Machu Picchu ... eventually

Well the plan was to spend 4 days hiking the Inca trek up to Machu Picchu - the lost city of the Incas. This place was never discovered by the Spanish and as a result is largely intact. The trek itself is very challenging, climbing and descending some incredibly steep mountains. Some of the passes are above 4200m and the altitude only adds to the challenge. I have been looking forward to hiking the trek for a number of years now. Well that was the plan. I only went and contracted a particulary nasty kidney infection the day before. The doctor would not let me start the trek. He may have had a point as at the time I couldn´t stand up! I was gutted but the antibiotics I was prescribed kicked in quickly and in a couple of days later I was declared fit enough to take the train up the mountain. The train journey was so picturesque as we climbed into the Andes. This is no ordinary train track - the mountains are so steep the train is unable to go in a continuous path. Instead it has to stop every 10 mins or so and change direction, climbing the mountain in a zigzag fashion. I spent the night in the town of Agua Callientes (Hot water) where I did partake in the healing qualties of the hot springs. First thing the next morning (at half 5 to be precise) I caught the bus to take me the final way of the journey to Machu Picchu. I was so pleased to see the rest of my group arrive via the Inca trek. Some of them looked very much the worse for wear - most of them doing good impressions of the John Wayne walk. We all entered the site together and what an amazing view awaited us. The mist hadn´t quite lifted from the top of the mountain making the place look even more magical. The stones that Machu Picchu are built from are immense, some well over the size of 5 adults - some of them weigh over 130 tonnes and they all fit together perfectly without any assistance from any type of mortar. They were also built to withstand earthquakes which is why so much of the site remains. After exploring the royal tomb, sun temple, quarry and sacred plaza to name a few we made our way to the famous hitching post of the sun. This was some kind of altar although some acedemics believed the Incas thought it to be a hitching post to the sun - the place where the sun was tied to the altar. It is suposed to give off magical healing energy so I placed my hands as near to it as I could without touching it. (Well I need all the help I can get at the moment!) After a couple of hours exploring our guide suggested we climed the nearby Waynu Picchu to get an excellent ariel view of the site. Waynu Picchu is that incredibly steep looking mountain in the background. Well since I was here I thought I may as well give it a try. Didn`t manage to get anywhere near the top before my body had had enough but I did climb high enough to get a good view. Climbed back down and spent the rest of the day exploring this site firther. By half past 4 it was time to catch the train back to Cusco. I would suggest that everyone comes to visit Machu Picchu and to be honest arriving there by train seems the more sensible way of getting there