We made it!

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Up early we loaded the bikes to start our Inca Jungle adventure. We headed out to Ollantaytambo, where a local lady sold me the nicest tasting banana cake, as we stocked up with additional supplies (i.e chocolate). The car climed up to 4300m at a pass where once after the highest point we unloaded the bikes for our downhill ride. It was very cold and overcast up there, obscuring our view out. It drizzled a little, but the ride down was very exhilarating, we went down to about 1200m. The first 2 hours were paved and the next hour on gravel. The paved part was more relaxing, it had been a long time since we had been on bikes, Deb was a little nervous, but she was fine once we got going, she really enjoyed it. Down at the bottom we took the bus to Santa Maria, a tiny town in the valley, the temperature was much warmer down there and we had a lovely dinner that night with the group. I finally got to have the lomo saltado, which is like a beef stir fry dish. It really was like something we would have back home and I know I will be having it again.
After a warm night (and no water in the morning) we headed off on the second day, it was about a 6 hour walk, of which a tough stretch of 2 hours uphill was at the beginning. The walk was nice, I have never seen bigger avocado or mango trees in my life. I saw one avocado tree which must have had more than 100 fresh ripe avocados! The climb up was a bit unnerving at times, we linked up with part of the Inca trail, where the path is just steps that have been built in to the side of the mountain, and next to the steps is a nice drop to the valley floor! I tried not to look down, although Deb is lucky enough to not have a care, you will notice she has the drop side on the photos, I prefer the mountain side.
Deb found the actual walk this day quite tough, it was more the heat, being at the lower altitude meant it was quite warm and the sun was very strong. After the ascent we followed the river Urubamba to some lovely hot springs near Santa Teresa to rest our weary feet.
We had a similar basic accommodation in Santa Teresa, and a dinner that evening. We were both pretty tired so it wasn´t long before we were out. Our third day walk wasn´t as nice as the other days, it involved walking first along a dirt road to Hydroelectica where you can then see Machu Picchu mountain (the ruins aren´t visible) and then a walk along the railroad tracks (no where near as comfortable as it may sound) to get to Aguas Calientes, which is a town that sits at the bottom of Machu Picchu. It was about 5 or 6 hours in total. It is quite funny as everyone in the group has different stories as to what the agencies in Cuzco sold them. Our poor guide Silvio cops it all, the guide blames the agencies for promising things that will not happen. But I think most of us take everything an agency tells you with a grain of salt. We had a hotel in Aguas Calientes (probably the most expensive town in Peru), which meant a shower and hot water!!
Our final day, the day we had been waiting for. With Machu Picchu waiting above, we were up at 3.30am to make sure we got up there before the first buses of the morning so we could get a chance to climb Wayna Picchu. We left at 4am in the dark, it was a very tough climb, straight up, steps all the way. I think we were lucky it was dark as we couldn´t see the top. Deb and I climbed with two girls from Chile in our group, we only had the one torch between us. I can´t even remember how long it took to go up, it felt like a long time because there was no break from the steps and the uphill. Once at the top we were very relieved and proud, shattered we joined the queue and got our tickets to climb Wayna Picchu.
Once in Machu Picchu it didn´t dissapoint us. We have seen many photos before, but seeing it there in the flesh is a sight to behold, up there high above the valley, to imagine a civilization that once lived perched up here. It was amazing, we had a two hour guided tour which was great and very informative. How the people abandoned the city, so as to avoid the Spanish finding them and how it remained undiscovered (scientifically undiscovered) for a few hundred years.
Deb and a lot of our group decided not to climb Wayna Picchu, everyones feet were aching but I decided I better give it a go. It was a different view of Machu Picchu up there, it looked much smaller and you really appreciated the terracing around the city, but still not as nice as the view from the high part of the city itself. By early afternoon we decided that our feet could no longer bear anymore steps and climbs so we took the bus back down to Aguas Calientes. Very happy with what we had achieved and remembering the wonderful sight of that city above!
We took the train back to Ollantaytambo before a bus to Cuzco, this was probably one of our worst nights travelling South America, delerious with tiredness, there was a mix up with buses (well lack of organisation) and we spent about an hour writing our names as there were 4 too many passangers on the bus and they wouldn´t leave until it was sorted. Eventually after much time they decided to bring us back, only for us to get a flat tyre on the way back. We both had never been so tired and exhausted and the thought of our hotel in Cuzco was like the unattainable dream! Finally in Cuzco very late it was that much needed bed A fantastic time we had with Machu Picchu the standout. Page 2 has more pics

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