And so on Christmas morning 2010 in the Peruvian mountains with a sky of cloud, mist and rain I lived out one of my lifelong dreams – to visit Machu Picchu. This part of the trail was by far the best. Simply because it was the last part, or as it has been so eloquently…
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Dave and I walked most of this bit together, from the Winay Wayna Guard Post to Intipunku. I don’t remember much of it, other than there were a few gentle climbs and generally everyone just wanted to speed onwards. Indeed I don’t remember stopping even for a water break until we reached Intipunku. The reason…
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It wasn’t the earliest Christmas Day rise I’ve ever had, but it was one of the coldest and most sublime. It was 5 am at Winay Wayna, Peru. Christmas Morning Breakfast was served in the darkness. I had packed already and was basically ready for my food then the walk… Maria and Damian were already…
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Everyone was in high spirits at Winay Wayna. Our Inca Trail group had really bonded well. This was the party the night before the point of the exercise. While we knocked back the ice cold Cusquenas, talk diverted itself to the Inca Ruins of Machu Picchu. I was surprised to be the only one in…
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After the highs of seeing the impressive Intipata and the tremendous views into the valleys, it was onwards on that happy walk to the finish line for the end of the third day. And there wasn’t far to go. I lost Roberta on this part of the trail, and all of the others as I…
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Intipata was a turning point. Or better still, a point of elation. Add to that some astounding Inca Ruins, the best view so far on the Inca Trail and the fact that we were just 30 minutes walk from our campsite for the night. Oh and I forgot to mention, it was Christmas Eve, I…
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Often called “The Gringo Killer” this part of the entire 4 day hike was the bit I found the hardest. Probably more a fatigue thing than the actual tough terrain, as it was mostly downhill and in spirals. But we had all been awake since 5 am, and it was now after 4pm. 12 hours…
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It was 3pm on the third day of the Inca Trail when we arrived at Phuyu Pata Marka, the highest stop point of today’s part of the Inca Trail (though we had been higher just 30 minutes earlier but without Inca Ruins to stop at). As far as I can recall, this was the longest…
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It has forever confused me as to what people mean when they say “old town” and “new town” about the same town – almost as if they are dividing a city into two parts based solely on age. I don’t do it with football shirts or girlfriends, it feels a bit odd to do it…
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The very words “Finn McCool’s Irish Pub” will linger forever in my own memory and those of 5 other Northern Ireland fans. The reason being that back in 2005 we launched the glamorous and innovative South of England Northern Ireland Supporters Club in a bar of that very name in the seaside town of Weymouth…
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