The Inca Trail

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Hello Everyone,

Well after a very long bus journey from Bolivia back into Peru we arrived in Cusco. The Inca Trail was shut for a clean up in February so we had to double back on ourselves somewhat! We spent a few days in Cusco acclimatising to the altitude and enjoying the colonial architecture, before setting out on the world famous Inca Trail........

The Trek was truly amazing - it was a four day, 35 km walk, camping along the way and it was a pretty tough in parts. We climbed over 1200 meters up to Dead Womans Pass on the second day- a huge, steep hill taking 3 hours!! But the clouds rolling off the surrounding mountains, subtropical jungle, beautiful scenery and amazing Inca paving, tunnels and ruins really helped when climbing those big hills!!

The porters were incredible!! We had about 10 porters to our group who carried tents, food, cooking equipment, tables, stools and even huge gas cannisters. Their weight limit is supposed to be 20kg, although we tried to pick up one of their bags and we could hardly lift it so we think that limit was well exceeded!!! So on each day the porters would leave the camp after us, having to pack up all the equipment, and we would see them running past us up a huge mountain which we were barely able to walk. Then by the time we arrived at our camp, they had beaten us there, set everything up and prepared dinner already!!! They are amazing - not to mention the fact that they hardly eat or drink anything whilst walking - they simply chew coca leaves to supress their appetite and give them mental energy!

On the fourth day we arrived at the Sun Gate, from where we caught our first glimpse of the breath taking Machu Picchu as the sun was rising. Machu Picchu ( "The Lost City of the Incas") was built around 1450, but abandoned a hundred years later, at the time of the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire. The site was forgotten for centuries and then rediscovered by American Historian Hiram Bingham in 1911. It is also now one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.

We had a guided tour around the ruins, learning how the smooth stones were miraculously each made by hand! We visited the Temple of The Sun (decicated to Inti The Sun God), where the Incas observed the changing of the solstices and formed their remarkably accurate 360 day calendar. Unfortunately for you lot the pictures barely do it justice so you´ll have to go for yourselves to truly appreciate the beauty of the place.

When we had finished the trail we headed back to Cusco on the train from Machu Picchu town which was a lovely scenic hour and a half well spent.

Next stop La Paz. We´ll fill you in on that later.

All our love.

Janice and Adam.xxx

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