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We have just had the most wonderful 4 days hiking along the Inca trail. It has been tough but very rewarding. We had a couple of days in Cuzco and surrounds beforehand so I´ll start with those first!
After our 7 hour bus journey to Cuzco we headed to the Sacred Valley to visit a local community that produces hand made products. Farming is a hard life in Peru and any additional ways to make money are a huge help to the locals. The group spent the afternoon making jokes about Ghost as one of our team sat behind the pottery wheel to have a go at shaping a pot. We then had lunch with a local family before catching a local bus to Ollaytantambo.
Ollaytantambo is an old Inca stronghold and the town still has much from the Inca era. Most buildings are founded on Inca stones and the street layout dates from Inca times. We hiked to some Inca storehouses high up on the hill. The Incas liked to store their crops up high where its windy as the crops stayed fresher. It was a small taster of what was to come over the next four days...
Day one of the Inca trail was very, very hot. But, slow and steady as they say wins the race. We made camp ahead of schedule and settled down to high tea of popcorn and biscuits. This was followed by a delicious 3 course meal. I take my hat off to the porters. One man carried a stove the whole trip! It meant we had the most delicious meals that I have ever had while camping.
Day two was a bit more intense as we had two passes to get over and an estimated walking time of 11 hours. Our team smashed this time and our guide jokingly said that he would be talking about us for a long time afterwards! We reached the highest point of the walk on this day at 4200m. I was quite worried that I would not be able to do it, with the altitude and the walking but day two was actually my most favourite day in terms of walking during the whole trip. We were hit by a freak hail storm towards the end of the day, which added to the excitement. Not sure if anyone has been hit by hail on the ear before, but I can assure you it is rather painful.
Day three was the pits for me... it was one of the shortest walking days, but not short enough when you have stomach cramps. The scenery was beautiful, but I just wanted to push on to the tent and the warm shower that was promised to me at the last campsite!
Day four was pretty fantastic. If you´ve bothered to check the spanish at the top of the blog you´ll know that Tim proposed with the sun rising over Machupicchu! It was a fantastic spot to do it and we are both very happy!
We are now back in Cuzco resting up before we head to the jungle. Cuzco is a beautiful town and I highly recommend a visit to its cobblestone alleyways and magnificent square. A great place to rest and relax. Speaking of which, its time for my well earned massage!
Adios!
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