 3h25m with a couple if 10min rests and lots of little pauses to catch my breath.....so shattered at the top I couldn't speak!! The 400m down by steep steps was a little easier but my legs were shaking at the bottom so I took a well deserved nap :) The third day started off with another steep ascent up to the second pass and a more gentle walk to the third pass after lunch. It was pretty much all downhill from there and a fairky steep 1000m descent on steps and a very windy path that zigzagged down the side of the mountain to the last campsite above tge Urubamba river and opposite Macchu Picchu mountain The final day was a 3:30am start, queuing at the checkpoint to start the final 6km walk to the Sun Gate - Intipuku. This was pretty tortuous after 3 days walking and 2 nights of little sleep thanks to the torrential downpours and the last 50 or do steep steps were a killer. Finally Macchu Picchu city was in sight below us in the sunshine, now all we had to do was walk all the way down there!!!! After a very expensive bottle of water and vague approximation of a danish pastry we set off on the tour around the city itself, which ended just as the rain started to fall again.....this being the rainy season and all :) Down the windy road to Aguas Calientes, I looked back to see Macchu Picchu city pretty well hidden above in the mountain which is part of why the Spanish never found it! After sharing a giant pizza with all the toppings, a few of us set off up the hill to the hot springs to soak out the dirt and aches from the trail........bliss. We finished up in a bar drinking Inca Sours (like Pisco Sour but with local alcohol), eating free nachos and playing jenga before catching the very slow train back to Cusco (max speed 25kph)!!!! I spent the next day relaxing, sleeping, getting a massage and eating a big brekka followed by lots of juice to get the vitamins back into my system...and I pretty much spent todah doing fairly similar. Breakfast at Jacks (Bacon and Egg Sarnie with homemade tomato jam- not ketchup you'll be suprised to know ;)) followed by a bit of shopping, pancakes for lunch, packed all my stuff up, watched trashy TV and finally went out for dinner. Final thoughts in the Inca Trail- the 4 day hike is worth it for the challenge and the beautiful scenery, but if you can spend a night in Aguas Calientes before visiting Macchu Picchu city, then you may well be able to appreciate it without falling asleep every time you sit down!!!
