Woke up around 330 and got ready for the day. We were told the hike takes about an hour and half, or we could wait for the bus. The bus is only 30-45 minutes but it doesn’t start till 530. So we would get there the same time either way. We all decided to hike. I was told it is 1600 steps up the mountain to Machu Picchu. I believe it. We made good time up the hill and got there well before the busses started. It was great to be able to rest before the gates opened. We got our stamps for Whana Picchu and waited in line till it opened. About this time it was getting light out and I took a few pictures of the surrounding mountains. It was beautiful watching the world change as it got lighter out. We met our tour guide and he told us we would all meet inside. This gave us 15 minutes or soe to walk around inside and take some pictures. I am so glad that I got the pictures I did. About 20 minutes after we got inside a huge bank of clouds rolled in and it started raining. The rain was alternating between mist and hard rain. It was pretty chilly in the rain so it was making everything harder. We met Alex( our tour guide) and he began the tour. I could barely hear him over the plunk of rain on the hood of my poncho. The clouds were thick and made it impossible to see more than 100 feet from where you were. There were a few breaks in the clouds and I took advantage by taking as many photos as I could at those times. I decided to try and wait out the storm at the top of Wanna Picchu. I climbed up there and lots of us waited at the top for about an hour but all it did was rain harder. No luck. Came back down and walked around in Machu Picchu for a bit then went out to the snack bar… OMG price gouging!!!
The walk down was wet but much easier than the hike up. All in all it made for more than 5600 steps. Showed me just how out of shape I am. Ufff….

Markus and I and three others from the van ride, didn’t feel that the return trip on those roads at night would be safe, so we went to the train station and bought tickets back to Poroy by train, then to Cusco by taxi. It was a lot more money even though we had already paid for the van ride, but it was worth it.

I am beat, could have been better but it was still amazing to see it…

More later…