We were up and ready for action by 4.30, ate breakfast and were queuing (?!) for the bus up to Machu Picchu by 5.15, in the hopes of seeing the sunrise. We took a hairraising bus journey up to the citadel, arrived by 6.30, queued again, showed our tickets (mine said I was called Alison Afhburme and was a 61 year old male, but they still let me in) and went up to a good vantage point. Unfortunately it was too cloudy to see the sun come up, but it was an absolutely magical view even so.
We spent the next 6 hours touring round the site, being amazed by the incredible views, finding out about the different buildings and the cleverly carved and aligned rocks, trying to get closer to / stay away from the sheer drops at the edge and watching a new born llama trying to learn how to walk. Thankfully the guide (Carlos) spoke much better English than the lovely Bernie and was also quite cute (Emma isn't so sure...Bernie is the only man for her). Neil (Doherty sibling)'s hat starred in a number of photos.
Could hardly believe we were really actually at Machu Picchu - it seems like such a far away exotic place and there it was, looking just like on the telly, with towering pointy mountains and gravity defying terraces.
After we came back down to Aguas Calientes we had a leisurely lunch, were serenaded by a nice Peruvian band including panpipes (until they had to pack up because a sudden shower was threatening their electrical gear), got stung for a 20% service charge on our dinner and spent the rest of the afternoon drinking mojitos in the thermal baths. Hard life.
After a 2 hour train journey + a "2 hour" bus journey (about 3 hours, freezing and listening to loud peruvian pop music) back up to Cusco, we had originally planned a wee visit to Paddy's Bar (no really!) for a nightcap but by the time we arrived at midnight the call of our nests was much stronger.
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