The Inca Trail to Machu Picchu

After 3 days of altitude acclimatisation in Cusco, it was time to tackle the Inca Trail. Our guide Freddie picked us up from our hotel and we joined our group of 16 to make our way to the start of the trail at a rickety wooden bridge over the Urubamba river. I ran over it, being the namby pamby that I am when it comes to anything high; while Dave posed for a lovely 'start of the trail' photo.
The first day of trekking consisted of 12kms of undulating paths, nothing too strenuous and a nice way to introduce the Camino Inka. It also gave us chance to get to know our fellow trekkers who were a lovely bunch; bar one whining American! We got our first glimpses of the amazing scenery which we would be surrounded by for the next 4 days, as well as a few sups of the local corn brew, Chicha.
We arrived at our campsite for the night and Dave was immediately drafted in to the Chasqui's (Quecha name for the porters) football team. The high altitude soon took its toll on the non-Peruvian members of the team though and substitutes were quickly sought! After a cosy nights sleep in the warmest sleeping bags I've ever known, we enjoyed a spectacular open-air breakfast looking out onto a glacier - very special!
We were on the trail by 7am and immediately climbing towards the highest point on the trail, Dead Woman's pass. Passing through beautiful cloud forest and stopping occasionally to admire the ever increasing distance down below dulled the pain of the constant climb.
The group reconvened for a 'second breakfast' at Llulluchapampa, already at an altitude of 3680m and then with renewed energy set off to conquer the highest pass of our 4 day trek. 600 metres higher and an hour and a half later we staggered to the top (sorry I staggered, Dave skipped). Feeling elated, but sweaty we took the obligatory photographs, congratulated each other and then cheered our fellow group members up the last few steps of the path. Once we were all at the top our guide produced a bottle of Rum with which to thank Pachu Mama (Mother Earth), we all toasted her and each other and generally felt rather pleased with ourselves.
The good news was that the rest of the day was down hill and we reached our 2nd campsite to the cheers of our team of chasquis, who had been waiting for us for the past few hours; what amazing men they are!
The next morning was wet and murky as we climbed the last pass of our trek, Abra de Runkuracay, a breeze at a mere 4000m! Yesterday's rum sacrifice to Pachu Mama paid off though and the weather cleared as we descended steeply towards the ruins of Sayacmarca which means 'inaccessible town'. For 'inaccessible' read 'nasty, breakneck stone staircase'. I overcame my wussy nature and climbed up to the ruins surrounded on 3 sides by sheer cliffs and was rewarded with fantastic views over the valley below.
After lunch some kind of madness descended in to the group and 3 of the men accepted the offer of taking a Chasqui load instead of their own relatively puny backpacks. Dave was one of these madmen and proceeded to carry 25kg for the next hour, through the impressive Inca tunnel, carved in to the rock and up to the next pass at a height of 3700m. A major Inca trail incident was narrowly averted as a 6'3" Englishman was wedged in to the Inca tunnel with a heavier than normal load, creating a blockage and a backlog of several hundred trekkers! As you can see below Paulino, who normally carries this load, isn't quite as tall as Mr Temple!
After that excitement it was time to make our descent of the 'gringo killer'. A sequence of around 2000 steps which have a reputation for turning the knees to mush. Our patellas survived and we were rewarded with awe- inspiring, camera-twitching views around every corner.
We reached our last campsite and enjoyed a couple of celebratory beers and another excellent meal prepared by our genius cook. He even managed to conjure up a cake for our last night on the trail.

Day 4 was an early start at 4am to ensure that we would be some of the first people up to the Sun Gate, which would afford us our first view of Macchu Picchu. The last obstacle between us and our goal were a set of 50 'monkey steps' which we scrambled up, elbowing slower people out our way as we climbed (not really!) And then there it was, a glorious sight down below us, Macchu Picchu!
A fantastic feeling to be looking down on to the 'Lost City of the Incas' after 4 days of trekking.
We descended into Macchu Picchu itself, where our brilliant guide, Freddie gave us a tour of the ruins which really bought the place alive.
Dave and another member of our group, Paul then managed to gain places to climb Waynapicchu, which is the mountain you see in the background of all Macchu Picchu pictures. These two suckers for punishment raced up this steep and slippery climb in 30 minutes.
On our return to the town of Agua Calientes, below Macchu Picchu, they rewarded themselves with a fat and juicy (!?) cuy. With not enough meat on the poor Guinea pig's bones to feed a small child it did provide plenty of amusement and a whole array of distasteful photographs.
An amazing 4 days was bought to an end with a train journey and a wet bus ride back to Cusco; where we waved goodbye to new found friends to embark on the next leg of our journey.

Into Peru

After just one night in Guayquil, we set off on the 26 hour bus journey down to Lima, Peru. Leaving behind the green hills of Ecuador, we passed in to the desert landscape of Peru, until we reached Lima the next afternoon.
We opted to stay in Miraflores, an upscale district of Lima and enjoyed the parks, beaches and just a little bit of shopping.
After two nights in Lima we jumped back on to an overnight bus and travelled further south to the city of Arequipa, which lies in the Andes mountains at an altitude of 2380 metres.
We arrived in the city for breakfast and spent the rest of the day exploring our beautiful surroundings in 'The White City'; named after the white volcanic rock many of its colonial buildings are made from.
The next day we ventured further afield and into the area surrounding Arequipa; visiting colonial churches and houses,
viewpoints of the three Arequipan volcanoes and a Llama farm.
It was soon time to move onwards and upwards to Cusco to give us time to acclimatise in preparation for our Inca trail trek. We huffed and puffed our way around the city for a couple of days, because at 3300 metres any hill seems like a mountain. Cusco is another stunning place and we spent our time enjoying its attractions. We chilled out in the sun in the Plaza de Armas,visited the local market and hung out with a cool Peruvian bloke.
To wet our appetite for the delights of the Inca trail we also visited some of the Inca ruins nearer to Cusco, including Sacsayhuaman a walled Inca complex high above Cusco.
If you think Stone Henge is impressive this place would blow your mind; perfect engineering to fit these huge stones together so closely that you couldn't fit a pin between them.
The view over the city wasn't bad from up here either.
A few more strangely named temples later and it was time to return to the city for a final carb-loading meal and a good nights sleep in preparation for our 4 day trek on the Inca trail to Machu Picchu.

The Galapagos - Day 8

Our last morning in The Galapagos on South Plaza Island before a short sail back to port and a flight to Guayaquil.

Land Iguana

...and another - there were lots and I like them!

A Short Eared Owl - with remains of breakfast on it's chest

Our last Sea Lion pup

The Galapagos - Day 7

Two islands on our last full day, Bartolome and Sombrero Chino. Woke early to catch a gorgeous sunrise.

Sunrise over Bartolome

Even sea lions are grumpy in the morning

Panorama of Bartolome

Hello!

Who said penguins can't fly?

Humboldt penguins

Blue Heron and chum

Night Heron

Coast line of Sombrero Chino

A new species of Sea Lion or is it a Manatee?

Our last sunset over Galapagos

"Happy Travels"

The farewell cake from the crew!

The Galapagos - Day 6

Two islands today with completely different landscapes. The first, Rabida, has red sandy beaches. The red colour is a result of iron in the rock that has oxidised. The second, James Island (or Santiago), has black sandy beaches and a harsh black volcanic rocky shores.

Obligatory sea lion pup

Encantada

Pac-man - either that or it's just a cactus and I've spent too long on a boat

Red rock of Rabida

Black rocky shore of James' Island

Male marine iguanas

Oyster Catcher - can be seen a lot in the UK but not this close

Saw faces in everything today

Amazing eroded landscape

A fur seal - once on the verge of extinction