Well of course we did – we’ve come all this way and will probably never be back again and what else were we going to do – sleep? 

However we didn’t get much of that.   I placed an early morning call for 4.30am and since there was no clock at the bedside I put my phone there – usually its my Ipad.  Anyway at some ungodly hour my phone rings and it’s a bloody message from Bill Shorten inviting me to come see him in Gladstone – as if!  Anyway I checked the time on my phone and it was 4am so I lay for a little while then got up and did my hair etc – I’d showered before going to bed to save time this morning.  By 4.31am when I emerged from the bathroom we hadn’t got our wake up call so I wakened Craig and he leapt in action and shot into the bathroom, shaved showered etc and then went to put on his watch.  At which time he comes out and says to me – my watch says its only 2.40am not 4.40am. That’s  when the penny went clunk.  I hadn’t realized that my phone’s automatic time change feature was disabled so we were still on I think Argentinian time.  I’m fully dressed by now but we both slipped back into bed and eventually managed I think to get a short nap before the wake up call at 4. 30am.

I looked out the window and the rain was pouring down and I thought we must be crazy to think about going to climb to Machu Picchu in this weather without even having time for a coffee before we left.  But we did.

Met our guide Miguel down in the lobby – there were only 16 out of the total group of 70 who were crazy enough to do this.  We walked up the street in the pouring rain to the bus station and waited to get on a bus – it was amazing how many other people were getting on the buses and heading up for the park to open at 6am.  We arrived at the park and split into 3 groups – one group who basically walked around at ground level, one group who were taking the hike up to the Sun Gate – the entrance where the Inca Trail comes in and one who were doing a shortened version of what we did yesterday.  We opted for the last group – I wasn’t up to a huge climb.  So we followed much of the route we’d taken yesterday but it looked so different – it was still raining and the clouds were so low and the mist was swirling and because we were there so early it was almost eerily quiet and the whole place was shrouded in an air of mystery.   Initially you couldn’t see the main city from above the mist was too dense.  But then the rain stopped and it started to clear in patches – drifting in and out of the mist.  We were both so glad we went as it gave us a completely different perspective of Machu Picchu – probably closer to how it is much of the time.  We all met back at the main gate at 8am and got on the bus back down to the hotel. 

We didn’t have a real lot of time as we had to quickly organize our carry on bags and get them down for pick up by the bellboys who were taking them up to the train and of course we really needed some breakfast and I needed to pay our extras.  I’ve managed to be a bit like a little energizer bunny these last few days and I think it’s due to the coca tea.  Apart  from the claims of helping with altitude sickness, the Incas believed it provided them with increased energy and vigour and I reckon its given the lift to do all the climbing I’ve done in the last three days.  Anyway I had another cup for breakfast and then at 9.30am the group set off for the station.  We checked that our hand luggage was there then had time for a quick wander through the market.

The train left bang on time at 10.55am and we had a lovely trip back along the river to Ollantaytambo.  We saw some Sherpas and trekkers on the trail and also where the trail starts (I’ve got a picture to remind you Ian).  We had entertainment from a folklore character as well as a fashion show on the train so the journey passed very pleasantly.   However at one point in our carriage all the luggage fell over – they stack it pretty high and put a net over it to keep it secure but it obviously hadn’t been done properly.  So when we got off at Ollantaytambo there’s Craigs carryon with half the handle hanging off the upright extender.  I got one of our guides and told him it had been damaged and he said he’d follow up with the train staff then bring the bag to us.  Which he did.  He said they reckoned it only needed one screw but they didn’t have one the right size.  However Johan our tour director said he’d follow up when we reached Cusco and find someone to repair it.

We had lunch at a lovely restaurant – La Muna in the Sacred Valley then continued the drive on to Cusco.  We arrived at our hotel here in Cusco just after four and we weren’t having dinner till 7pm tonight so I took the opportunity to have a shower and get my hair washed. Johan called a few times as he sorted out how to best get our case fixed – being Sunday a lot of the places were closed.   However the hotel maintenance people have fixed it perfectly – it wouldn’t have been much fun trying to drag it around with a dodgy handle.  

I took the opportunity to empty my head of all my wonderful thoughts of Machu Picchu and then it was time to head down for dinner.  Dinner was once again delicious - though to be honest I feel like I'm permanently full so only had a little taste of a couple of yummy dishes. Must mention the mashed potatoes - they're almost like a soup consistency but boy do they taste good.  Of course Peruvians are famous for their potatoes - did you know that they have over 3,000 different varieties of potato?  We had dinner once again with our farmer friends from Ohio - who now have names - Richard and Patty.  Since we've been on this portion of the trip we've hung out with them at mealtimes, on the bus etc and had much hilarity along the way. Richard is one of the world's leading practical jokers and Patty has a hide like a rhinoceros to cope with some of the things he says.  Though after having to cope with major illness only 6 months ago she says she gets worried when he isn't teasing her as she knows there's something very far wrong.  After dinner we headed up to our room - Craig was totally whacked - and I wasn't much better but I did manage to get the blog posts written though was falling off my perch and had to give up before I got my photos sorted.  There were quite a lot of our group really feeling the jump in altitude - we're back up to 11,000 feet again in Cusco.  We're still both fine but just constantly fighting this cold - it's not in our chest or sinuses which is great but a persistent cough and runny nose and sneezing.  And so just after 9pm I gave up and snuggled down and had a pretty good sleep