Machu Pichu

Hi everyone, sorry for the delay with the updates, turns out Salmonella Soup was actually made from salmonella i've had 4 days of hell. Anyway thanks to the liberal way in which Peruvians sell antibiotics over the counter, a quick google diagnosis, and £3.50 later i'm feeling right as rain. Speaking of rain....

We were met by the guide David, (remember your french accent) , at 6.30am to go and get the bus to Machu Picchu.  Poor old Lou was feeling a bit ill, and it was raining, We rushed around getting ready and I scrambled out to grab some rank sandwiches (cheese and ham cobs) off some old woman with too much skin, ate a quick bit of breakfast (more cheese and ham cobs) and we headed for the bus. The bus ride was pretty scary at the time, since then I have numbed to this type of bus journey, but I remember at the time not talking much at all, and watching the road very carefully as the driver swung the thing round these tiny bends as we climbed round the side of the mountain. Every now and then another bus or vehicle would be coming down the mountain, following the same zig zagging road, in the opposite direction. At one point this happened and there wasn't enough room, so our driver started REVERSING down the dirt track, single file, non gated mountain road. After 3 years of driving we arrived at Machu Picchu. You dont just jump off the bus and "there it is," although that would have been cool, first of all you queue up to go through the gate, almost directly outside a 5star hotel called The Sanctuary. Apparently its $1000 per night, I had a look through the window and upon spotting the multicoloured seat covers in the restaurant (sort of roadchef -esque) so I reckon that's steep. Once at the gate you have to show your ticket with your passport, bloody good job Lou was on the ball, I wouldn't have taken that, and they let you in. Machu Pichu is a work of genius, how the hell the Incas managed to build this place is just beyond comprehension, in the middle of all these mountains. In actual fact they don't know what the ancient city is called, but the mountain opposite is called Machu Picchu, so the site itself has now borrowed the name. Our guide was great, although we thought he was going to be mute to begin with, he was just waiting to swing into action, which once he did he was excellent, we also had him to ourselves so it was a private tour. We walked around examining all the different structures, learning all about them, taking loads of photos it was really very interesting and beautiful. The only complaint at the time was that the rain seemed to not want to stop. We were well prepared for this though, earlier that morning I was offered to buy a poncho from a street seller for 2 sols (25p) offended at the price I declined, in the knowledge that we had packed along our very own rainy day clobber. Lou's weapon, a red rain proof jacket,solid, reliable, provided courtesy of her well travelled sister Caz (thanks Caz x), and myself carrying an old faithful Regatta rain coat last worn Glastonbury 2007. My mood throughout DaBid's tour diminished quickly, smiles became forced, photos  rushed, the old faithful had failed, I was soaked through.
Once the tour was done we got our passports stamped with the Machu Picchu logo, which looks ace, and went to eat our sarnies and have a cuppa. It was about 11am by now so still pretty early, I started to cheer up a bit, and a good thing too as Lou wanted more. There is a point in the mountains before Machu Picchu which, if you do the Inca Trail, you arrive at to catch the first view of ancient city as the sun shines on it, before descending down, called 'the Sun Gate.' and it was Lou's idea that we should go up there. We started on the journey up the steps and to be honest I think it was much further than both of is thought. They were rocky steps that climbed all the way up the side of the mountain, the good news was that at this point the rain had gone and it was turning out to be a really nice day. Its high up so the altitude gets you, but we kept trudging on, every time we passed some one we asked 'how long' and they said 'twenty minutes.' Three times this happened. After just over an hour we got there, there were some clouds over the city but after a while they cleared and we took some really good pictures. In fact we took loads, Lou went happy clicking crazy and didn't stop till we go back down to the bottom, I don't blame her though x