We made it to Machu Picchu!

The alarm went off at 330am this morning and after waiting for an hour in the cold and dark, we made it on the first bus up to the gate of Machu Picchu! At 6am the gates open and 2500 people line up to gain access each day. With our guide we were one of the first groups through the gates that morning :-) Our guide Ronald took us to a view point where we got many pictures of the magical place, with not a single person in sight! It was truly spectacular as the sun rose over the mountains and the clouds drifted in and over the sacred Inca temple. After a 3 hour extensive tour, we got to explore the rest on our own. We headed up to Machu Picchu Montana (mountain). It was a very, very steep 1 hour climb but we made it! Although Machu Picchu is the size of several football fields, it looked so so small from the top! After lunch and photos we headed back down, but the incline soon turned into uphill again to the Sun Gate on the original Inka Trail with more spectacular views. We were so exhausted at this stage, so headed back into the ruins and found a quiet spot to rest and pat a Llama. It's at this point, the unexpected happened!!! The spot we chose to sit was at the very back of the ruins away from the other 2498 people. It was the perfect spot for a surprise proposal and a special moment we will never forget.