Forget London Fashion Week. Peru Rail is the new black, darling...

Picture the scene... you´ve spent the whole day trekking up mountains. You´re dressed head to toe in smelly trekking gear, covered in dry sweat and dust. You´re sitting in a very comfortable seat on a train which is gently rocking and sending you into a sweet slumber. Then suddenly all hell breaks loose. Noise! Thumping electro is played through the train carriage and then the very people who were being so nice to you by serving you food and drinks on your luxury train are storming down the aisle wearing ponchos made from baby Alpaca, fishing for smiles and applause from the captive audience. This, reader, is the most bizzare fashion show on Earth.

Some marketing director with a sense of humour one day decided that the best way to sell clothes to tourists on their train would be to host a fashion show in mid transit. The poor train staff were made to wear cardigans with llama patterns on them and parade them around carriages to a soundtrack from a bad European rave.

We cowered in our seats. Trapped. We couldn´t look away for fear of appearing rude to the staff who were putting so much effort to endure their pain. But by looking, we were sanctioning this bizarre sales pitch.

If ever you find yourself on the train to Machu Picchu, I urge you to save yourself the embarassment of watching this spectacle by packing earplugs and an eyemask. As soon as you hear the first beat of anything that sounds ravey, block your sense of hearing and sight with them and pretend you´re asleep. You´ll be thanking me for this advice when you reach Cuzco.

The arrival of the mothers and up to Machu Picchu

Our mothers finally made it to Cusco in one piece last Monday morning. We showed them the sights of the town, and were up bright and early the following morning to catch our Agatha Christie style train to Aguas Callientes ready for our trip to Machu Picchu. The train was amazing - a three hour journey through the Inca Valley, with some pretty amazing scenery. We had breakfast served in a very precise and elaborate fashion, and gazed out the window contentedly.

Arrived in Aguas Callientes (literally translated means ´hot water´ because of the thermal springs there) to bright sunshine and settled into our hotel. Aguas Callientes is described by Lonely Planet as being the ´ugliest most over priced small town in Peru´ which we don´t think is strictly fair. It´s overpriced for sure and very touristy, but is nestled between giant steaming jungle covered hills, and you can´t go too wrong with a backdrop like that.

The next day we were up at 5am. Adrian and I put our lazy mothers on the bus, and set off up Machu Picchu. We got up there in 50 minutes and met them at the top. It´s a crazy amazing place up there, definitely worthy of a photo or two! There was also a Bollywood movie being filmed while we were up there, with extras in heavy make-up and feathery costumes running around all over the place.

Adrian and I also clambered up neighbouring Huayna Picchu for the best view of MP, and were very proud of ourselves when we realised we´d made the steep climb in just under 30 minutes. We must be fitter than we thought!