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Local Transportation
Linda taking a moto taxi to the train stationThis morning we left the peaceful town of Ollantaytambo to make our way to the town of Aguas Calientes, the gateway to Machu Picchu. Rivelino had arranged for some moto-taxis to take us from the hotel to the train station for our 9:00am departure. The ride into Aguas Calientes only took about 2 hours as we rode through some incredibly scenic jungle scenery. About halfway through the ride, the train had stopped to drop off those who were going on the multi-day Inca Trail hike. Kevin had signed up for a one day trek on this trail so he was let off here and would meet us in town later that evening. In retrospect if I had this trip to do over again, I probably would have opted to do the multi-day hike on the Inca Trail. Continuing further into the canyon, the foliage bacame more dense and lush until we finally arrived in the town of Aguas Calientes, also known as Machu Picchu Pueblo. Serving as the gateway to the Macchu Picchu ruins, Aguas Calientes is the epitome of a tourist town. Almost everything here was tailor made for visiting tourists. After disembarking the train, there was literally no where
else to go but up with the town extending into the higher elevations. Rivelino led us through the winding streets of the town to our hotel which seemed to be out in the furthest reaches of the town. The altitude was beginning to hit me as I was having slight difficulty hiking up the steep terrain with my bag. Exhausted and sweaty due to the humidity, we finally arrived at our hotel, Hotel Pachaqutec. Before heading out for a quick walking tour, I decided to take a quick shower. Ironically enough, we are in Aguas Calientes which translates into Hot Waters in Spanish and there was no hot water available for me to shower with.
We walked back downhill on the narrow streets where Rivelino started our walking tour of the town in the main plaza. From here he brought us into a market that was frequented by locals and gave us a brief history of the town. We then walked along the Urubamba River where the humidity definitely started to hit us. After taking a quick group photo, we made our way back into town where we visited an artisenal market and grabbed some ice cream before crossing
the bridge over the Aguas Calientes River to other side of the town. This side of the town was much quieter and less commercialized. We walked passed a soccer field that was surprisingly large for such a small town with a limited amount of flat land. Rivelino's purpose for taking us to this part of town was to visit the cemetary. Today was Dia de los Muertos, a much celebrated holiday in the Latin world where people would visit the cemetary to pay homage their departed loved ones. There was already a good number of people at the cemetary celebrating their loved ones. It was still rather early in the day and Rivelino indicated that it would be a much livelier scene later with more people present and the beer kicking in. There were rows of elevated graves where the grave is set into a wall with a niche in the front. In this niche, people place candles, flowers, photos, and other things to remember their loved ones. We walked around admining all the decorated graves in the wall as well as all the decorated individual plots. It did feel a bit weird and somewhat awkward and I felt as
if I was being intrusive as these people were trying to honor and respect their loved ones. However, I did tell myself that I would probably return later in the day to check out the more livelier atmosphere. After the visit to the cemetary, Rivelino led us back to the hotel where we had the remainder of the afternoon at leisure.
With Kevin out on a memorable hike for the day, I wanted to partake in a well known hike as well. The hike to Putucusi was a very strenuous that involved having to navigate a good number of vertical ladders. However, the reward was a great view of Aguas Calientes as well as a view of the backside of Machu Pichu. I walked along the railroad tracks to the end of town until I found the trail that would bring me higher into the hills. With the high humidity, high altitude, and my pathetic fitness level, I didn't last very long on the trail. I got to a point where I was able to get a nice view of Aguas Calientes when I decided to just turn around and head back into town. Back in town, I just
Aguas Calientes
Statue of Pachacuti decided to wander some of the shops, listened to some musicians play some Andean music, and grabbed some pizza. Later in the evening, Linda and I returned to the cemetary to absorb more of the Dia de los Muertos atmosphere. The cemetary was much livelier than this afternoon as Rivelino had indicated. Many more people were here and the beers were definitely flowing. Linda and I saw a beer vendor and decided to share a large beer. Staking out a spot in the center of the cemetary, we enjoyed our beer and enjoyed spending the next hour just people watching.
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