Hi all once again,

So it has been about a week since I last wrote, and so much has happened and been achieved! So to the beginning... We arrived in Cuzco after a 7 hour bus ride from Puno. This was an extremely hot and boring trip, to which I discovered later that evening that I had managed to burn through the window. Anyway... we arrived at our hotel and had a quick settle in, and wander around Cuzco which is beautiful, and then had our Inca Trail briefing. We went to meet up with another group that we would be joining with. Due to the mudslides, there were no 4 day permits left so our group of 16 or so were left with the task of completing the trail in 3 instead of 4 days...

So we met the other group, who were a great bunch, and consisted mainly of Australians and a few Americans. We met our guide for the following 3 days and after seeing our (well mine) shocked faces at the map we were presented with, and the amount of ground we were expected to cover... he told us firmly that he believed that the completion of the trek was 80% in your mind, and 20% physical. I would up this to about 70.30 but I think he was right... So we sorted out our equipment i.e. tents, poles, sleeping bags etc for the hike and then we went off to panic some more. The following day we had a free day in Cuzco to explore before the hike began. So we went on an organised tour of the Sacred Valley which was amazing. We saw what was to be the first of many stair cases, and panicked some more. It was all good preparation for the trail, but the altitude was still proving to be a worry. So that evening, we hit up the pharmacys of Cuzco and stocked up on many necessities... or painkillers in general. These were to prove a life saver afterall, and lots of Gatorade powder, and Lucozade energy pills were bought, alongside many unhealthy energy snacks. Everyone was also buying Ponchos, so I ended up buying one too, it was very ugly and luckily I escaped having to wear it... in the end I just got wet instead.

So that brings me to the start of the trek. We were woken by a wake up call at 4.30am and the coach came to collect us and take us to the start of the trail. We got here about 7am. In time to see the first trains taking what I started to think were the sensible people, up to Machu Picchu by train... So we had to present our passports, and got a cool little stamp in there, and we set off with our backpacks on the trek of a lifetime. It soon reached 30´C or so, and the path to begin was up and down. We had a few extremely steep bits, and I was at the front to begin with, alongside the marathon runner, considering the events of the following day this provided much entertainment to the guys. We stopped for our first lunch break, and had our 3 course lunch. Ironically, despite being up a mountain this was some of the best food I have had in Peru. The high standard continued throughout. I should probably mention here, that there were 16 of us hikers, and 19 porters and 2 chefs with the group. They RAN the trek with our tents, duffle bags, and food. They were literally AMAZING. I must say however, it is very disheartening to see 50 yr old men RUN past carrying 25KG of weight on their backs. The first afternoon was very tough, alot of up and down, and we had the joy of passing at about 2pm where the hikers USUALLY stop. This nearly made me cry! Anyway, the scenary was spectacular, and we reached our campsite about 5pm, apparently about 2 hours ahead of schedule. Dinner was great, and we all bonded some more, and enjoyed amazing food. Went to bed pretty early as we were to be woken at 5.30am for breakfast to start trekking by 7. The temp dropped to minus ´C at night, and considering my head was the only thing out of the sleeping bag, it was freezing and I woke up needing my hat!

So we woke the next morning, had breakfast. and began all over again, expecting to finish about 5pm. It was so cold when we woke up, that we piled the layers on and started our immediate up hill climb up the aptly named ´Dead Woman´s Path´. Now clearly this is where it went wrong. This was the 2nd mountain we climbed over I think, and the highest point, nearly 5000 m above sea level. In the early morning, as the temp changes suddenly from 5 c to mid 20s, when you have a full stomach of food, and climbing a vertical cliff, hell descends. I started off fast, and soon faded. I started to feel really light headed and faint and had to keep stopping every few steps. Then the oxgyen literally appeared to just run out, and it was terrifying. I started to panick and hyperventile, which is the worst thing I could really do. So hysterical on a mountain side, the poor assistant guide didn´t know what to do with me. So he splashed alcohol in my face and made me sniff it. It was so strong and potent, that it soon shut me up. I started to guzzle energy drinks, and lucozode pills, and with my alcohol I managed to crawl up the rest of the mountain side to meet the others. Amongst all of this, I had managed to burn my back, and then I split my water so needless to say this was NOT a good morning. After lunch, however, the majority was downhill, and it was great. The scenary was fab, and we wer´n´t as high so the altitude wasn´t so much of a problem. This was a really good afternoon, as you could chat to everyone so the time flew by, and we saw some amazing ruins. I even saw a tarantula! This did scary me, as I started to look ahead to my next night in the tent... and the Amazon jungle stay. The spider was huge!

So that evening, it poured down with rain, but luckily we had great timing, and we were settled in our tent by this point. It did mean, however, that I was kept up for some of the night listening to frogs. I was convinced one was in my tent also. It just seemed so close!!! So that brought us to the last day, the end was in sight. We left at 7am again and were expecting to reach the sun gate about 2pm and Machu Picchu about 3pm. We stopped for lunch along the way, and after dreaming about alcohol along the way, and developing a slight addiction much to everyone´s amusement... I had the most well deserved beer of my life. So we reached the sungate and took all the touristy pictures. It was here that the dry shampoo I took with me, and had been mocked constantly for, was much desired. Everyone wanted sleek and shiny hair, so I feel I have promoted Batiste well. One of the guys in my group planned to go through the sungate in his board shorts, and the deal was, that I would put a floral dress on. I couldn´t fit it in my bag, however, so I let the team down. I did pack some big earrings for the occasion though. We reached Machu Pîcchu, and it was just breathtaking. It was suddenly all worth it. It was here also that the legs began to properly seize up, and refuse to work. As we toured the sight, we all resembled OAPS groaning and ahhing up yet more stairs!! So I will try to get photos up soon, as words just cannot do this site justice. It was a once in a lifetime experience, however, and I still can´t believe I did it!

So we left Machu Picchu, and I decided the only way to stop the pain. My body was literally broken... was to drink through it. So we all went out to dinner, and many Pisco Sours later... we hit an empty mouldy nightclub. Perfect. Lots more drinks later, and thanks to the wonders of happy hour I had sufficiently numbed the pain. It was great to hear cheesy club music to top it off. We stumbled UP hill to our hotel in the early hours, and found they had locked us out. We managed to eventually get in, and had the best sleep eveer.... in a bed!! So that brings me up to yesterday. I went hunting for a massage parlour, but had a few dodgy experiences and didn´t find any suitable shall we say. So we made our way back to Cuzco by train and bus. We then met up with the rest of the group last night for dinner, and went to Paddys Irish Bar last night. It is actually a very creepy imitation of a British Pub, but once again the legs were numbed. So now it is Monday, and 10am. I have a massage at 10.30 in the main Plaza so fingers crossed they can put me back together again! Next stop tomorrow... the Amazon Jungle.