We set our alarm clocks for 4:10am with the aim of walking up the hill/cliff to Machu Picchu before the 6am opening. But at 4:10 Katy didn't think she could do it because her cold had given her a sleepless night. So we had an extra 20 minutes in bed and then got up to get in the queue for the bus. Again we felt that we were being ripped off for the return bus ticket - $18 for a total of 60 minutes, when all other hour bus rides in Peru cost $1. We were on the second bus and in the queue before opening. Once the gates open, at 6am, I headed straight up the hill to the famous postcard view dragging Katy behind me. I didn't have to worry about other people getting in the way of the perfect photo as the large terraces give plenty of space to snap away and even though there were a couple of hundred people in the site at the early hour there were only 5 of us in the perfect photo spot.

Machu Picchu looked better than the photos and somehow better than I expected. The early morning clouds added to the atmosphere. There were also a group of llamas not far away, which pleased Katy to know that they weren't just photoshopped into the brochure images. After many photos, including selfies, we walked to the Inca bridge - a set of logs which could be knocked down after crossing to slow down a pursuer. On the path we saw a Raccoon like creature but it disappeared before I could focus the camera on it. We then returned to Machu Picchu and as the sun was now out I took loads more photos of the same view but now with different lighting.

So already with loads of photos we headed down into the ruins. We didn't have a guide so used the Lonely Planet book for some basic info and also couldn't help hearing what the guides around us were telling their groups. In fact no one really knows what the site was used for; there are only theories. The site is immaculate; the stones are all clean and perfectly aligned, the grass is very green and the paths well laid out. It also must be one of the biggest tourist attractions in the world not to have any toilets or shops on site - you have to go all the way back to the entrance for those. As we walked around the site we saw Andean rabbits sunning themselves on the walls not concerned by the cameras pointed at them.

After three and a half hours at the site we had a rest near the entrance and started spotting the large groups arriving from Cusco. So as the site started filling up we took off up the Machu Picchu Mountain, which we had paid an extra fee for. It was a steep one hour and ten minute climb, which was difficult in the heat and doubly difficult for Katy with her cold, but we both made it and had an amazing zoomed out view of Machu Picchu and the surrounding valleys and mountains. At the top we saw some hippies who had walked up barefoot and we overheard that they had been travelling for two years barefoot! Maybe we're getting old but that's a disgrace when you come from a rich society and can afford to travel for two years - what must the locals think when they see their disgusting feet!

Anyway we slowly headed down the steep path and back to Machu Picchu and were greeted by the llamas that had moved into a prime photograph position with the ruins behind them. Many photos followed included a llama selfy. After a total of nearly eight hours at Machu Picchu we caught the bus back to town utterly exhausted. A couple of hours later we caught our train back to Ollantaytambo (we were disappointed not to get snacks this time) and then a two hour bus back to Cusco. After moving our bags to our new hostel we ate wonderful savory pancakes for dinner at the attached restaurant before collapsing into bed - but what a day!

Simon