All of a sudden we feel like we really have got leg muscles; our calves ache and our knees crack as we bend them - the result of two fabulous days down the Sacred Valley, and more specifically UP Machu Picchu. We left Cusco to do the Royal Inca Trail (because it sounded more swish than the average Inca trail, and of course, it was two days shorter and cut out all the horrible v. high and difficult passes). We caught the train to Km 104 in a slight panic as our agency was not guaranteeing our return ticket to base, but were reassured when we met our guide Javier who said that we would not have to walk all the way back to Cusco. Sigh of relief. Views of the Urubamba river from above and the snow-capped peaks from below are beyond words. We were even orchid-spotting on the way up, possibly as an excuse to have a breather! The ruins and terraces were grand, as was the evening spent at Wyna Wayna on triple decker beds in a room shared with other 30 people. Feeling like cattle, we got up at 4.45, thanks to someone else's guide who woke us up, as our Javier was probably feeling the effects of gringo salsa. So up we went, one long line of legs, right to the Puerta del Sol, from where we caught our first glimpse of MACHU PICCHU. The photos says the rest! After going through the ruins we decided to climb the peak behind the site, the one also on the picture, which is probably why our legs feel so bad today! That was followed by a leathal walk down thousands of steps to the little town of Aguas Caliente.
All good, very good in fact, until we got on a bus to come from Cusco to Nasca. Theoretically a nice 13 hour night ride, on a bed-coach. But NO. and that comes to no surprise to any of you... it took us many more hours to get here as we spent much of the night moving boulders from the road and trying to get round the vicuna and llama strikes - i.e. campesinos sitting along the side of the road throwing the rocks back on. Happiness.
Machu Picchu - the one everyone has!
View from Wyna Wayna including us and Yanir - an upside down condor, we were told...
The two of us after the treck.
Our campesino friends on their llama strike.