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Hey everyone its beern ages since my last blog but I finally have time to do it. When I last spoke I was just about to go on the Inca trail I have now completed and survived the walk and it was fantastic I am soo glad I did it. So on the firrst dayI met my group and they were all really nice and wewerent the youngest so it was cool to have people of all ages and walking abilities. We went to the Sacred Valley and saw our first pre inca and inca ruins and i learnt all about the incas which was good as i knew very little. It was awesome learning the differences in the building styles and all about the temples and why they are where they are just so much information to take in in one day. Then we went to a local family house and saw lots of guinea pig which is a delicacy here but i hvaent tried as they are so cute although i did try alpaca and it was very yummy. At night we went out with our group for a meal and got to know them a bit more.
Day 2. We got up and headede for km82 whi9ch is where we started the walk and I was very excited to get going and we even got a stamp in our passports which i loved. The the walking began and it was flat to start and we hada little ritual of giving coca leaves to the mountain for a safe journey and we were all given coca leaves to chew as they are good for altitude sickness but they made me feel sick and i didnt have altitude sickness but apparently they also gave you energy so i kept chewing. Then the hill started and the walking was fine but i just got so out of breath so quickly from the lack of oxygen but I just had to keep ploding. There was a guy in our group who was really sick and he was still going so I plodded on. It rained for a little and when we stopped we saw all the porters running by. It is crazy as they just run up the mountain carrying so much and have coca leaves and peru beer for energy I felt bad them carrying all our stuff. We passed a few resting places on the way then we saw the first major site that was in the shape of a flower and learnt about that. Then it was uphill again to the lunch spot. It was crazy they had et up like a dining tent for us and washing bowls and the fo9d was soo good I am not sure how they did it. Then we carried on uphil but i was getting better at walking by this point and it wasnt long till we reached the camp site it was a short day as we had to rest for the hard day to follow. We spent the evening playing cards as a big group which was fun and went on a little night walk to look at tarantulas.
Day 3 This was known as the hard day as we got up early and it was just constant uphill through dead womans pass. My legs ached soo much and I was out of breath for the main of it but I made it and it was worth whilñe as the views were immense. There was this amazing glacier surrounded by clouds it was pretty epic. The when we got to the top we had another ritual this time involving rum to give to mother earth and the glacier and the mountain and then of course a little for ourselves. After climbing over 1300m up and enjoying the view we had to descend back down after all that hard work. Mnay many steps but time flew by as I hada chat to someone in our group and I knew I was heading for lunch. The camp site was really nice and i even got to have a shower even if it was in glacial water.
Day 4 This was the long day so we got up even earlier and started going up again we had to passes to walk through today. My legs were tired and i was getting blisters but the views and the sites were well worth it. We saw a few more inca sites and learnt all about them. One of my favourite was the temple of the sun and moon which was all about duality. Roger our guide knew soo much. Me and Steph were often at the back so walked with the assistant guide Victor who was awesome and knew so much knowledge and he told us local stories and pointed orchids. It waas our cultural day we saw lots of sites and then we had to go down what is known as the Gringo killer steps which is 3000 steps down and it was hard going on the old knees. We did an extra walk to the campsite to see another site and Victor showed us an awesome view to get pictures from as we were so far behind the group. I just wanted to take it all in though I could have gone faster I just wanted to enjoy and take it all in. Then we got to camp quite late and we saw another inca site which I really loved as it was an agricultural experimental site where they developed acops which i enjoyed learning about. Then itr was tea, cards and an early night ready for Machu Picchu.
Day 5 We got up early and we it was a speedy walk up to the sun gate where we sat and watched the clouds clear over Machu Picchu which was amazing it was crazy how fast the cloudsmoved and there was suspense waiting to see it. Then we walked down and walked all around the site Roger told us so much all about it which I wont bore you with as this blog is already very long. We were lucky as we got to do the extra climb up Waynapicchu where you get awesome views of the whole of the site and I just sat and admired it for ages. I just found the whole thing breathtaking and it was worth the walking to get there. It was crazy steps down but we made it safely. Then we had free time and we found what I would say was my favourite view of the site and just sat to take it all in and watch the llamas wondering aroung. RThen it was time to get the bus and then the train and then another bus back to Cuzco. I was knackered by this point as we were planning on doing the 24 hour challenge and going out when we got back but so tired bed beckoned.
The next day was quite relaxing as we moved hostel and had a leisurely lunch and wondered around Cuzco. I absoluetly loved Cuzco probably one of my favourite cities so far I could have stayed there for ages. That night me and Steph went out and bumbed into the group of boys that was on our inca trail and had a fun night out. Although we spent a long time in the taxi as we couldnt remeber the name of the hostel. The next day was anotherlazy dayas we needed a rest s we watched a movie then we caught a bus to Ica.
It was slightly backwards but we really wanted to go sand boarding so off we went on the 17 hour journey. It was awesome though we went sand boarding the day we arrived adn it was sooo much fun we went again the next day as it was so cheap. As well as saand bording we got a dune buggy drive our second driver was crazy we went flying over the dunes and he even let me have a go at driving it but kept telling me to slow down. I was useless at sand boarding but i got down one without falling and it was fun falling. Some I went down lying down as you just went so fast I loved it. Sadly while we were there kat jumped in the pool and hurt her foot so couldnt come the second tiume. Once we had got a bus to Arequipa and Kats foot was still hurting we insisted on calling a docttor and it was a good thing as she has got a fracture in her foot and is now in a cast and hobbling around but we are getting by. I am forcing her to rest untill it gets better. In Arequipa we went to Colca Canyon which is the deepest canyon in the world and we got to see condors there but we only did a quick one day tour.
We are now in Puno and about to go on a 2 day tour of Lake Titicaca and visit floating islands which. We are having to stay here longer than wanted as the buses crossing to Bolivia are going on strike but we shall have a rest before we head off to volunteering which should be hard going. Hope that has filled you in on most things sorry if its too long. Miss you all lots of love x x
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