What we came here for: Machu Picchu

We took a train from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes (Machu Picchu town). We had planned to take money out from an ATM in AC but when we got there we found out the ATM was out of service. We then learned that was the only ATM in all of Aguas Calientes. Panick started to settle in. We didn't have enough money to buy a 2 way bus ticket to Machu Picchu, pay for a private guide and pay for our lunch boxes at the hotel. We might have to come down Machu Picchu walking.. Thankfully we had purchased our Machu Picchu entrance in Cusco. We woke up the following morning at 4:20 am, had breakfast at the hotel (Gringo Bill's) and headed to the bus stop. Luckily the ATM was already working by then and we were able to purchase the 2 way tickets and had enough money for our guide, whew. There was a long line already, I would say around 200 people in front of us but they were ready, they had enough buses for an army. The drive to Machu Picchu revealed we were in the middle of the jungle, just beautiful scenary. We got in and immediately walked towards the left because we had learned that was the trick to get the classic MP shot without any tourist in the picture. That was quite a hike but we were so excited we didn't stop to rest. And finally it was there, exactly as I had pictured it, the breath taking ruins surrounded by jungle, what a sight! We asked a guy from Spain to take our group picture and when we offered to take his he told us his camera had been stolen. We just couldn't let that poor guy visit MP and not have proof in picture he was there. We offered to send his picture by email. After that we went to the entrance to get a private guide that spoke English for Hunter. We had a very interesting guided tour that lasted for 2.5 hours but when we got to the entrance to Wayna Picchu the daily limit of 400 people had already been reached. We then decided to walk all the way to the Sun Gate (Puerta del Sol) which was the entrance used by the Incas (the inca trail trekkers enter thru here too). Who came up with that idea?! We didn't think it would be so much walking! It took us about an hour to reach the top. The scenary was very nice from there but we're not sure it was worth the work. In summary we had a wonderful time at the ruins, we spent almost 8 hrs there and some of us even took a nap! Machu Picchu totally lived up to our expectations!