We booked the inca trail through Peru Treks as we'd heard that they treat their porters well and pay them fairly. I didn't want to book with a company who didn't care about the porters welfare. I'd done a lot of research about different companies by reading forums and reviews. I came across a website called andeantravel web. net which recommends all of the authorized companies to sell inca trail permits and which companies they can recommend. So I checked through some companies and after reading loads of positive reviews, I decided to book our trip through Peru Treks. To get on the inca trail for the dates you want, you need to book months ahead. We wanted to trek it for my birthday, so to ensure I got the dates, we booked it back in February.

We had to visit the Peru Treks office a few days before we were due to start the trek . We had to pay the final balance and they would go through the itinerary with us. We met a few of the people who we thought would be in our group while we were in their office. We told them which hostel we were staying in; Samay Wasi Hostel so that they could pick us up on the morning of the trek.

They arranged to pick us up between 5.30 and 6am so we got up early and the kind ladies at the hostel made us some breakfast. We had some cocoa leaves in our tea to help prevent altitude sickness and some bread. Just as we were eating our breakfast, the doorbell rang and the guys from Peru Treks were here early. We gathered our things and set off with them. We left our big rucksacks at the hostel and just took our small bags with us. We've hired porters to carry our sleeping bags and mats. They can also carry up to 6kg of our stuff, so we'll have a bit of space to put some of our things in.

We got onto the coach and we were the first ones on, so they had to pick everyone else up . We drove through the whole of Cusco picking the rest of our group up. We hadn't noticed either of the couples we'd met in the Peru Treks office and we were a group of 16. Perhaps there was another group of 16, and both of them were in that group. Once we had picked everyone up, we carried on driving, it's about 2-3 hour drive from Cusco, but we got to stop for breakfast in Olantaytambo before we arrive. Once we got out of Cusco, the scenery was stunning mountain ranges and snow capped peaks. Shame we were a little tired to take it all in. When we reached Olantaytambo, we all got off the coach to have breakfast.

We went to a little restaurant where the breakfast was all laid out for us. The table was set for everyone, so the group sat together. This is where everyone introduced themselves and we could all find out about each other. Our group was a mixed bunch of people from various countries, ranging from early 20s to 50s. Everyone seemed very friendly and I was pleased we have a really nice group of people. We stayed here chatting for a while and then we set off on the bus again to get to the start of the trail. Once we got back on the bus, one of the guides introduced himself, he was called Ernesto. The only way I could make myself remember his name is by telling myself that he has the same name as Che Guevara as in Ernesto. He seemed nice enough so hopefully the trek will go well.

We carried driving for another hour or so and and finally reached our destination . We stopped to unload all our things from the bus and we had to wait for the porters to arrive so they could carry our stuff. We put everything on plastic mats so the porters could load up their things. The section where you start the inca trail looked a little different to what I was expecting, but then things always do. We waited for a while and put on some sun cream, as the sun was red hot. It's going to be hard trekking in all this heat today.

Camino Inka Inka

Once the porters arrived, we set off to hike the inca trail. I couldn't actually believe I was here doing it, as it's been a life long ambition to complete it, and now here I am about to take up the challenge. I just hope I am able to complete it, because it's quite a tough trek. I should have done a lot more training than I did before I left from home. We started the trail and stood next to the Camino Inca Inca sign, so we all got a group photo next to it. The guides kindly took pictures with everyone's cameras . We also got to meet our lead guide, his name was Elistan, which was quite difficult to remember. He gave us a briefing and made everyone introduce themselves which was good, gave a chance for everyone to get to know each other. After this, we had to go to the checkpoint and get our entry tickets, we also had to get them stamped. This meant we are able to get a passport stamp for each day of the inca trail, which is a pretty cool set of stamps to get! Once we were all stamped, we set off to hike the trail.

The Inca Trail

We passed some really cute donkeys, then we started to climb the first hill, which was a challenge in this heat. The guide told us that the first day is easy compared to the rest, so I was a bit worried that the next few days were going to be difficult. The scenery was going to be worth it though. We walked past a river and some nice terraces and also caught a glimpse of the Hiram Bingham train to Machu Picchu which is about $400 dollars each way! We will just catch the Peru Rail train back . We carried on walking and past a few local villages. Some were selling snacks and drinks and we stopped to get drinks at one, but they were so expensive we didn't want to buy too much from there. It was such a lovely day, but the heat was so intense. We all carried on walking up the trail and I was just taking it slowly. We chatted to the guide Elistan for a while to ask him questions about the trek and the porters. He told us our first checkpoint was for lunch, so that was something to motivate me.

We arrived for lunch in a small village. The porters had gone ahead of us to set up the tents and get lunch ready. When we arrived there were loads of farm animals, including hens, chicks, pigs and plenty of dogs. We were directed in by one of the porters and they prepared some warm water and soap so we could wash our hands. Inside the tent there was a fully dressed table all set up nicely ready for 3 courses of food. We all sat to dine and they served us a cold drink which was really appreciated . Then they brought out nachos and homemade guacamole, which was lovely. Afterwards we had a soup and a main course. The food was really good and I was impressed.

After lunch we left so the porters could pack the stuff away. It's impressive that the porters can carry so much, some carry the whole of the cooking equipment, the tents, litres of water and it can weigh up to 50kg. It's crazy to see them wizzing past us on the trails, when they are carrying so much stuff, and I'm struggling with my little rucksack! We carried on walking on what seemed some flatter trails, much to my delight. I could finally appreciate some of the scenery. We approached some Inca terraces which were small but impressive, but there were better ones to come. As it's a short day today, we should be arriving in camp soon.

We must have walked for around for about 5 hours today until we made it to our campsite. We saw the porters setting up the tents for us. It was 2 people per tent so John and I grabbed a tent and made our sleeping bags up. Everyone was tired so people rested for a few hours before dinner was ready. Some people did go and see some other ruins, but we didn't bother. We got called for dinner so all went into the tent, everything was laid our for at least 2 or 3 courses. We had some kind of soup dish for starters again, they love soup here. We had a feast for dinner, they brought out all kinds of food. We could hardly eat everything, but had a good go at it. After dinner they served us herbal tea and hot chocolate, so I had a nice powdered hot chocolate. By the time everyone finished dinner it was around 8pm and was getting late, so everyone went to their own tents. We just looked at the pictures we took of the day and then went to bed. We had to be up early at around 5am.