The lost city of the Incas

Arriving on time seems to tempt fate on this continent and it was the same for the train to Machu Pichu. According to the fifty-four minute rule if you arrive early for any journey here, you will leave at least an hour late. Of course sod’s law is in influence if you arrive dead on time because, of course, the bus, train or plane will have already left. Such as it was for the train in the rain, for more than an hour. The train was standing at the platform while we shivered in the roofless station (the plastic rain macs were just 25p) - there seems to be some kind of elasticity within the Latin American temperament. If you complain about something, quite obviously out of order, somehow or other it seems to make the situation worse. Better to develop some patience and bite the stiff upper lip.
When we arrived at Agua Calientes (there are thermal baths nearby) an hour or so later we booked into a cheap room ready for the 5am shocker the following morning (We arrived at the ruins at 6am for dawn, before the tourists arrive). Miraculously we all managed to get out of bed and were sipping coca tea to counter the breathless altitude on the way up the mountain and it´s dizzying panoramic views of the ruins. We also climbed the adjacent Huayna Pichu mountain with its lookout tower over the fabled Inca ruin, Wayna Pichu (in the photograph you will see us at the summit after a mad, hair-raising scramble up its steep slopes, perched, with Machu Pichu in the background shrouded in mist and clouds).
The three hour hike took us through the clouds, up the mountain, down the other side (I am sure this was really mountaineering) down to the majestic Temple of the Moon set in a cave, with what appeared to be a meditation chair hewn from the stone, facing out to the jungle. Just a few steps further we found another temple with alters set into its cave wall, complete with meteorite rocks. Apparently if you place both hands on the space rocks and close your eyes you can vibe with the mountain, the ancient Incas, aliens or anyone else who takes your fancy.