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Published: August 3rd 2008
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Day 301 - Sunday 27 July
Yolanda has to travel back to Lima today so after saying goodbye I went back to bed. Although Im going to miss her it will be great to actually get more than a few hours sleep in every night. At 11 I went to pick Russ up so we could make our way to Ollantaytambo. Unfortunately once again he kept me waiting for ages. He really is a nightmare to travel with when hes with a girl.
Early afternoon we eventually made it onto the bus to Ollantaytambo. Theres an old Inca fortress on the hill overlooking the town and as we´ve a few hours until our train leaves for Aguas Caliente we went to have a look. The photos of it look good but after visiting the ones at Pisac earlier, I didn't think they were as good. Nethertheless they're still worth a visit if you have the time.
Early afternoon and we took the train to Aguas Caliente. This is the closest town to Machu Picchu and as we got out of the train station we were greeted by hoards of hawkers all trying to sell us a room. We
were ready for them and playing them off against each other we got a bargain.
It really is expensive here, the Peruvian government know how to make money out of tourists. The train had been expensive and we'd saved a fair bit by taking it from Ollantaytambo rather than Cusco, but the bus ticket up the mountain to Machu Picchu itself was a rip off as Peruvian prices go, and at 25 pounds the entrance ticket itself isn´t cheap. They even stole my student card claiming it was a fake and refused to give it back.
Wanting to be up early and still recovering from a week of partying in Cusco it was time for bed and an early night.
Day 302 - Monday 28 July
To try and beat the crowds we got up early at 5am so we could get the first bus up the mountain at half five. Unfortunately everybody else had the same idea and the queue was huge. Luckily there was more than one bus taking everybody and we ended up on bus number 20.
Machu Picchu itself is on top of a mountain. I'd hoped to see the sun
rise over the site but because of the morning mist the whole site is engulfed in cloud and you can't see anything from the classic viewpoints. Eventually at about 9am the mist cleared. I wish I'd have known this beforehand like the locals seemed to, I wouldn't have bothered to take the bus until 8 or 9 and had a lie in instead. Its no more busier now than it was at 6am.
After taking the classic photos we went down to explore the ruins themselves and did so for the whole morning. They definitely are the best Inca ruins I've seen on this trip and even though they're expensive to see, I think you have to see them. By lunchtime we were finished with the main site so decided to walk further up the mountain to the sungate. It was a hard uphill walk and probably not worth the effort but we did have a few hours to pass.
Theres only so much sightseeing you can do in a day no matter how impressive the sight, and by mid afternoon we were starting to get bored so decided to head back to Aguas Caliente. To save ourselves
some money as walking downhill is easier than uphill we walked back rather than took the bus. Its a 2 hour walk and could have been great except half an hour in it actually started to rain. Great the first time it rains in about 6 weeks and i'm stuck with nowhere to shelter. A little wet we arrived back into town. After getting a bite to eat, there was still an hour and a half to kill before the train leaves back to Ollantaytambo. Its happy hour in the bars at 4 drinks for the price of 1. Unfortunately at 4 quid for a 330ml bottle of beer, thats not very happy in my book.
A train ride and a minibus journey later and we were back in Cusco. Its my last night in town, and I'd have liked to have gone for a beer but all this sleep deprevation is beginning to take its toll. Instead I had to go to bed.
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