Day one started at 8:00am on Thursday 6th September. We took a mini van to the starting point called Km82.
After we met the 16 porters and got our final equipment such as walking poles and sleeping bags, we headed to the check point.
For some reason, my permit was booked with another group so I had to go through with them. This could face been the prime opportunity to not be with some of the annoying people in our group but no such luck.
After a short time hiking, David one of the guides, explained the use of coco leaves and asked us to make an offering to the gods of the mountains. I thought this was nice as its clearly the Inca tradition.
We had a few stops along the way and lunch was brilliant. All the porters left after us, yet lunch was all ready by the time we got there.
The porters clapped us in but frankly the fact they were carrying 25kg of weight and running, often in just sandals, we should be clapping them!
I was surprised there were toilets along the way. David kept saying we can use the 'Inca toilet' but thankfully I never needed to. Although the toilets along the way were called 'squat toilets'. This is incredible difficult on the calves after a days hiking!
We slept at a place called Wayllabamba. There was a field with three donkeys in it and lots of dogs running around.
The donkeys were quite cute. I was stroking one of their noses. Next minute, he was jumping on the other trying to get jiggie but the other had other ideas and kicked him in the head. It was quite funny to watch! And being a typical tourist, I do have a picture.
Day one consisted of 11km and about 6 hours hiking.
Day two was anticipated to be the hardest but thankfully we wasn't up too early. After a filling breakfast we left camp shortly after 7:00am.
We were coming from 3000 meters to the highest point of the trek, conveniently named 'Dead women's pass' or the traditional name is 'Warmiwanusca'. This is at 4215 meters. Hiking 1215 meters is pretty tough with the lack of oxygen.
I was really proud to be the fifth person in our group to make it to the top. We made brilliant time. After the peak, it was all downhill and often that is harder as you have to be so careful where you place your feet.
We got into the camp about 2:00pm and had lunch straight away. After a little nap we decided to play cards. Our camp was called Papaymayo and was located at 3600 meters so it was chillier than the night before.
We played cards in one of the two man tents. We got nine people inside. It was quite amusing getting everyone out for afternoon tea.
Day two was 12km and about 7 hours hiking.
Day three started at a reasonable hour, I think we left again just after 7:00am. The first 4km was all up hill again. Straight after breakfast, this was pretty tough but we made it.
Day three was the prettiest day with five different Inca sites. First was Runkuraqay, then Sayacmarca, Phuyupatamarca, Intipata and lastly Winaywayna near where camp was.
We hiked 16 km but the last 4km was the best. Rolling mountains with nice quiet paths. I listened to my music a lot and it was so nice.
At lunch the porters made us a cake. It was amazing how they made this gorgeous cake and iced it.
I noticed people from the other groups were on their mobile phones. I managed to text Dad and Stuart. It was nice to say how I was doing but I kind of wished I had left it now.
At camp, David was telling us this ghost story about the last camp we stayed out.
He said how many years ago you didn't need a guide to hike the trail and this married Isralian women went with her Argentine boyfriend.
Well the husband had followed then and shot them both. A few years later, a young girl was camping and she felt someone pull her by her feet out of her tent, to the river. She remembers seeing a girl in white by the river screaming. Her sleeping bag had blood on it.
David told us a few similar stories. I'm so glad he didn't tell us that story the night before.
In the evening of day three after dinner, we were formally introduced to the porters. They said their names, age and what they carried. The cheeky chefs even said they were single.
It was amazing seeing how some men were so confident and spoke clearly and made eye contact. Whereas, others were so shy.
It's bad to say that the youngest was 22 and the oldest were 58. And honestly, they all looked very similar ages.
They were all from the same community and are farmers but they do porting as a way to earn extra money for their families.
Lisa did a great job of translating our messages into Spanish for them.
Total distance was 16km and about 9 hours hiking.
Day four started far too early. We were due to get up at 4:00am but because certain individuals were awake early, the whole camp was woken up at 3:30.
After a light breakfast, we had to watch at the check point to open at 5:30am.
We then hiked in the rain to Sun Gate to watch the sunrise. When we got there, it was completely covered in cloud. Then amazingly (or mysteriously) the clouds disappeared abs revealed the astonishing Machupiccu.
The view was breath-taking. All the hard work, sore calves and poor company was well worth it for that moment.
We hiked the remaining distance to Machupicchu and arrived around 7:30am.
It was nice meeting up with some of the other people from our group who hiked the Laras Trek instead.
We had a guided tour of Machupicchu by David. He was very knowledgable. But I really wanted the free time to find a quiet spot and take it all in.
Unfortunately the rain had a different idea and it was so heavy I had to leave and head to the restaurant for lunch.
Using a toilet with a seat and having soap to wash my hands felt amazing. The food was incredible too, nicely followed down with a glass of wine.
Total hiking on day four was 4km and about two hours hiking.
The whole experience was incredible. But it's something I am happy to say I've done but I don't have the desire to do it again, well not just yet.
David explained how the government are looking to stop tourist walking around Machupicchu as it is slowly sinking. They are considering installing a chair lift for tourist to use.
I feel very blessed knowing I've had the opportunity to walk around this incredible site that many people simply won't be able to.
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