Well this is the second time I'm writing this blog as the computer crashed just as I finished the first one...

We had mixed feelings about our Machu Picchu experience. We tried to book an Inca Trail months back but places are limited to 500 a day and its peak season and we ended up just missing out. But the company we'd tried to book with already had our substantial deposits and offered to transfer them to a different tour. We still wanted to see Machu Picchu so, being limited on time, we decided to do the two day train tour.

They picked us early in the morning and took us to board the tourist train to Aguas Calientes AKA Machu Picchu pueblo. Theres a cheaper local train but foreigners aren't allowed on. The train was freezing and painfully slow due to engine trouble and countless switchbacks. We were sitting with a Mancunian couple who were doing the same tour as us. Whe the train finally got there we headed to the hostel, had a nap, some lunch, a little wander round town, and then headed to the local thermal baths for a few hours of relaxing open air soaking til we looked like prunes. The town is touristville but theres not much to do so it was an early night for us in preperation for the next day.

Our guide was really crap. He turned up at 5.45am (5 mins later than the latest he'd promised to be there). We walked down to where the first few buses to Machu Picchu were preparing to depart. Then he announced he needed the loo and disappeared for about 10 mins. Finally he reappeared and faffed around buying a bus ticket. When we finally got up to the entrance, there was a vast number of annoying tourists already queyeing. All he had to say was 'Wow! Thats the biggest queue I've ever seen!' oh cheers mate. When we finally got inside he went about very slowly not telling or showing us much at all. It was a real disappointment for a place about which theres so much to say. We didn't learn much. He talked a bit about Machu Picchu's discovery, first by a peruvian bloke then much later by the american who most people credit with it. He told us that only important people lived there and vaguely showed us the farming terraces, the main square and the four temples of the elements: the temple of the sun, of the wind, of pachamama, and of the water. We heard bits of other people's tours who were actually getting information about what we were seeing. It felt like a bit of a disappointment. The place was swarming with tourists, lots of Americans saying stupid things.

By the time he finally let us go, there was a queue at the entrance to Wayna Picchu (the mountain you see in this, and most pictures). The climb is limited to 400 people a day who are let through in two seperate time slots. We were behind a group of 6 or so that were then joined by three of their friends (who pushed in). We wouldn't of minded but just as we got close to the front the guard announced that only 3 more people could go through. The group in front of us were begging to all be let through. In the end the 3 pushers-in went through and the rest of us were told it was a 45 min wait.

It was worth the wait. and the exhaustion. and the sheer terror. You climb the left hand side which is in shadow. Theres Inca steps the whole way up but they are very steep and really quite scarily narrow in some places so your cli8mbing them, holding on to anything you can. It took a looong time. I was so glad when we finally got to a flat bit where we could sit down in the sun and take some goos photos of Machu Picchu from near the top. The actual top was a scary climb and was basically just big rocks. Getting down wasn't easy either. There was this big stone slope that I attempted to go down on my bum. There was a little path to the side but I didn't fancy the look of it. I got so scared that in the end some guy came and took my hand and walked me down it. We sat admiring the view for a while and listening to some amazing stories to some fellow brits up there. Then there were some very steep steps which i clung onto, legs shaking like crazy, and slowly climbed back down to the main path. I found the experience quite difficult cos I was terrified but the views were so worth it and I was actually more impressed by Wayna Picchu than Machu Picchu because there were steps the whole way up and farming terraces and even a building at the top. MAchu Picchu used stones taken from the flat bit of land its on but Wayna Picchu... a fair few peoiple must have died building up there.

When we finally got back down we had a sit down, a bite to eat and decided what to do next. We wanted to hike to the sun gate or the inca bridge but it was starting to spit and we were feeling like our legs might collapse so we decided to walk back down to town. That took longer than expected but it was downhill all the way along the road and then through bits of jungle. It was properly raining when we got back down. We had a set meal at a restaurant looking over the river then went and watched tell til our train.

The train back was much warmer but just as slow and not as comfy. We eventually got back and checked back into the point this time the room next door. It was just us in the room when we went to sleep but when we awoke we discovered our room mates who had arrived in the middle of the night were Gillain and Tara the irish girls from our uyuni tour who we travelled to Laq PAz with!

Todays been a blogging and photos day, now were off to catch the bus to Arequipa so better run...