12th Nov – Day 31 Abu Veronica
After getting final supplies, we dashed out to find a place to book into for our return on Leroy´s Birthday, and we found a groovy B&B called Teatro Inka. We were picked up at 2pm to set off to our first camp site; Abu Veronica. It took a few hours to drive to in the minibus, then after a 20 minute walk over a bridge, and up a tight verge we discovered our home for the night..
It was great to get to know our group; an English couple called Hillary and Hamish from Wimbledon, and a Dutch couple Willem and Annelieke from Rotterdam. I was the youngest of our group and we felt our group had a good dynamic.
When we had dinner the cooks did it using a trditional method; This involved building a large fire out side, and once the coals were hot enough they put our dinner in it, then collapsed it. They covered it in wet Straw, a cover was placed ontop of that and a final layer of soil was shoveled ontop. It took half an hour to cook and was a great way to have it prepared. Peru has over 250 types of potato; we were served yukas and a type of sweet potato.
After dinner we got to use the sauna, recommended to open up our lungs. Being in the wilderness surrounded by snow-capped mountains and lush forest, situated next to the river Ubumba that goes all the way deep into the amazon, was pretty amazing. The campsite is called Abu Veronica because the snow capped mountains across the river is called Veronica. It`s hard to find a better word than amazing, but there`s also: special, wonderful and beautiful. They come some way to describing what yourè seeing.
13th Nov – Day 32
Setting off! A wake up call followed by a hot drink in bed was a nice way to ease into the morning. Ready at 7.30am, we went to the rangers office to get our passports stamped and our tickets in.
The challenge of todays walk is 11 km (7 miles). The first half of the day took 5 hours, with a further 2 and a half after lunch. Along the way we stopped off at a few different Inka sights to see and learn about what they were used for.
We saw Piskakuchu, a building once used as an Inka hostel for folk making their way to Machu Picchu, Quanabambam buldings that were used to store food for over 10,000 Inkas at Mavhu Picchu, Willkarakay, a millitary base to control the people coming in and out and Patallaqta, land used for farming. There is now a school in use at Patallaqta and it also gets used as an extreme marathón starting point.
The fastest time from the point all the way to Machu Pichhu (by a local athlete) is 3 hours and 20 minutes. (remember that when we were told this, we were about 3 hours into the trek, on day one of a 4 day trek!) incredible.
Walking through, the vegitation grows much thicker, and the wildlife becomes much more present. Today we saw a few parrots and a green, black long tailed humming bird!
Humming birds look like fairys, FACT. We also started to learn about many different plants and their uses. The orange seed pod in the Tara tree can be used in a tea to heal tonsilitus and the cactus Gignton can heal fever and we also saw the moon flower,.Shamans use it and it can make you hallucinate... If you put too many in your tea you can go blind !! Not very tempting...
The porters are also amazing. They carry such big bags, and most of the time you see them running the trail. The food they manage to make is delicious, and they also pack up and run off to the next spot to get the camp ready and to make the next meal. Our second camp site was at Wayllabamba, a very high up grassy platform, over-looking the valley and the clouds. The peace and the sounds of nature whistle all around.
14th Nov – Say 33 The Dead Womans Pass
Setting off at 7.15 am, we walked two hours to the first rest point. We started the day with maca porridge, fruit and a parsley omelete, it was just what we needed. Just before we set off Leroy decided to pratice his golf swing, with his tribal walking stick. To everyone`s amusèment he swung the stick so hard that it came out of its holster, flying into the air and disappearing into the valley; bloody hilarious! I wish i`d filmed it, as it was definitely worth 250 pounds!
The first section of the walk was four hours uphill, along original Inka path ways to the Warmiwanuska (Dead womans pass) 4215 masl, The reason for its name is because the naturally ocurring rock formation looks like a woman laying down, not because lots of females die here, phew! The final stretch lead us down a steep steppy hill, to our next campsite called Pacaymayu. There was some light rain on the way down, which was fine but it turned really cold. We made a quick decent back to the warm, you seem to spend the day putting layer on and taking layers off, tedious but necessary. Arriving at such a hight was a proud moment. Being in and amongst rolling clouds, you could nearly touch the sun, it was that high up.
In total walking distance 8km (5 miles) up hill. Climbing 1100 meters.
15th Nov – Day 34
Another early start, began with a steep ascent.. We climbed past a few lakes on the way up and we also passed another large one on the way down. Quite a sight when you`re up so high. We also passed some Inka sites and then entered the forest. Ooowwww.....
This section was really magical. There were so many butterflies fluttering around us, all shapes, sizes and colours, and plenty of other flora and fauna. The moss grows here with so many colours, it`s like being on the set of Jurassic Park! The path continued to bend and wind round the mountains.. We even got to walk through two original Inka caves; dark, drippy tunnels of steep joy.
Our lunch stop Phyuupatamarca, was the place above the clouds, it was breath-taking and Leroy even spotted a Hawk. The weather for lunch was windy and rainy and the tent nearly flew away. This only lasted through lunch, so it worked out nicely.
We trekked down further, making our way throught thick vegetaion. We saw more humming birds, the black, the long black tailed, and the red bellied green bodied.. that`s the technical name ¿ We came across some Llamas (not literally), they use them as lawn mowers. Manouvering down the pass, we caught our first sight of Wiñayhuayna. Another impressive Inka site used for agriculture, to aid the growth of plants in high altitude. After some exploring avoiding the over-growth from viper snakes, we made it to our camp site at Wiñayhuayna, our last resting spot before reaching Machu Picchuuuuuuu....!!!
After our final dinner, the porters and chefs came into the tent to say their goodbyes. With an early night due to a horribly early start the next day of 3am, ouch.
16th Nov – Day 35
3am, 3 oclock in the morning, alas tres ala mañana, in la noche. Yes: 3. Pancakes and coffee for breakfast then an excited pack we toddled off to
. . . . . the queue?
We waited for just over an hour in the dark.. a torch party and various languages bounced around the queue, was this a strange rave or the Inka trail? Delia taught us `head, shoulders, knees and toes` in Spanish; cabeza, hombros, rodillas, pies. Getting throught was very exciting; our passports got stamped for the final time and we were off!
As light started to break through, so did a little rain. Getting to the Sun Gate was so funny as the view was fogged over. All that amazing journey for a misty view of wet cloud! Our guide said that this was normal for the time of year and that after a few hours it would clear up.
Continuing on we came to a site - a massive rock. This was a milestone where people travelling from far away could leave an offering to the land, and back in the day, an offering for the Inka King. Between Leroy and I we carried a pouch of coca leaves. A typical gift to leave.
We then came to a second, even more sacred rock of Mother Earth. The Inkas and many people today in South America believe and respect Mother Earth. Many people still come to make ceremonies, and leave blessings at this place. There was one there when we got to the rock and we were invited to join in. We were given 3 coca leaves to make a blessing to whoever or whatever we wanted. We were then given a single leaf to make an intent about one person. The blessing was wrapped up and passed over the group, placing the blessing on our head, our hearts and our base. It was placed inside the rock and burnt.
It was very special to be a part of. One of the reasons this particular rock symbolizes Mother Earth is because of her shape. The Inkas saw sacred important symbols, this included ones that humans represented or shared, so they saw the feminine trianglar shape as Mother Earth.
We made it down the pass, through a mall section of Machu Pichhu to the front gate entrance. It was strange to suddenly be amongst touristc who had taken the train and coach to see Machu Picchu, compared to being with the other trekkers that had taken the time to complete the trail.
It was a slight anti-climax, but once the weather had cleared up and we got onto the site it was stunning to see and we explored the rooms and remains. To measure their buildings they used their hands and bodies. The buildings all lean in as they believed this would make for stronger structures. The same as if you were to stand straight you could easily be pushed over compared to if you stood with a strong stance, legs apart. Using their bodies was the base for all things they made.
After a really interesting download of Inka history, Leroy and I then decided to take the hour and a half walk back up the hill to the Sun Gate to get the view we missed in the morning. To get a clear sunny view of the magic city was well worth it. Our goal had been reached and we had successfully completed the Inka trail.
Once we were satisfied we made our way back down the windy road to civilization, to Aguas Calientes. We celebrated with a great meal beside the rail tracks and a very large beer each. The backpacker`s train took us back to Cusco, it was beautiful and sad to be leaving the mountains. Thinking about the adventure we`d had, what we`d achieved, the difficult moments we`d overcome and feeling very proud. Arriving back at Leroy`s Birthday pad
for a bath and very comfortable bed was the end of our Machu Pichhu adventure.
Mr Browns Birthday began with a great breakfast at Jacks Cafe. Nothing new but the foods just to good, and Leroy is fighting a strrawberry milkshake addiction. His Birthday plans were up in the air, as the Inka Trail Relief Samana Spa day i booked fell through due to the spa turning out to be in building sight conditions, oops. After dashing about town, Leroy and I turnedto google and found a beutiful place called Encantada. A boutique offering a relax package. This turned out to be even better than the original plan, a sweet touch of fate.
Moving to the Spa was fantastic. we checked in to a room with the biggest bed in Peru and enjoyed the day. We went off to the Spa for 3 where we enjoyed a full body massage and facial. The room was filled with tranquil music, insent, flowers and a basket of edible joy. great day finished off with dinner at the hotel, again we had the place the place to ourselves making it fell strangly a little like a honey moon !!!!
So this was a genral week of eating at different interesting places and hostel hopping. We´ve decided that this would be a great time to also organise our next big adventure to the Amazon Jungle. 
