Entry 6: Cuzco, Olletetambo, Maccu Picu

Hello everyone.

This week was possibly the best yet as it was Inca Trail and Maccu Picu week.

It all began, as most weeks do on Monday (I know technically Sunday is the first day of the week, but no one actually think´s that´s true) when I left Cuzco and headed toward Olletetambo, where I was staying at the house of a lady called Doris.

From here I began the trek on Tuesday morning in bright sunshine. The walk to Maccu Picu was 36km, which was broken down into 3 walking days and 1 day at the site itself.

I was told that day 1 was the easy day, which was lucky, as at the end of the day I was to play in a game of football against the porters who carry our bags, tents, food, cooking equipment and themselves along the trail. This proved to be a fruitless activity, with the gringo team taking various hammerings. I have used various excuses when defending our performance, ranging from the fact we were 3600 metres above sea level, the pitch being comparable to a building site and the fact that Ally got injured after falling and grazing his knee, which affected the balance of our team. If Alex Ferguson happens to be reading then please feel free to use any of these excuses in future.

Day 2 was the tough day as it was mostly uphill. We were told that it didn´t matter how quickly you finished, as it was more important that you completed the trek in one piece. Being a man I ignored all that and spent most of the day pushing myself in the hope I might be the first into camp that evening. In the end Ally, Ebony and myself reached the camp equal first.

Day 3 began rather badly for me. Regular readers may have noticed that so far I have made no reference to my health, a reoccuring topic of discussion here on ímgladitsmeandnotyou´. Well, Thursday was my ill day for this week, after I was sick outside my tent after waking up. At first I put it down to altitude, but now think it was a stomach bug, as lots of fellow travellers have also been hit by it over the last few days. This meant that day 3 was a slow and rather annoying day for me, as I stopped regulary for what could be described as comfort breaks.

The chap in the cap and scarf was the most important man of the week, the chef. Bayo was a miracle worker, providing me and about 60 other people with 3 meals a day, 2 of which were 3 courses. This is made even more impressive by the fact he has to build his own kitchen before making each meal; a kitchen that he and various others have carried all along the route. I take my hat off to this man as every meal was fantastic. Bayo is also quite a good footballer. Sadly we did not know he was the chef until after our game, otherwise we might have made life easier for him....well, a little easier than we did anyway.

Day 4 began at 4am to ensure that we arrived at Maccu Picu before lots of other tourists. I tried to take the day in, but much of it now seems like a daze. For anyone thinking about visiting Maccu Picu I have one suggestion: Stop thinking about it and do it!

A few observations:

Porters on the Inca Trail are possibly the hardest working people on earth. They carry 25kg the whole 36km. In addition they have to do it as quickly as possible, to ensure that they arrive at each site before the tourists to put their tents up for them. They then cook for you, wake you up in the morning with a cup of tea and even applaud you into your campsite upon arrival every afternoon.

And just when I thought the week couldn´t get any better what happens? Villa win! What a week.

Right, that´s me done for another week.

Ciao.

Entry 5: Nazca, Puerto Inca, Colca Canyon, Arequipa, Cuzco

Ola (that´s Spanish for howdo).

I hope all is well. I am still having a great time, despite the fact Villa lost today....I´ll try not to let it spoil my travels too much. On the plus side England looked pretty good again on Wednesday. Who´d have thought Heskey would be pushing for a place in the first 11 again. On the goal front I am still enjoying repeat viewings of Adebayor´s strike yesterday, that´ll be knocking about come goal of the season I would think. Right, thats the football done with.

I´m currently in Cuzco, preparing to embark on the Inca Trail and Maccu Picu over next few days. Last night I went to the highest Irish pub in the world (so it claims anyway) and got rather merry, so I have been wandering the streets today looking a little on the shabby side.

During the week I visited one of the biggest canyons in the world, the Colca Canyon, which is bigger than the Grand Canyon. Saw some Condors there too, which was nice. I also spent a little time relaxing in a spa, which provided me with the perfect opportunity to show off my farmers tan (brown arms and pale body for anyone not familiar with the term).

On the health front I´m glad to annouce that I am finally passing solids again. I doubt many of you really want to hear that, but for me it has been one of the highlights of the week.

Another highlight was Sandboarding, which was fantastic. Rather than standing up I decided to go head first, discovering a technique for gaining speed in the process, which nearly ended with me overshooting the sand dune and landing straight on another one.

Further good news is that all the hours I spent playing table football at work have paid off, as I thrashed a fellow traveller, Ally, 7-0 and 7-1.

On Monday we went for a flight in the Peruvian desert to look at a number of drawings carved into the surface of the ground. Our pilot found it hilarious to drop suddenly, then pull up again to give the sensation that we were on a roller coaster. I also found it funny, until I began to feel sick, at which point I think he realised that it might be worth stopping, otherwise he would spend the rest of the day cleaning the inside of his plane. Sadly the photos haven´t come out particularly well, so I have added one of me, with my aviators on, next to the plane. Top Gun eat your heart out!

This photo is of me in the throne of an Inca king. He would sit on it and survey his land. It was a rather snug fit, but a cushion would have been nice.

I´ve just realised I do not seem to have a photo of me in my panama hat so cannot deliver the promised image. Never fear, I will make sure that I have one for my next update. I did get a few of me ice climbing though. By the time I was half way up the ice I am told that I was higher than Everst base camp.

Probably the best photo taken so far is this badboy though. Me with the World Cup. Sadly it is only a replica, taken in the football pub in Lima.

More observations:

If you think the roads in Derby are bad dad you should get yourself to Huaraz. I was walking along one day when suddenly noticed a huge hole in the middle of the road. I investigated to find that this hole went straight into the sewer system. It made Ladybank Road potholes look like small scratches.

Right I´m off. Hopefully my South African friend won´t have realised that South Arica have beaten England in another sport today and I might get an evening without ribbing.

See you later

Entry 4: Banos, Cuenca, Mancora, Huanchaco, Huaraz, Lima

Alright Dudes.

Apologies for not having updated for so long.

Well plenty has happened as you might imagine. I am currently in Peru, where I have just watched England win 3-0 in a pub dedicated to football. I have some photos, but annoyingly can´t find my cable to upload them onto the internet, so you will have to wait for them until next time.

My time in Lima has been spent relaxing after a fairly tough few days in Huaraz. On Tuesday I went for what was sold to me as a "small walk", but turned out to be a crash course in mountaineering as we climbed to 4,500 metres above sea level. Catching your breath at that altitude really is a mission in itself. The next day I went ice climbing, this time reaching 5,450 metres above sea level. I can honestly say it was one of the toughest days of my life, and was not helped by the fact that I got altitude sickness at the top.

In addition to altitude sickness, over the last week or so diarrhaea has been a constant companion, which has made life particualrly interesting, especially on 9 hour bus rides. I have had to introduce a ´No Farting´ rule, which I am adearing to at all times.

My discomfort was eased slightly last weekend after seeing Villa´s 2-0 win over Chelsea. I also had the displeasure of watching Liverpool trounce Derby too though and can safely say that no matter how bad I felt at the time, Billy Davies must have been feeling 10 times worse. If anyone see´s Andy Todd around Derby over the next few weeks would someone please chin him for me. Thanks.

Before arriving in Huaraz I had spent a few days in Huanchaco, where I went to see a number of inca ruins in a town called Sipan.

This had followed a period of sunning myself in a nice Peruvian resort called Mancora. Whilst their I took a surfing lesson and stood up on the board 3 times, which in my eyes makes me a surfer now, so I will be greeting most people with the word "dude" from now on.

Before leaving Ecuador I did manage to get myself to the shop/museum where they make Panama hats, and I am now the proud owner of a Panama hat. Again I will provide photographic evidence on the next update.

If I remember rightly the last time I left you I was just about to go canyoning. This was fantastic, and was followed the next day by a mountain bike ride that exhausted and exhilarated in equal measure. After spending 3-4 hours climbing a mountain, i then proceeded to spend the next 20 minutes descending.

I think that should bring me up to date.

As I don´t have any photos I have uploaded a map showing you all where I have been and where I am going.

A few observations:

The concept of queing seems alien to most South Americans, who prefer to just push right to the front.

Ecuadorian drivers are truly mental and seem to enjoy overtaking on blind bends.

Adios

Vinny