Meeting our fellow Inca Trail Trekkers and the Sacred Valley

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The waiting was finally over, and a very big day was upon us. Today we was about to embark on a week- long tour that started in Cusco, and that would end by seeing the awesome Machu Piccu. A brief rundown of our itinerary is as follows:

Day 1 - Meeting with the group and the Trek leader

Day 2 - The Sacred Valley

Days 3, 4 ,5 & 6 – The Inca Trail, and Machu Piccu

Day 7 – Return to Cusco

Trying to fit 7 days into one blog was never going to be easy (especially the way I waffle on about all sorts of crap!) and is why I am going to split this into not 2 but 3 blogs! Otherwise, if I had the memory and the time to write about everything I would like to about this trip, it would turn into a novel, and it would be even more tedious than my usual blogs! So please bear with me!

Day 1 - Meeting the group and Trek Leader

The night before the trip, we were introduced to the guide and group that we were to be trekking with over the next week. This can sometimes be a deal breaker as to whether a trip is going to be a good one or not, as no matter how good the place is, if the group, or the guide suck, then the trip can suffer tremendously. Fortunately for us, this was not the case. The group of 14 other people that we met that evening, plus our trusty guide Fernando were to play a huge part as to why this tour was so good, and although I’m not going to list everyone’s name here, you know who you are if you’re reading this, and therefore, from both Donna and I… You guys are awesome…Thanks for the memories!

Day 2 – The Sacred Valley

For me, The Sacred Valley had always sounded like just something that we were going to do as part of the trip as it was on the way, and it was another day for the itinerary. Since I never took the time to research the place, I was very glad that my initial worries were way off the mark. The Sacred Valley held so many amazing highlights in just one day, that if this was a day trip I had taken, I would have been very happy indeed! For me, one of the highlights was straight off the bat, and the first place we stopped in. The village name escapes me, but is one that Gap adventures (our tour agency) had a charity initiative with, which was in the middle of the Sacred Valley, high up in the mountains. Here, the locals showed us how they weaved all their clothing by hand, and how this was dyed to give the array of colours that the products are available in. After they had baffled us all with how amazingly skilled they were, it was time for a short walk round the village where we was able to either partake in a spot of shopping for the various bits and bobs they had so elegantly made by hand, try chat to the locals in Spanglish or feed some of the Llama’s and Alpacas that were strewn all over the village. We decided to do all three! The result being a purchase of a scarf to satisfy my constant craving of Alpaca-wear products, a lot of nodding and ‘’Si, si’ with the locals, as well as trying to feed Llamas that didn’t really seem that hungry…a really fun experience, and a great start to the day.

The other sights that we visited within the Sacred Valley were Pisac, with its enormous Inca farming terraces and the town of Ollantaytambo, which boasted an amazing Inca temple way up on top of a hill with awesome views of the town and valley below. Both were amazing sights that were just way above our expectations for the first day. From that point on, I think we all knew that if this was a taste of things to come on the Inca trail, then we were in for a real treat!

That evening, we stayed in the town of Ollantaytambo in a nice little hotel, where we got to know our fellow trekkers a bit better, and after a top notch local Pizza with everyone, we were off for an early night, as tomorrow we start the Inca trail, and we wanted all the energy we could muster!

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