Santiago, Lima and The Inca Trek

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After not sleeping at all on the flight across the pacific i fuond myself feeling very tired when i first arrived into Santiago.

Despite this i managed to go for a quick walk around town with other people who were staying in the hostel and after a brief nap was able to venture out to experience the atmosphere of the festival of Indepedence that was taking place there.

Most of the shops were closed however people were partying so it was great to be there at a time when the locals were out enjoying themselves.

the following day i went with some people from the hostel for a walk up to the top of the hill that overlooks the city and where the image of chirst is positioned. It was a tough walk but the view of the city was great with the white peaks of the surrounding mountains forming a backdrop.

After an early morning flight i arrived safely into Lima and i shared a taxi to the hostel with a couple i met on the flight. Everyone had told me to be cautious in Lima because it is renowned as being a dangerous city in certain areas. I decided to hire a taxi and i went to town to visit the cathedral and catacombs.

I met up with Gap adventures in the hotel in Lima on the 21st and after one night in the hotel we took a flight to Cusco where we would be basing ourselves for the Inca Trek. The trek itself is renowned as being the most well known trek in South America and due to the high demand numbers are now limited to about 400 per day. Beacuse of this i felt very privaleged to be able to embark on this great journey and to learn about the Inca Empire. The Inca Trek was something i had planned to do before i began my travels and of course being in Cusco and about to embark on it felt so surreal after so long. The experience i had along the way was better than my expectations and the first glimpse of Maccu Piccu below us as we arrived at the sungate was staggering.

The scenery along the way was truly breathtaking. For some parts of the journey the trail was elevated high up and would run along the edge of the mountain. On either side huge mountains covered in greenery were seen and it was beautiful. You really felt that you were in the middle of nowhere....and of course we were!!! Right in the middle of the Andies!

Maccu piccu itself was better than all of the photos i have seen. The city is positioned so high up on a mountain its fascinating to think that the Incas were able to carry stones there in order to build the constructions. The Incas were a very advanced civilisation and being there and seeing all that they had managed to achieve was beyond belief. I am very happy that i have had the opportunity to experience this wonder of the world.

So here i am in Cusco again and i am about to embark on some Spanish Language lessons.

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