The Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, Peru

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After an early wake up call and breakfast at the hotel, yes HOTEL (an extremely rare and almost magical experience after being in hostel dorms for 6 weeks), we jumped in the mini bus and drove to km82, the official start of the Inca Trail. Our group was amazing, there were 16 of us with an age range of around 20-35, with English, Australian, American, Swedish and a Porta Rican! We got our passports stamped, yes you need to show your passport on the trail, had a quick briefing and then headed across the bridge over the raging river. Our guide told us we had to take the first step with our right foot for good luck. Only 500 people are allowed to start the inca trail each day and this includes the porters that carry the food so we were in a fairly exclusive group of around only 250 tourists starting the trail that day. We followed the path up the valley and along the river to our first resting point where our guide Percy taught us how to take coca leaves properly. You have to first get 3 leaves, face the mountain and blow on them all for 1) Health 2) Money and 3) Love And then place them between your gum and cheek and leave them there which gives you a big caffeine boost and helps with the altitude. We powered up the hill to the incredible viewpoints and archaeological sites and were taught more about the Andean culture. The first day wasn't too hard and we arrived around 4pm to our first camp site, where our porters had already arrived and set up our tents and afternoon tea. That evening we played 6-a-side football with the locals from the small village which was surreal in the middle of a mountain valley, around 3,000m above sea level! The pitch had rock faces either side and had stones all over it so it was really hard to play on and we lost our first few games, but we finally got the hang of it and ended up beating them a couple of times which they didn't like. As the light began to fade it started getting rough and heated, but it was good fun. We lost more games than we won so we had to pay the locals a small fee and then we went back to camp and had dinner, the food was a pleasant surprise and was really good even though they had cooked it in a little tent in the middle if nowhere. After dinner I stood outside my tent trying to take in the setting with the mountains in the background and the stars in the sky, but I could see storm clouds rolling in. Within minutes the first bolt of lightening and subsequent thunder followed so I got in my tent, snuggled up in my sleeping bag and after 10 minutes a huge storm hit, but I managed to get to sleep as I was so tired.

We were woken in the morning by our assistant guide, Vettel, who said 'mooorrnniinnggg, you want tea or coffee' in a really gay, soft but funny voice. I had coca leaf tea which was minging! We had pancakes for breakfast, packed our bags and then headed out on what we had been told was the toughest day, it did not disappoint! First we were introduced to our 28 porters and 2 cooks one by one, it was such a good laugh and when asked if one of them wanted more kids he replied 'no no, the factory is closed', great line. Over the course of the day we covered 16km and rose 1,200m (from 3,000 to 4,200m above sea level). To put this in perspective it's like climbing the stairs of the worlds tallest building in Dubai 1 and a half times, at an altitude where just breathing normally is more difficult. It was extremely challenging! Me, Freeman and Tom powered it up to try and make it as short as possible which earned us the nickname 'mountain goats'. We stopped halfway up for lunch and could see the snow capped mountains not to much higher than us, but we were red hot in the sun so we actually sunbathed on the mountain for 20 minutes, very surreal when you are around snow caps! We also bought a bottle of rum from a little hut on the mountain, where they have to carry all their goods up by foot. After lunch came the dreaded 'Dead Woman's Pass' which gets it's name from the shape of the mountain as it looks like a woman's head and breasts lying on the top. The 'dead' part came from the Spanish invasion in the 1500's to show that the males were more dominant than the females, pretty outrageous! I had to squat in the bushes and use leaves to wipe my arse (not one of my proudest moments) and then I was ready. We completed the steep incline in just 45 minutes and when we reached the top we took the last few steps arm in arm and raised them in victory at the top (sounds a bit gay I know but it was a special moment and we all felt a real sense of achievement). We took some photos and then knew no better way than to celebrate like true Brits abroad and cracked open the bottle of rum and did shots at the top of the mountain (the sacred Inca's would have been so proud). We waited for the others and as they arrived we clapped every single person and gave them a hug to congratulate them. We had a group photo and made our way down the steep descent at the other side to our camp for the night. At camp we got the cards out and played 'Shithead' with the loser of each game having to take a shot of rum. I somehow managed to lose the first 6 games in a row which was not a good start! Our guide Percy then joined us and a few others got involved as the night went on, needless to say I got absolutely hammered along with Freeman and Tom. Everyone went to bed but me Freeman and Tom ended up messing around in our tent like little boys for an hour, I threw my orange from my lunch bag at what I thought was Aussie Tommy's tent but it turned out to be the American couples tent! Sorry guys! We finally calmed down and all went to sleep But it had been an amazing day and night.

After another very early start I felt massively hungover but stomached some breakfast and we were straight up another steep incline, I was hating life and regretting drinking so much rum the night before. We were told to grab a pebble from the stream and keep it safe until we reached the top of the next mountain. Once we reached the summit, the dividing range between the Andes and the jungle, Percy told us to go and lay our pebble somewhere and make a wish as it was a special place for the local people. Me, Freeman and Tom piled our stones on top of each other and then had a few minutes silence to ourselves. I knelt at the top, lay my stone, closed my eyes and wished for my family and friends' safety whilst I'm away. I have to admit it made me really emotional and I was holding back the tears! This was made all the more difficult when Percy told a story of a young lad in his 20's who was insistent that Percy was his guide And stayed quiet for the whole trail until he reached this same point that we were at. It was here that he suddenly burst into tears and when Percy asked him what was wrong he revealed that his dad had done the same tour a few years before with Percy and it completely changed his life, he became a better father to the young lad and also a better husband to his wife. His dad became very ill and handed him a pebble and told him to do the inca trail and lay the pebble at this point where we all laid ours. His father then passed away so this was his son fulfilling his fathers dying wish by laying this pebble for him at such a special place. I cannot imagine how special and emotional it must have been for him, but it was such an inspiring story which really tugged at my heart strings. We then hiked down the other side and stopped at a viewing point looking out over the clouds and mountains as far as the eye could see. Percy then pulled out a local instrument similar to a flute and played us a melody that had been passed down to him from his parents. I just stood there listening to the gentle whistle of his flute and thought about how epic my journey had been so far and how much I loved my family which again got the emotions going, I don't know what it was about this place but it was just magical. As we made our way further down, the path thinned and we were walking on the edge of a cliff. We couldn't see how far the drop was as we were in thick clouds! It began to piss it down and the weather was relentless. They set up our lunch camp early as the conditions were so poor and everyone was freezing, but after an amazing lunch the cooks outdid themselves and had baked us all a huge cake with the words 'Wayna Warriors' on it (our group nickname meaning young warriors), it was a really nice touch and lifted the spirits of the whole group. How they baked a cake in a tent in the middle of nowhere I don't know, but compliments to the chef. We made our way down more steep steps taking it real steady as they where so slippery from the rain, however the porters had other ideas practically sprinting down the steps with 30kg rucksacks on their backs! One of the porters was 65 years old And still smashed it!!! As we got close to camp the clouds cleared a little bit so we caught a glimpse of more snow capped mountains and the river below which stretches 700km all the way into the Amazon rainforest. We finally arrived at camp and had story time where we all told some great stories from our past, there were some absolute corkers. At this camp we finally had showers but they were freezing cold. Not to be deterred I got in but the pressure had gone so I had to wash myself in a sink! Not ideal after no shower for 3 days... We had dinner and then got an early night as we had to be up at 3:30am the next morning!

After our 3:30am wake up call we had breakfast and headed for the checkpoint to start the final ascent to one of the seven wonders of the world, Machu Picchu! It was a routine hike up the mountain which wasn't too steep for a change and we arrived at the Sun Gate after around an hour. However, when we arrived we were in thick cloud cover so we couldn't see Machu Picchu in the distance. We trekked a further 45 minutes down to Machu Picchu and this is where the magical moment should have happened but it was disaster, the clouds were still there so we couldn't see a thing! It was such a huge anti-climax as this was what had kept me going for the past 4 days, so I was immediately in a terrible mood. We left the site, got drinks at the cafe and I just sat head in hands absolutely gutted. We went back into the ruins for a 2 hour guided tour and finally the weather began to clear up so we could start to see how incredible the place was. The quality of the workmanship was ridiculously good, I question whether this same quality could be reproduced now even with all the tools we have! They were also really clever with how they made use of the natural surroundings. After the tour we were given a couple of hours free time so we walked around the whole site and it was just incredible. We got the classic 'postcard picture' and then finally managed to drag ourselves away from it but I could have stayed there for days, it was stunning. We had lunch and I took my shoes off, my feet were in bits with blisters everywhere after so much hiking. After lunch we got the train back and it had a half glass roof so we got some amazing views of the mountains that we had hiked over. We had a couple of beers on the train and had a sing song to everyone on our carriage, to which we got a few claps from randomers woooo! When we got back to the hotel we showered, got ready and all headed out together for a few drinks even though we were shattered.

I have to say the inca trail and Machu Picchu is one of the best things I have ever done in my whole life. It was beautiful, demanding, informative, tiring, liberating, magical, emotional and inspiring. We were lucky to have an amazing guide in Percy and such a good group of people which really did feel like a family by the end of it. Thank you all for being part of my journey and making it so special, I have amazing memories that will stay with me forever!

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