Lares Trek and Machu Picchu - 20 - 23 Oct

Wow - probably our favourite week so far. This trek was amazing. We began on a little bus with our fellow trekkers (Rehta and Janaine - 2 South African girls who were so great - I knew we would get on well when Janine offered me her gossip magazines to read on the bus!!)

After a few hours drive we arrived at the hot springs! As you can see from the pictures the water was a little less than inviting and the smell - mmmm, lovely! However Rich and I braved it and although not relaxing it was an experience! After a lovely lunch prepared by our chef for the next few days we began our hike to the camp site. It was lovely, not too tough at all and again passing through some villages and meeting lots of children who as before sprint from their ´houses´ to see you.

The next couple of days were amazing - cold nights in the tent but as with the last trek the food was delicious throughout the day!! I have pigged out big time - the altitude hasn´t affected my appetite one bit - good job I am moving myself otherwise I would be a right bloater now! On 22 we walked into the village of Ollyantambo which was really pretty and it was lovely to just relax in the square in one of the cafes. We all had dinner together and then our guide (Raul) gave us our train tickets and we set off on the train to Aguas Calientes (the town where you can get to Machu Picchu from).

We arrived in our hotel at about 10 pm that night all desperate for a well deserved hot shower - our 1st for a good few days! No hot water caused a bit of a stir but never mind!

Macchu Picchu - 23 Oct

An early morning start 4.30 am - quick tasty breakfast and then we joined the queue for the bus - it was long but moved quick! After a 20 min drive we arrived at Machu Picchu. At first the mist was pretty heavy so our guide sat us down and gave us a talk about the place before showing us round. The mist cleared after an hour and then it was incredible. We also decided to climb Wanchapicchu mountain which overlooks the ruins - well woth it for the amazing views at the top.

Returned to Aguas Calientes for a nice pizza with the girls and then made our way back by train and mini bus to Cuzco arriving their in the evening.

Thurs 23 - Sunday 26 Oct - Cuzco

Had planned to get on the bus straight to Arequipa on 24th however slight problem - a protest had blocked the road out of Cuzco and nobody knew how long it would last - some thought about 2 weeks - agghhh! We hung around for the next few days - at least we loved it here so wasn´t a problem and the girls were there too so met up for lunch and dinner - but couldn´t risk being stick there as needed to be in La Paz for 3 Nov so decided to get a flight out on 26th to La Paz. Had had great time over the last week - really getting into things now!