Kilometre 82

After a 4am wake-up call and long bus trip over the mountain ranges, we made our way (again) down into the Urubamba Valley to the picturesque town of Ollantaytambo, where we explored yesterday. Here we had a chance to have breakfast, coffee, use the last flushing toilets we'd see in a while and buy any last minute goodies for the trek. From the cafe we could gaze upon the massive Inca fortifications we visited yesterday that tower over the town.

It was then back in the bus to continue our journey to Kilometre 82 - the starting point of our trek. Today is considered a relatively easy hike past the ancient hilltop fort of Huillca Raccay and the beautiful archaeological site of Llactapata. Along the way there are stunning views of snow-capped Veronica Peak (5860m). We stopped for lunch, and were immediately impressed by the highly regarded and much talked about service of the porters. We arrived to individual bowls of water and soap, were given a refreshing drink and promptly served a three course meal - which was delicious!

We continued on our journey and reached our first camp just past the village of Wayllabamba. We had our own campsite, and after ditching our shoes and freshening up, we posed for this photo, commemorating surviving Day 1. We also received some visits from the farm animals who lived close by - namely a funny little pig who thought he was a dog! He was more than happy to roll over for some belly rubs when I bent down to say hello. The porters were very amused with our fascination with him.

After playing some cards and enjoying another amazing three course meal, it was off to bed to get some sleep and prepare for the infamous Day 2 portion of the trek!