We were up at 5:00 am to organise our bags and get to the airport for our trip to Machu Picchu. It took 5 minutes to drive there and 10 minutes to get into the car park. The flight was on a small plane and took about one hour flying over the Andes Mountains. Fabulous views dotted with small isolated villages and mountain peaks with a tiny touch of snow.

Our plane was over an hour late, but our private tour guide and driver were still waiting. We drove through Cusco, which is at an elevation of 3,400m, with a population of 650,000 and a rainbow flag. Firstly, we drove through town before we dropped our bags at the hotel we will be staying at once we return from Machu Picchu.

Our hotel is located in the main plaza and it was busy with celebrations due to it being Peru's Independence Day. Peru had gained independence from Spain in 1821. We also saw a funeral procession which was quite lively and bright as the coffin was carried through the plaza surrounded by the mourners. It seemed a much more upbeat way to celebrate a life rather than sober mourning and tears.

As we returned to our car I could feel the start of a headache which I assumed was a touch of dehydration so I made sure I filled up on water.

Our driver Fredy and our tour guide Christian then took us to our next tourist stop of Saqsaywaman, which he said was "sexy woman" as an easy way to remember. This was at the top of a mountain overlooking Cusco, which I later discovered was at an elevation of 3,700.

Located 2 kms from the city, together with Cusco, this monumental complex is considered the first of the modern seven wonders of the world (according to a Peruvian tourist site that is!) and is yet another UNESCO World Heritage site we have visited.

It was a fortress with temple and an ancient water movement and storage system. We walked across the field and then up a number of precarious stone stairways, not too many but fairly steep. I didn't get past one flight and I had to stop to get my breath. My heart was pounding and it took several stops to get to the top. I couldn't believe how hard it was, especially considering the walking and flights of stairs I'd encountered over the past seven weeks. By this stage I was wondering if the altitude was having an effect.

We took in a fantastic view down to Cusco and the valley before returning to the base of the temple area to admire the stonework. One stone was seven metres tall and all were placed together into zig zag walls with no mortar between the tightly packed stones. Getting to here was another extreme effort and I started to get a peculiar feeling in my quads, something I can only describe as "effervescence".

We then took a short walk down a sloping path with only a few steps and this was a struggle. At one point I felt as if I wouldn't be able to get to the car I felt so bad. By now my headache was worse and I was starting to feel nauseous.

Once in the car we continued on our mountainous drive weaving backwards and forwards as we moved to a lower level within the sacred valley. I just lay back and closed my eyes as I didn't need motion sickness as well!

At our next site I managed to walk about 50 metres before another wave of nausea overtook me and the effervescent feeling in my thighs returned: back to the car! Once I rested and we returned to a lower altitude I started to feel better.

As our trip continued through the sacred valley we saw terraced fields on the mountains and a number of basic mud brick homes. As we passed through some villages we could see the locals congregating for food and festivities. In one place Anthony saw what he thought looked like a giant cooked rat on a stick, but it was a Guinea pig!

Eventually we arrived at our final place for the night, Ollyantaytambo, which was a more respectable 2,792 elevation.

I researched information on altitude sickness and self diagnosed. It also explained our lack of appetite that night. Anthony had also commented that he found himself overly breathless at the second site with "tingly" muscles. My research indicated that it occurs at elevations from 3,000 metres and recommendations are to not increase your altitude by more than 300 metres per day. We did over a thousand in half a day. Lucky we took the prescribed medicine before we arrived!

Our hotel in Ollyantaytambo was essentially on the railway platform. It was an old early 1900s Spanish style building with a view to the mountains across the lovely back garden and to the mountains at the front through the cafe windows and across the railway tracks. We knew we wouldn't have trouble getting the train in the morning!

We tried some Peruvian cancha (roasted corn kernels) and alpaca which our guide recommended as a popular Peruvian meat (we weren't keen on trying the Guinea pigs). I also tried a delicious vegetable stew, but I couldn't do it justice. Even though Anthony and I shared the entrée, that would've done me.

The staff in the restaurant were so helpful and the level of service was five star! Anthony loved this hotel and felt it was the best we'd stayed in. It was also one of the cheapest at $99 including full breakfast.

After dinner we collapsed into bed, both of us exhausted and it was only 7:30 pm!