We awoke at 4.30 am after about 5 hrs of restless sleep - likely due to excitement of what was to come. We set off at 5am with our head torches and supplies of water and snacks to start the 90 minute ascent to Macchu Picchu - initially a 30 minute walk out of Agues Calientes following the river and then a 60 minute climb up steep steps all the way to the top. The plan being to arrive as soon as the site opened at 6.30 so we could experience it with less tourists. We had booked a tour to Machu Picchu via a company in Cusco which included the previous days tour round the Sacred Valley. As such we were expecting a personalised service of a guide meeting us and going up to the top with us for our tour which was originally meant to start at 6.30am. Unfortunately it appeared the company had just contracted the work out to various people along the way - as a result the communication and service was poor and the trip slightly marred as a result. The biggest disappointment came at 5.30 am when we reached the bridge to cross the river and start the ascent - we were stopped by security as we couldn't produce a ticket. We'd been reassured by the guide who had met us the previous evening that we could walk up on our own ok and just show our passports at the top to get in where they would print off our e-ticket. This seemed far from the truth as exasperatingly we were turned back to the town and refused entry via the path. We practically ran the 30 mins back to Agues Calientes working up a sweat and worrying that the trip would be a disaster and we couldn't get entry to the site at all. I was upset and fretting and as result Scott got into one of his angry moods blaming all and sundry. I felt I couldn't say anything right so tried to keep quiet as we hurried back. We managed to get in a queue and paid $15 each for the return bus. Luckily despite the sweat and (almost) tears we still got to top for 6.30 as planned and joined the long queue to get in. And sure enough after a further wait our e-tickets were indeed produced - a wave of relief came over me. The whole place was shrouded in an eery mist and as we approached the site via a narrow path the heavens opened! It poured and poured for a good 40 mins and it was impossible to gather any view of the enormity of the ruins. My gore-tex jacket was soaked through as I watched Scott climb the Inca steps ahead of me in his enormous poncho of which I was pretty jealous at this stage! The rain poured down the steps like a muddy waterfall and we had managed to escape from any other tourists. We were all alone shrouded in mist as we reached the peak of what I now know to be Intihuatana, a major Inca shrine. As I felt the cold rain drops batter my face and finally caught up with Scott (who was still in the middle of a good Sinclair rant/mood) it struck me how this day was so far really not delivering what I had hoped or expected! As we huddled for shelter in a little enclave we munched our breakfast of a snickers bar each and slowly the rain stopped an our moods lifted.

We were meant to meet an English speaking guide Ricardo holding a white flag at 7.30-7.45 back at the entrance, and since visibility was still very poor we decided to make our way back to the entrance. We dutifully waited and finally at 8am he turned up. We were inside the gates and he was trying to gather a group together outside. He said he's only be a few minutes as a few people were using the toilet, but in the meantime the queue to get in got longer and longer and our group weren't even in it yet! Another half an hour passed and by 8.30am the rays of sun were starting to break through the clouds. We made the difficult decision to abandon the tour as we could be waiting another hour for them to get in and the whole point was we had planned to start early and miss the crowds; and we had to leave the site by midday at the latest to catch a train back to Aguas Calientes anyway.

As we reapproached the ruins we were met by a truly magical site - the peaks of the huge mountains so closely surrounding us were starting to emerge from the mist and the majesty of the place started to become apparent. We headed upwards to the highest point of the ruins called the Hut of the Caretaker of the Funerary rock, where on a clear day it is possible to get the postcard like snap of the whole place. To our delight the clouds slowly cleared and we gradually watched the ruins expose themselves to us. It was quite an emotional moment as I gazed below me and felt privileged to be experiencing such an awe-inspiring place - somewhere which in years to come future generations may not be lucky enough to see as the erosion caused by tourists could eventually result in it being shut to the public. I can only begin to imagine how it must feel to have trekked the whole Inca trail and finally be awarded with that site as you reach the sun gate.

After a good 90 minutes of taking in the view and pinching myself to check I was really there, the sun had risen high and dried our clothes. We were drowned in warmth and out came the sun hats and suncream. After many photos and then more photos! (all of the same amazing view)Scott and I dragged ourselves away and did a walk round the rest of the site trying to use my lonely planet to make head or tail of what we were looking at. I felt slightly peaved that our guided tour had been such a shambles and we'd had to abandon it but I wouldn't have traded it in for those 90 mins up at the top at all.

By midday we were pretty hot, sweaty and shattered and joined the queue to get the bus down. We had time to share a yummy pizza on the balcony of a restaurant in Aguas Calientes overlooking the river. The train tracks of Inca Rail and Peru Rail ran right alongside the restaurant and straight through the town where people crossed the tracks willy nilly as they pleased.

We caught our train back as planned, but this was no ordinary train journey - the train had large windows in the roof and sides so we could take in the spectacular views of the Andean valley on the way. Much to our excitement we were told that Mick Jagger would be boarding our train from his hotel and making the journey with us in the next carriage along! He had apparently been visiting Machu Picchu the previous day. All the passengers, ourselves included crammed out of the windows, cameras ready trying to catch a glimpse or even better a shot of the famous Rolling Stone. He had a private carriage with a viewing balcony and as the train turned round a bend we could get a clear view of his balcony. Scott and I spent a good amount of time photographing another member of his party on the balcony thinking it was him! However when he left the train we did get a clear view of the man himself and he turned and waved at our carriage as people cried out his name. Much to Scott's annoyance he still had his camera zoomed in on the wrong man and missed the ultimate photo opportunity! I still think he's gutted a day later!

After a 2 hr car journey from the train back to Cusco we were exhausted and just about had energy for a shower before collapsing into bed at 8pm skipping dinner. We had certainly had an eventful day and one not to be forgotten!