Machu Picchu - Because 1 post isn't enough

So we were here at last Machu picchu.

Not only was this pretty much the only place I had even heard of in South America I had known for a long time this was where I was going to ask Gini to marry me.

I let the cat out of the bag to a couple of friends, others I stated I was waiting for the most appropriate mountain, lets face it they don't really get much better ( without actually climbing a mountain, which was soooo out of the question!)

I knew she was going to say yes. She knew I was going to ask her (she's not stupid and knew I had been carrying a ring around for 7 countries!)

But I was kind of excited, butterflies n stuff, brickin it a bit.

We had to get up at 4.15am in order to take the first bus up the mountain.

Without re-reading many posts that I've put on here I can't remember if I've said much about the route to Machu Picchu.

Let me digress a little as some people may not be aware that there is an alternative to the "Inca Trail"

The "Inca Trail" is a 4 day trek from Cuzco to Machu Picchu, it stops at some nice places, there is camping and staying in lodges but there's nothing you can do to change the fact it's a 4 day walk.

It's been the cause of some contention between a drunken me and many other travellers - namely the pretentious fecks with think, "you know, Oh My GOD the Inca Trail is the ONLY legitimate way to see Machu Picchu! You just HAVE to do it!"

Now when I say the cause of contention what I mean is I drunkenly and quite accidental called a couple of Irish girls pretentious twats to their face when they voiced their pretentious views of the Inca Trail and what they thought of anyone who chose an alternative route. I was going to apologise the next day but they had left the hostel.

One alternative to the trail is to take the train to a town called Aguas Caliante (Hot Water?) and then a minibus the next day up to the entrance of MP. Seriously, how is that even a choice? Although the train is quite expensive at $31 dollars each way (like 20quid) and some tight arsed backpackers - of which I am actually one but not to this extent- choose to take a 3rd option. Rather than go on a tour/trek OR take the train they will take a bus that they have to get off in the middle of the night, like 2am, then walk 2 hours over fields. Cross a river near a power station, walk another 3 hours or so ac cross fields n stuff, climb over a landslide and then if they are lucky they get to the town, if not they are lost and die in a field. (no I don't think anyone has been reported as dieing in a field, I made that up. But who would report em...)

Anyway I will fuckin lay my life down now and guarantee that if the Inca's had invented trains and minibuses do you think theres any chance in hell that they would be walking for 4 days to get to what is essentially a bit of a town on a hill!?? (I take that back, it's one of the most beautiful things I've seen in my life)

So the plan is, up at 4.15am in order to get the 5.30am minibus, we got their early to make sure we get there! We wanted to be there for sunrise which is supposedly spectacular. I'm a bit gutted really as it was overcast and just got light as we were driving from side to side up the mountain at 5.45 - The place doesn't even open till 6am!

When we did arrive I took exceptionally smug pleasure in seeing the hikers and walkers, just after they had climbed several hundred steps over the course of the last couple of hours to get the the gate to Machu Picchu - Not a single one of them had a breath in their bodies, copious amounts of sweat dripping from the wheezing puffing heads of the fit and healthy, yes it was a well spent 3pounds 50 to take the minibus!!!

I can't really put into words how spectacular it was once we were there. I just wanted to get to the bit where the postcards are taken from and pop the question but we ended up going the wrong way first and found ourselves amidst loads of folks heading at a hefty pace to the ticket office at the other side of the ruins. The reason that most people go this early is so they can be one of the chosen few, there are 400 tickets a day for people to be able to climb up Wanapicchu. This is the mountain in the background that you can see in all the photo's of Machu Picchu. Ha, not even crossed my mind, there's a few hundred huge steps to walk up. My justification of not going up there was that we'd be higher yes but also further away from the ruins we came to see so surely it would be better to be lower down and closer for a better look? I actually didn't come up with this till after we left but I think it can hold quite well up to argument!

Also can you imagine me on one knee, panting and gasping for breath as I proposed? Gini would just think I was having a seizure or heart attack!!

So we backtracked, we still had to climb a big hill and quite a few steps so it was a while after we got to the top on this side of the ruins ( I had to wait a while to catch my breath before asking). I led Gini by the hand to a more secluded spot over to the right, the breathtaking view behind us, misty clouds swirling around possibly the most fantastic ruins in the world, built in the decade between 1460 and 1470 it really is a sight, you can see very spot I asked in the pictures.

Like I mentioned I had the old butterflies in my stomach, I was nervous despite never being more sure of anything in my life. I think I started by saying something about us being together for a long time and who would have thought we would finally be here, then I drop to one knee and whip the ring out of the pocket it has been hiding in, Gini's face is a picture as I say;

"Gini, will you please, please, please marry me?"

yeah, I think saying please 3 times is actually classed as begging but hey it was a spur of the moment thing (despite I'd been trying to think of the best way to word it all day) and it was still only about 7am, I wasn't taking any chances.

You know what she said?

Now at this juncture I hadn't even considered what her words might be.

You know, following the rest of our relationship - meeting in Australia, a long term telephone relationship, seeing each other for a total of about 12 days over 12 months before she moved to Manchester to be with me and then having a fantastic relationship and all reaching to this pinnacle in time where I am on one knee pretty much asking her to be with me for the rest of her life, she says

"yeah, ok"

Yeah OK???? Well at least it was a yes!

Then she got embarrasses and grabbed my head to her bosom (ha, bosom.. I'm like so too childish to get married!!) in what can only be described as a bear hug. She cried a bit too, score!

In all honesty since I turned 30 I have become an emotional wreck, I seriously thought I'd be the one crying. Gonna be fecked at the actual wedding.....big, gay, man tears!

Then we spent the day walking around taking lots of photo's, strangely enough I think we got more of the Llamas that were wandering around than of the ruins, calling each other fiancee and just being a happy couple who had just got engaged.

It was a good day.