THE INCA TRAIL TO MACHU PICHU
Some of the first sights at the bottom of the inca trail! started off with a gentle 5hrs a day trekking which was made easier by the chewing of the coca leaves. the alttitude didnt seem to be much of a problem for most and we had smiling faces the whole way through even though it was the hardest thing most of us have done in our lifetimes! You can see our happy faces and dealings of the leaves below, i must admit i got used to the taste by the end, much like chewing a tea bag though! numbs the side of your mouth and makes smiling for photos very hard!
PS the stuff on my cheeks is the ink from the berries at the end of the plants, my tribal marks! Wasnt actually that dirty right then! Dirt was definitely still to come!
Ian and Hayley breaking out the fake coca smile
OUr awesome inca team - only half the group got to do the classic inca trail, the best onw we findo out at the end, spot the two Peruvians - our guide Gerson in the top row and assistant guide Ricardo down with me. BOth very cool and Gerson was another fine example of local guides with heaps of knowledge and passion for his culture and was heaps of fun!
Me and Lou at the Sungate - the final uphill climb before arriving at Machu Pichu, we started our trekking so early in the morning it was dark enough to need torches!
At top of dead womens pass! wow wa that a challenge but me and Sam were up there in record time despite the altitude and millions of steps! You can see the view of the other side of the mountain with me and Jack. Absolutely freezing after waiting there fo r too long especially being drenched in sweat after the massive climb. THat day we trekked for6- 8 hours, depending on how quick our trekking was, of course you can guess that the kiwi of the group needed the lesser hours! they call me mountain goat women : )
The inca ruins were awesome, terraces and strage and housing mostly but the most impressive parts were the views from the places which they were situated and coming over the top of a mountain to see the ruins just sitting there untouched in the mountainsides.
Finally at Machu Pichu, everyone so proud of themselves for completing the third day of treking
. A tiny 4-5 hours. Like Gerson says it was just walk in the park compared to other days but being the end of alot of days of hard work we were all cream crackered. ( hee hee picking up conçckney slang as the group was teaching our guide) dont worry i taught him some Maori to add to his Kia Ora Bro.
Pictures certainly dont do this trip justice! Most amazing experience of my life i tell you! The prters were amazing - we got our camping gear run up befroe us, served tea in our tents before getting out into the cold in the morning. our tents put up and packed away, our water bottles filled aeach morning and the most lavish breakfasts, lunches, teas and dinners that you could imagine. not to mention the birthday cakes cooked without an oven! We ate in communal tents around our trusty wobbly table and played card horse racing - hee hee introduced it to the team and they loved it even though we werent drinkin! Maybethose coca leaves had some extra vitamins that we didnt know about! Now back to our normal trip we are all the saddest things ever! Gutted i didnt take more photos ofour camp sites and the inclines of what we walked down and up - there was some serious muscle tonage going on , i can tell you that much!
