Itinerary

Fri 15
	Breakfast
07:00	Transfer to Ollantaytambo Station. Board the rail coach for one-and-a-half hour train ride to Machu Picchu.  25-minute motor coach ascent to "The Lost City of the Incas".  Guided tour of the marvelous citadel, an awe-inspiring experience.  Stroll by the archaeological site before enjoying buffet lunch at Machu Picchu Sanctuary Lodge.  Overnight at Machu Picchu Sanctuary Hotel.

Ok this time I mean it.  I could die now, the happiest person in the world.  Machu Picchu is the most incredible place on this earth I know I'll see.  Ok let's start from the beginning and not get ahead of myself.

Woke up this morning at 05:30 by my alarm!  This is the first time that this has happened since I started my trip.  I slept very well last night.  Besides the bed being incredibly large it was also very comfortable.  I went to bed early again last night.  I find that if I get a lot of rest, the day goes along a lot better.

Had a wonderful shower, packed and then checked out.  Went to breakfast and I was the first one there.  Edith and Paul (the Australian couple) then joined me.

We got on the bus and drove to the train station to find out that there was a strike on!  My heart sank.  I though that I had come all this way only to be turned back by a strike.  We sat around the train station for 1.5 hours, before the train arrived.  I was so glad the train came that I did not care where I sat.  I was the only person in my cabin to be sitting backwards!  I really didn't care though as I was going to Machu Picchu!

We were on the train for a good 1.5 hours before we came to the end of the line.  We then got on a bus for another 25 minute drive up a very narrow, curvy road.  It zigzagged up the mountain side.

We reached the top and went into Machu Picchu Sanctuary Lodge.  I got checked in - my room has an incredible view of Machu Picchu.

The day started cloudy and when we started to Machu Picchu, it started to sprinkle a bit.  This is the first day it "rained".  The mountains were very cloudy and so fluffy, I could almost touch them.  It was cloudy during our first part of the tour to Machu Picchu but it added to the mystic of the place.  It was sure humid though!  The sun did come out and the clouds did go away.  All in all it was a perfect day.

I was really disappointed when we started the tour with the number of tourists that was there!  It was incredible the number of people visiting.  Buses arrive every half hour and it seemed to be never ending.  I'm sure there was at least 5,000 people there when we first started.  It was really hard to take pictures without having someone or a crowd in it.

I'm sitting on the patio of the Machu Picchu Sanctuary Lodge and my view is of Machu Picchu.  I ran out of film for my camera so am now using the disposable cameras I brought with me.  I would buy film but it is $10-$20 USD!  Crazy!!

It is so peaceful here I don't think I want to leave.  I might just become a resident of the Machu Picchu Sanctuary Lodge!

There is a beautiful pond with water running behind me.  And the view - what can I say?  You have to see it to believe it.  I just hope all my pictures come out.

The clouds are starting to break and I hope they do so I can see the stars tonight.

This is such a mystical place.  All the shows on TV do not do it justice.

I was amazed at how humid it got up this way.  The vegetation is very jungle like - makes me glad I'm going to Iquitos instead of Puerto Maldonado, as it is right in the middle of the jungle.

Machu Picchu opens at 06:00 tomorrow and I want to be there for when the sun rises (around 06:30 - 07:00). and the crowds start!

This is truly one amazing adventure! and I'm very glad I did it!! (yes even with all the stairs!).