Little pig, little pig, let me in

Ok so here's what you have no doubt been waiting for. I'll have to confess I didn't order one for myself but got to taste some guinea pig. It tasted ok but the thought of it was horrid!

Take My Breath Away

The anticipation built right from the time we awoke at 3:30am.  We had to line up with about 500 other hikers until the gates opened at 5:30am.  We had only a 2 hour hike to Sun Gate which was very quiet,  a time to reflect on what we had achieved the last 3 days.

We reached Sun Gate and our first view of Machu Picchu. I was gobsmacked, I've seen the pictures and dreamt of visiting this place for a long time but that first time you see it leaves you speechless. Luckily for us the terrible weather that we had experienced the previous two days had turned for the better.   It was a glorious day. We stayed up at Sun Gate for about 45 minutes snapping photos and just taking in the awe that is Machu Picchu. I said to one of my fellow group members that even if Machu Picchu wasn't there, it was an amazing view anyway.

We strolled down to Machu Picchu where we met up with Kel and the other group members who hadn't done the hike.   I was so happy to see her, we hugged and I didn't want to let her go!!

We then had a tour with our guide Cheo for about two hours which was wonderful as he explained a lot of the history of this amazing site.

We had done it.  It was a hard slog in places,  but would I do it again,  absolutely!!!

The view from Sun Gate

Me and Cheo, our great guide

The gang at Sun Gate

This one is for Len Thomas :) 

Kel and the girls

Me and the lads

These boots are made for walking

It was with a heavy heart that I began my solo journey on the 4 day hike to Machu Picchu.   Kel had been sick for most of the week and was unable to join me on the trek.  She got to spend some more time in Cusco and Aguas Calientes.  Luckily 2 other members weren't doing the hike so she got to spend time with those guys. 

So off I began on what would be,  for me, the crowning moment of the holiday.  We had spoken to a few different people along our holiday who had completed the trail and some coped well whilst others struggled a little.

The first day was a pretty light day,  a few inclines and declines but not too much stress.  

Day 2 was labled by everyone as the killer day.   Luckily for me I found it ok.   I just powered ahead of the group.   I felt so determined.   I felt like I had the energy of two people and that I was doing this not only for myself but for Kel as well.   The steps on the way up to dead woman's pass were very steep.   You could see the top of the mountain in the distance but it seemed a long way away.   I reached the top,  4200m above sea level,  and raised my arms in joy.   I got to sit and take in the spectacular views whilst waiting for my fellow group members to finish this part of the trek.   The downhill part was pretty intense as well as the stairs are so very steep and slippery. 

Day 3 was a long one and pretty uneventful as we were covered in thick fog most of the way.   We did get to visit a small Incan ruin which our guide Cheo explained in depth to us which was amazing.

We reached camp and rested up in readiness for a 3:30am start to reach Sun Gate and Machu Picchu.

I'd like to touch on the absolutely amazing job that the porters do.  We had about 17 of these guys looking after us.   The carry up to 25kg each on their back.   This ranges from our duffel bags to gas bottles and cooking equipment. Whilst we struggle with the huge inclines and slippery steps,  these guys absolutely fly past you and you NEVER see them slip over. We were so thankful that we had such a great group of guys to share our experience with and we will never forget them.

All smiles as we are about to begin

This bloke has obviously graduated from the Cam Smith School of Bush Mechanics

The true champs of the trek, the porters

Mid morning day 2, I believe the term is "knackered" 

At the top of dead womans pass

They even baked us a cake!

As I go down to the valley

Today we journeyed to the Sacred Valley.   This consisted of a winding drive along some pretty broken up roads from all the rain they get.   We stopped off at a small place where our tour company G Adventures has a program called Planeterra which has constructed a building for the local women to do their weaving.   The work was exquisite and it takes them a whole week to weave a single scarf.  I met a cool little dude in the town that loved giving me high 5's.  The kids here are gorgeous,  Kel and I wanted to take one home!!

We continued on to visit a small animal rescue farm that had some puma and condors.   The condors flew right above our heads which was awesome.   Then we saw a cute little cat that Kel had to have a cuddle of.   We've seen a few cats along the way that Kel has resisted the temptation to cuddle,  however she succumbed to temptation on this one.

I visited the small village of Ollantaytambo which is an original Inca village so saw some amazing Incan architecture which has stood the test of time when other more modern buildings have crumbled around them.

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Tomorrow we start the Inca Trail.   This is a 4 day hike which we are very excited about.

Oh won't you stay just a little bit longer

Unfortunately we are not spending more time in this amazing little city.   We arrived late afternoon,  had a short walk to the main square and that was about all we got to see of this place,  but what we did see was fabulous. The old buildings and cobblestone streets are all surrounded by mountains 360 degrees.

At lunch I did see Guinea pig on the menu but yeah nah,  I won't be having that one Hehe.  I saw a picture of it on the menu board outside and it looked horrendous!

Jungle Boogie

We arrive in Puerto Maldonado and the very first thing that hits you is the heat.   Oh my god the heat.  Was around 33 degrees with 95% humidity. We had a lovely boat trip for about an hour and a half to our lodge.   I even managed to see a monkey from afar so I was pretty stoked about that.

The lodge was pretty nice,  we stayed in open bungalows that were only enclosed in a mesh wire to keep the animals out of a night time.   The activities we did were a night walk where we saw a MONSTER spider,  a day walk in the jungle to see some amazing old trees and more wildlife.

However the highlight came on the second night when we went out to do some Cayman (like crocodiles)  spotting.   We saw a few Caymans and that was about it for a while,  and then it happened.   We saw a Jaguar in the wild.   It was absolutely incredible luck to see one in the wild as our guide Neil had only seen one in his previous 6 years as a tour guide.   Kel was so excited,  it was great to see her so happy to see something so beautiful.

Darling Lima light on for me

Lima proved to be mostly a place for us to relax and recharge for the next tour.   We got in the first day after flying business class (thank god for that!) and pretty much slept from late afternoon till the next day. 

I did a city tour on an open top bus but it really wasn't that good as we were constantly stuck in traffic.   However in the city there are some wonderful old buildings.   I did get to visit a private museum of archaeology and anthropology which was very interesting.   It was amazing to see some of the relics that date back 2000 and 3000 years ago.

We met with our new tour group on the last night in Lima,  5 more Aussies on this one and tomorrow we fly out to the jungle.