Lost city trek Day 5 + must have items

Found that I'd picked up a shitload of ticks on the return journey the previous day, and I was still cleaning them off on the morning of the 5th day despite a good session of "washing" under the powerhose of a waterfall. Little bastards got literally EVERYWHERE.

Well today was seriously downhill despite a few uphill sections, but I was thankful we had gotten as much covered on the 4th day as we did as the 5th day wasn't necessarily easy in the baking sun (this is the same section as the first day and is fully exposed to the sun as we've now left the rainforest behind).

Getting back to the basecamp, we chugged back a few beers but to be honest I was so wrecked that immediate sleep was on the cards. Walking 44km (22km each way) does that to a man.

Bloody fantastic trip and I highly recommend it to anyone who doesn't mind getting a bit smelly for a few days. It's a virtually untouched part of the world and no doubt one day it will be overrun with trekkers in the way Machu Picchu is, and they will build special "tourist-friendly" concrete stairs with railings to run alongside the original ones (although I doubt they will build a railway line up as was done in Peru, but you never know) so try to see it before it's ruined by tourism!

If you want to make it as comfortable as possible, here are a few must-have items that I found I couldn't do without on the trek:

• Ear plugs - There Will be Snoring
• Enough dry socks and BREATHABLE T Shirts for each day - There Will be Wetness (unless you don't mind wearing clothes that stink of cheese)
• Baby wipes - There Will be no Soap plus there are many "orange" eating stops so this helps avoid getting yer camera all sticky
• Long sleeve shirts and long pants - There Will be Mozzies (at night mainly)
  
• Waterproof sandals with good support - There Will be Submergin'
• Boardshorts - I reckon you don't need any other shorts... I took 2 pairs, but the boardshorts were all I really needed

And finally: It's recommended to take a fleece, but to be honest the temperature rarely drops below 15C at night, and they give you blankets anyway, but if you do get cold, just wear several tshirts at once. Problem solved!