Just had to keep saying to myself in 2 hours we will have made it. I hadn't eaten anything in 36 hours so I woke up with no energy, we had to be walking by 04.15am to reach the Machu Picchu gate first which opened at 5am.
It was no surprise that the Peruvians in our group were still showering at 4.15 so we decided to set off without them.

Through the gate I let Liz and Susanne go on ahead so I could take the steps at my own pace. It took an hour of climbing to reach the main gate.

At the gate there was no sign of our guide we waited until 6.15 before heading inside. Luckily I bumped into the awesome group if American's who we met cycling and rafting, and we were able to join them and their tour guide Kenneth.

The view was incredible, watching the sun rise over the mountains topped it off. I would say it was on par with the feeling I got when I summited Mt. Kilimanjaro last September for Practical Action, the sense of personal accomplishment. However, the fact that you can reach Machu Picchu by bus and train makes it less special.

We had our train at 13.30 to head back to Cusco so we couldn't have all day exploring the Inka ruins. Kenneth knew a lot about the history so we enjoyed the 2hour tour.

On the train we happened to be sitting next to the American family who helped me when I was really ill. It was good the hear their experience and made the two hour journey fly by.

Have you ever experienced a fashion show on a Train? Well... It kept us entertained. The train staff dressed up in numerous Alpaca outfits and paraded up and down the carriage, with another dressed up in a scary clown outfit dancing to Peruvian music.

We arrived back to Cusco at 6pm and stayed another night at Tika Wasi where our luggage had been stored securely and we were looking forward to a relaxing evening and a good nights sleep!