On Saturday we visited the Sacred Valley where we went to two different Inca sites - Pisac and Ollantaytambo. Both were fantastic although not sure we believed the guide 100% all of the time - think they just answer the question they want you to ask and not the one you actually do haha. It is unbelievable to think about how much the Inca people managaed to achieve in only 100 years ... outs us to shame. they were able to move rocks which weighed multiple tonnes - not quite sure why they chose to do those yet but fair dos to them!
We also visited a project set up by GAP in a community. It was a weaving project where they had taught 20 women how to make the most out of the wool that they were already making. It was quite good to see the positive impact GAP was having but not sure about all the tourists taking their picture all the time. If it improves their life then I guess its alright.
We spent the night in Ollantaytambo in preparation for starting the trek on SUnday. We were only allowed to take 6kg with us plus our day packs which isnt a lot!
From Sunday til Wednesday we trekked along the Inca Trail. It was absolutely fantastic. Genuinely couldn´t have been better!
Sunday- The first day wasn´t too difficult. Met the other four people on our group and all of the porters who were going to be with us. The porters are genuinely amazing. They just run along the path with their massive packs on their backs. You wouldn´t believe it until you´d seen it!
Monday- The most difficult day. The previous night w cmpaed at 3000m and the pass we had to get over was at 4200m. A massive 1200m climb. Gads. Katharine found it very difficult but Will not so much! Lucily when we reached the top there was some downhill - a 600m drop of just stairs. For small people the Incas made some HUGE steps! Unfortuantely one of the ladies in our group was quite ill so had to be carried by one of the porters - but they just took it in their stride!
Tuesday- Another two passes to get over tonight but luckily they werençt as high as the second day! Lots of stairs though! weatehr was good and it warmed up alittle as we were getting a little lower. At the campsite we even managed to have a hot shower which was the best 5 soles weçve spent so far! The cooks made us a cake for desert too which was amazing - still not sure how you cook a cake without an oven though! Throughout the whol trip the food was fantastic - you would hardly have been able to tell that we were in the middle of nowhere. Only downside was the coriander overdose.
Wednesday- We reached Machu Pichu! We got up at 4 and trekked for a few hours to reach the Sun Gate. Trekking through the jungle whilst the sun came up was a great site. Coming through the Sun Gate (which isn´t a gate by the way) and seeing Machu Pichu absolutely made the trek worthwhile. It looked just like the postcards!
Machu Pichu is even bigger and more spectacular than you think it is judgin by photoshopped pictures! We can´t really describe it but we canshow you LOTS of pictures if you want to see what its like (I´m sure we´ll bore you with them anyways hahaha). Not sure our pictures will do it justice but we tried! It was a really sunny day so a great day to see it - although as usual Katharine burnt through her sunscreen. Our guide from our trek gave us a agreat walking tour of Machu Pichu telling us about it all. Only downside was that when we were coming to then end of our tour was that it was getting really quite busy. We chilaxed in the shade then and avoided the crowds - and got to touch llamas! So exciting!
We spent the afternoon in Aguas Calientes (Machu Pichu town) which is not nice. For the amount of money that is spent in it you would have thought it might have been a bit nicer. We did however get to try our first Pisco sour - pisco is a drink a bit like tequila made in Peru. They were really good so a few more might be consumed whilst we are in Cusco!
Yo get back to Cusco from Machu Pichu we got the SLOWEST train ever made. It must go slower than old steam trains. To go 90km it took us 4 hours - doesnñt help that there is only one track so when a nother train comes its abit of a nightmare! But we made it back to Cusco to have hot shower and a long sleep to rest or weary legs (well Katharine´s anyways!).
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