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Greetings all.
Well, we have done it! We have completed our 7 day trek across the Peruvian Andies through the 5000masl Salkantay pass along the Inca trail into Machu Picchu. What a rewarding and truely amazing experience for Afra and I. We set out with a guide, a cook, a porter and a horseman with 3 mules to carry the materials we needed. Day one started with some rain which quickly turned into mudslides and a difficult walk in some parts of the trek. It was up, up and up into the valley towards Salkantay mountain. We stopped each day for lunch and to recover some strength to carry on till dinner. Our chef cooked great hot soups and filling meals and each day we we welcomed with popcorn for afternoon tea and hot chocolate. It was hard work sleeping on the stoney ground so some nights we didn{t get the sleep we really needed. Day 2 we walked again in rain with the sun sometimes popping its face through. It was starting to get alot colder and the trek more difficult. On day 3 we woke up surrounded by snow and had to trek through the Salakantay pass in snow above our knees. It was hard going especially for the mules so we went slowly but surely up and over. The rain continued each day somedays harder than others. Each night we had to make sure to dry our boots as best we could and in the morning put on a fresh pair of dry socks. The 4th day we slowly desended the mountains towards the inca trackand on the 5th day we left the mules behind and joined up with an Australian couple to continue along the Ancient trail. Each day so far we had meet a few people carring loads and villagers working thier farms but as soon as we joined the Inca trail we had to share the road with 100 other people. The conditions made it tough but each day we knew we were getting closer to the City and a shower! The sixth day was long we walked from 6am til 5pm with a stop for lunch and checking out a few inca ruins along the way arriveing to our camp after working so hard for almost a week still with a postive attitutde. The last day we woke up at 3.30am, had a quick breakfast and joined the line to reach the Sun Gate a look out piont where you get your first glimps of Machu Picchu. As we arrived to the Sun Gate cloud and rain surrounded the city and we could only see a small section. As we climbed down towards Machu Picchu the rain grew heavier and the fog thicker. We arrived to the top of the city to see nothing. So, we had to wait and see if it would clear up. People had told us that later in the morning it usually clears up, so we waited in the rain. A couple of our later the rain stopped, the mist cleared and the sun came out to show us the lost city of Machu Picchu. Every step had been worth it!! It was beautiful! We explored the city for a few hours marvelling at every corner of this amazing wonder! We travelled back into Cusco looking over our photos absolutely exhauseted and smelling horribly but very satisfied with our journey and reaching Machu Picchu.
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