This day and the upcoming couple of days were my main motivation to actually come to Peru – hiking to Machu Pichu on the classic 44km Inca Trail – all the way from Km 82 of the Cuzco / Aguas Calientes train line, culminating at Machu Pichu.

We left Cuzco this morning; after about two hours of driving we arrived in Ollantaytambo – here we were quickly offered Inca Trail Essentials – anything from walking sticks, ponchos, coca leaves, water, sweets to bottle holders.

From here we took the dirt road to get to train kilometer 82 – the official start of the Inca Trail. It was here, that the hike then started – first parallel to the Urubamba river, then after about 5 km away and into the mountains.

So far the hike was pretty easy, nothing steep, nothing too high, just some (more or less) slight ups and downs. For me it was nevertheless a challenging day – my stomach was revolting (the big Inca taking revenge for whatever) – hiking 12 km might sound fair for a day – but it is hard if you constantly have to ensure your underwear remains in its current clean state… – after some Loperamid in the evening it went better..

We made it to the first campsite in the afternoon; everything was prepared and ready: tents set up, cooks working on dinner – even cold drinks were available. After dinner most of us retired into the tents for some good sleep before the next day and Dead Women’s Pass / Warmimanuska.