This morning Anthony waited patiently for the solar hot water to come through the pipes. We were told that it could take up to four minutes to come through, but he waited ten minutes with no luck and had an icy cold shower instead. My turn. I tried the other tap and got hot water. The word for hot in Spanish starts with a "c".

We had breakfast and then walked onto the platform and onto the Vistadome train bound for Machu Picchu. It was a very scenic trip alongside the river and through the mountains and rainforest. We were seated with an American so inevitably the conversation turned to Donald Trump and he was not impressed either, even as a Republican. God help us all if he gets in!

When we arrived we weren't sure how to get to the hotel so Anthony asked at another hotel in the Main Street. The person he asked wasn't sure, but he looked it up on the internet and then walked us down the street to show us the way. What helpful people the Peruvians are.

Shias Calientes is a small town that exists to service the tourists coming to visit the ancient site of Machu Picchu. It is what you'd expect in a developing country and is also full of hotels and places to eat. We were amazed that an in service railway track cuts across one of the main streets and people just walk along the tracks as if it's a footpath. Our hotel, once again, fronted the track. It also backed onto the Urubamba River. Our room had a lovely view of the huge white polished boulders with the dry season river trickling through. It wasn't hard to imagine a larger version barreling past in the wet season.

On check in one of the hotel staff members welcomed us with a fresh juice and then checked if we had the right paperwork to enter Machu Picchu. When it turned out that we didn't, she tried to print them for us from the Internet. When that wasn't successful she sent one of her staff members with us into town to the ticket office and then chaperoned us to get the bus tickets. Talk about customer focused!

Unfortunately there was a very long queue for the 25 minute drive up to the mountain top. It snaked up the full length of the Main Street and it took over an hour to get on the bus. For Independence Day, Peruvians were allowed free entry today. What great timing we have yet again!

The bus twisted and turned up the dusty switchbacks to the top of the mountain and we were finally there. As a buffet lunch at the $1500 per night hotel was included with our train ticket as part of a promotion, we decided to eat first. Anthony was itching to get going so I sent him on his way with a plan to meet in a couple of hours, so off he raced. I finished my lunch and then entered the site.

After climbing a few precarious steps to a higher level I decided to turn right rather than continue up what looked like a steep climb on dodgy steps built of ancient stones. Good decision, as I wandered past what looked like a small hut the path opened out to the quintessential view of the Machu Picchu site with Wayna Picchu mountain as the backdrop. Awesome, in every sense of the word!

The peak of Huayna Picchu is about 2,720 metres, or about 360 metres higher than Machu Picchu. According to local guides, the top of the mountain was the residence for the high priest and the local virgins. This mountain is considered male as it has no water, while Machu Picchu with water is fertile and therefore female.

I walked along the path soaking in the view. Ancient ruins across a site which was much larger than I had ever envisaged which was hugged by steep mountains as far as you could see. As I got closer to the end of the path I had to make a decision, up the steep dodgy stepping stones or down the steep dodgy stepping stones?

Ahead of me were a couple coming from above onto the steps ahead of me, so I stopped to watch, as I figured I might get some clues as to just how precarious the climb or descent might be. As the woman started to clamber down to my path her companion called out "Kerrie". I thought, fancy that, she has the same name as me. Then I heard my name called again and I looked further up the stairway. It wasn't her companion calling out my name, but an Incan God!

"Anthony" I called out, " fancy meeting you here!". I scrambled up the rocks to meet with him and we continued our visit together. There was so much to see. We stopped when we came across an ancient Incan aqueduct and I dropped my water bottle into the waterway. A passing guide laughed and said it was a sacrifice!

The two of us wandered around the site taking too many photos that could never capture the majesty of the mountains nor the grandness of this special place. As we peered closely at the interlocking stones we were amazed at the engineering that went into creating this site. The terraced walls just seemed to continue on and on.

Eventually Anthony decided it was time to return to the dreaded queue to venture back down the mountain. He turned towards the exit and I continued on for a little way more before ambling back as well. In many places we had just sat and looked around trying to take it all in. We couldn't believe we were here.

Of course, the queue was an hour long with buses coming and going all the time. I sat on a step to update some of this blog while Anthony kindly waited in line. My body doesn't respond well to long periods of standing!

Earlier I had briefly considered the possibility of returning via some stairs down the mountain, but dismissed any thought of that when I saw the "stairs"!!

Once we returned to the town we walked the 100 metres along the train line to our hotel. We didn't bother with dinner as neither of us were particularly hungry after a big breakfast and lunch. We returned to our room, opened the windows, and enjoyed the view to the mountain about 30 metres away and the river below. A nice night to relax and read a book.