Hi everyone,

I hate to disappoint Mark´s fans but his promises to update the blog come Machu Picchu were a little hollow. He is currently engrossed in a Man Utd v. Arsenal football match and sends his regards. I am sure most of you will accept his choice!

So on the morning of our 2 day tour to the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu we were up early and keen as mustard. Our tour operator (remember the eccentric lady) told us to be ready at 8.40am. By 9am we were a little worried when they hadn´t showed and got our hostel to call them. They said they would be 2 mins! In the end a car just for us arrived and not the bus/minibus we expected. Our driver, Jeremy, spoke little english which was fine but didn´t make for the most effective touring. After about 20mins driving we thought we should re-confirm the details with him when we realised he wasn´t driving us to meet any other people to join a tour. He replied by saying he was driving us to the last stop of the day so we could catch the train to Agua Calientas (the village at the base of Machu Picchu). This erased the entire Sacred Valley and so we had something to say! We made him contact eccentric lady and she reiterated the plans. He then pulled out all the tickets for trains and entrances, as well as the voucher for our hostel that night and suddenly seemed to acknowledge we were on a tour!! It was bizarre and quite frustrating. He learnt some new english phrases that day i tell you. We had predicted this wasn´t going to be easy though.

He turned the car around and happily drove us to the first sight of the day, Pisac. The drive didn´t take long and the beauty of being in our own car meant we didn´t have to stop at everything along the way. There were some crappy roadside stalls we saw other buses at and we just instructed Jeremy to drive on! The entire journey the roads were scattered with fallen rocks and debris as there had been quite a wild storm the day before. This made for interesting driving at times!

Pisac lies at 2715m and the hilltop Inca citadel lies high above the village and is incredibly steep with terraces all the way down. At the top of the terraces is the ceremonial centre. We had to leave Kate in the car because of her foot and Mark, Jane and I walked around. It was very beautiful and impressive looking around the surrounding countryside.

From here we drove to Urubamba. This was just a stopping point for lunch and a chance for the driver to take us to a tourist buffet where he gets a free feed. There was a musician playing the pan pipe and selling his CDs and all the baby boomers were buying them. Dad, i thought of you at this point. He was no KD Wang though!

Onwards we journeyed to Ollantaytambo where they had saved the best for last. Dominated by a massive fortress above, Ollantaytambo at 2800m, is the best surviving example of Inca city planning. Its narrow cobblestone streets have been continuously inhabited for over 700 years.

The steep terraces guarding the Inca complex mark one of the few places where the spanish lost a major battle. The location was as much a temple as a fort to the Incas. An area of ceremony sits at the top of the terraces and transporting the massive stone blocks that high up the mountain was no mean feat.

Jeremy dropped us off at the market which is at the base of the ruins and we never saw him again. Admittedly, we were catching a train next to Aguas Calientas but someone was scheduled to pick us up the next day. We found a nice cafe with a garden for Kate to sit in while Mark, Jane and I climbed to the top. It was so steep that we had to take a few rest stops along the way. The terraces are much deeper than they look. Again, it was phenomenal and the views equally impressive.

When we came down we had hours to kill before our train thanks to the wondrous planning of Promotours!! Thankfully the township is very pretty so we found a nice place to watch the sunset, play cards and eat chinese (random!)

The train station was also impressive, as was the train service. We left on time and travelled the 1.5hrs to Aguas Calientas. It was a shame it wasn´t during the day to enjoy the scenery. When we arrived we saw a man with a sign for our hostel with guests names on it. Of course, ours weren´t on it but he let us power walk with him and the other guests back to the hostel. They didn´t have our reservation but accepted our voucher willingly...thank goodness because it was dark and wet and we didn´t want to find elsewhere. They also told us our tour guide for Machu Picchu would arrive at 10pm and give us our tickets and instructions for ther next day.

We went off to rest while we waited and when we met our tour guide...guess what?! He didn´t have our reservation! A theme was developing here! By this stage I was tired and so gave him a bit of an earful. It wasn´t his fault and to his credit he remedied the situation quite quickly. He got someone to bring our bus tickets and agreed to meet us at 5am the next morning to hand deliver our Machu Picchu tickets. This was the next time the tourist office opened and we were wanting to be on the first bus up at 5.30am.

The next morning we were up at 4.15am and cursing because it had not stopped raining all night, and hard. We had a quick breakfast, mainly coffee, and bought big plastic ponchos from reception. We then trudged down to meet our guide for the tickets and onto the bus station. There we found a massive queue of other ponchoed souls all with same idea of being the first up there to queue for a place to climb Waynu Picchu. This is the mountain that overlooks the main Machu Picchu site and there are only 400 tickets handed out each day to climb it. Therefore, you have to get up at sparrows to queue!

We managed to get a bus quickly just as it was getting lighter. The bus ride up was an extremely windy road and a risk to look over the edge. When we got there we immediately queued to get in and began the jog to the gate to Waynu Picchu which is on the other side. We hoped that Kate was sitting somewhere dry whilst she waited. We queued in the drizzle and cloud cover for 30mins and were able to get tickets for the 10am climb, which was our preference because I am not sure you would see in front of your face at the 7am one!

We came back and found poor Kate on a rock in the rain! It was such a shame she wouldn´t be able to join us or walk around as easily. Our tour didn´t start until 8am and so we went back to the entrance for coffee and to use the toilet as there are none past the entrance point.

When we met our tour group it was HUGE. At least 60 people and I wondered how we were all going to hear. Thankfully they divided us all into english and spanish and this made it easier. Our tour guide was fabulous. A really funny but informative guy that kept the momentum going well. Lots of people stopped to take photos etc but he never let it bother him and just kept moving.

It was at this time that we started to see the clouds clear and it was beautiful watching the site reveal itself. It is much bigger than I was expecting and quite surreal at times. The tour was worthwhile and finished at the entrance gate for Waynu Picchu. We had made it with 5 mins to spare as we needed to enter before 11am. I was pretty nervous as I looked up the mountain and could see specs of people clinging to the edges. We signed in and commenced the walk and it was only after a short time that we realised the true extent of how steep the ascent was. It was rocky and very slippery and at times you wondered how and where you were even meant to put your feet.

Jane turned back about one third of the way along because she has knee injuries and I don´t blame her. It only got harder from there. The main difficulty was that the path had to take 2 way traffic and so at times you would find yourself clutching the rock walls or a tree! Mark was very good with me a I began to whimper the closer we got to the top. Did i forget to mention I have a fear of heights!? When we reached the first terrace at the top I could hardly even look down and clung to a rock! When I eventually dealt with the height and looked down it was all worth it. The birdseye views of the site were breathtaking. The whole place is just so inspiring!

What goes up must come down and so we began the climb down which I was very frighteed of. It wasn´t as bad as imagined and passers by were very encouraging. When we got to the bottom there was a queue to sign out and this is where your legs start to feel it. Apparently only one person has never signed back out but I am sure many have injured themselves or had heart and respiratory problems.

We took a break for lunch and then went and met the girls. The sun had come out and the place looked amazing. It truly is a wonderous place and you could spend days in there just drinking it all in. We had a great afternoon exploring further and taking more pictures before getting the bus back down. There was never too many people at one time which I was really thankful for.

We spent the rest of the afternoon in Aguas Calientas before our train departed back to Cuzco at 5pm. This town is a ramshackle, hastily built village but serves the purpose it was made for; to get as many tourists in and out as possible and hope they spend lots! Everyone was tired on the train back but thrilled with the day. Even though our tour was hard work logistically we were all pleased with the results in the end. It should be no surprise then that no one met us at the station to pick us up! We had to pay to get back to the hostel but I went back into Promotours the next day and saw eccentric lady who was more than happy to give us the money back for that transfer! Dodgy

Machu Picchuu and the surrounding Sacred Valley and Cuzco have definitely been a trip highlight. I know, I say that about everwhere but i honestly think everyone needs to add these places to their bucket list. Just sensational!!