We had breakfast at the Tunupa Lodge, packed and waited in reception with Ann and Ted to be collected only to receive a message to say that our transport would be late. Finally when it arrived we met the rest of the group, Courtney and Mary-Kate (niece and aunt) and Karen, Peter, Lisa and William (mum, partner, daughter and son), all from the US. We drove a short distance to Piscacucho (km 82) where we met our crew and started our trek of the Inca Trail. We headed west initially and unlike most groups, stayed on the right hand bank of the river near to the railway line. The route was very quiet and we passed numerous ruins including Salapunku. Our guide, Wilfrado, had a real passion for archeology and an impressive amount of knowledge and pride. We stopped for lunch, a hot meal in the mess tent, before continuing on to cross the river at km 88 and soon arrived in our camp at Chamana, a lovely setting on terraces overlooking the valley with the peak of Mt Veronica in the distance. We had the campsite all to ourselves. After sorting out our gear we had drinks and snacks in the mess tent and then spent the next hour or so playing cards with Courtney, Mary-Kate and Ann (we were soon to learn that Courtney, despite only being 16, was a real card shark!). Dinner was very enjoyable and we headed off to our tent feeling very well fed. We're definitely not going to go hungry on this trek.
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| Lisa, Peter, Simon, Diane, Ann, Ted, Courtney, Mary-Kate, William and Karen |
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| The view north |
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| The train making it's way back from Machu Picchu to Cusco |
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| Looking down the valley |
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| The snow capped andean peaks |
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| More peaks |
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| Looking back up the valley |
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| Camp 1 |
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