Blogs from Aguas Calientes, Cusco, Peru, South America
January 13th 2012
After arriving back from the Amazon, incredibly early, as I mentioned before we had a restful day, on the evening prior to our Inca Trail Trek we met at the Llama path office to get information, meet our group and guide and go over last minute details. We were in a great group with 2 other couples - Kate from usa, and her husband Adrian from Australia/NZ/USA and Carolina from Brazil and her boyfriend Robin from Germany. Our guide was Javier, who walked us through the trip, reminded us what to bring and prepared us for the days to come. The next morning we met at 4:30am to just on their bus to head towards kilometer 82, the beginning of the Inca Trail. After breakfast in Ollantaytambo we reached the beginning of the trail and popped ... read more
Aguas Calientes- one more day to go!!
Published: September 19th 2011South America » Peru » Cusco » Aguas Calientes
September 18th 2011
Thursday 15th September All aboard Peru Rail to Aguas Calientes! We had both expected this fair weather tourist stop over for the Inca trail to be quite dirty and seedy, and I suppose where the locals live it could be considered just that. Most tourists stay in over priced hostels and hotels and blow in and blow out overnight to do the Inca trail. When we first arrived In Cusco on Sunday night we booked our tickets as a sort of package, so bus return Cusco>Olly, train return from Olly>Aguas, bus to Macchu Picchu and also our accommodation in Aguas on Thursday night at the Golden House Inn. Looked beautiful on the board at the office and the driver was picking us up and taking us there when we arrived in Aguas Calientes. We knew something ... read more
Conquering Machu Picchu as a 26 Year Old From Afghanistan
Published: July 22nd 2011South America » Peru » Cusco » Aguas Calientes
July 22nd 2011
Wow. I am so tired, and have had such an eventful last few days, that I am somewhat intimidated by the gargantuan task of enlisting the help of the written word to express things that I don´t think can be adequately conveyed through any means but experience. Of course, gamely, I will try my best. Monday was the day I had taken it upon myself to clamour through the gringo hordes and see the myriad sights on offer in Cusco, the oldest continuously inhabited city in South America. Kim, my roommate, and I had settled on entering the cathedral in the main Plaza. I recently read about Che Guevara´s experience in that Cathedral in ´The Motorcycle Diaries,´ and his words just hit the nail on the head. He spoke of how the gold in the cathedral ... read more
"One Thing About This Country, They Always Give You These Little Pieces of Paper"
Published: July 6th 2011South America » Peru » Cusco » Aguas Calientes
July 6th 2011
“Your true traveler finds boredom rather agreeable than painful. It is the symbol of his liberty-his excessive freedom. He accepts his boredom, when it comes, not merely philosophically, but almost with pleasure.” – Aldous Huxley July 4, 2011. Took the train to Aguas Calientes, which is the town you must go through to get to Machu Picchu. The train ride was three hours long but very nice. I met a German couple and a guy from New Jersey. They were seated with me as the seats were in groups of four with a table in between. We had some very enjoyable conversations about culture, language and traveling. After getting to AC, I had the problem of not knowing whether I really had a room since my reservation was kind of dodgy (and my bank decided not ... read more
May 5th 2011
Tanaan oli vuorossa siirtyminen Machu Picchun laheiseen kylaan Aguas Calientesiin. Tanne paasi vain junalla. Junamatka oli vain 40 km, mutta kesti melkein kaksi tuntia ja maksoi sen verran mita matka Tampereelta Helsinkiin. Kalleimpia matkaosuuksia talla mantereella. Junassa ei ollut matkatavarahyllyja. Sen sijaan katossa oli ikkunoita, ja ne olivatkin tarpeen, silla matka meni syvassa laaksossa ja nakymia piisasi. Majoituimme hostelliin, kavimme ostamassa huomiseksi liput Machu Picchuun ja jututimme pitkaan eilen tapaamiani barcelonalaisia. Josep asuu kylla Kolumbiassa ja on siella naimisissa. Hanen aitinsa Roser on jo elakkeella ja on tullut ensimmaista kertaa Etela-Amerikkaan. Josep aikoi lahtea liikkeelle aamulla varhain ja kiiveta ylos. Kun tytartani on vaivannut flunssa, meidan piti tehda rauhallisemmat suunnitelmat, jattaa ohjelmasta pois korkein huippu ja menna ylos bussilla, ... read more
Ollantaytambo & Aguas Calientes
Published: July 17th 2011South America » Peru » Cusco » Aguas Calientes
April 21st 2011
At our highest campsite of the trip at 4250M above sea level it was by far one of the coldest nights I’ve ever experienced in my life, and spending it in a tent wasn’t really helping. One of the Charity Challenge crew woke me and Hannah up around 6AM offering us some cocoa tea, we were still freezing and as usual I woke with a cracking headache. We threw on our gear and struggled to open the tent’s zip, we actually found ice on the outside of our tent, it had frozen overnight, unbelievable. Everyone headed over to have breakfast in the food tent and when we found out it was bacon and eggs for breakfast we cheered. It was such a beautiful day outside that no sooner after breakfast came out the Charity Challenge crew ... read more
March 19th 2011
Just checked out of the hotel in Aguas Calientes (the town at the bottom of Machu Picchu). Had a great day yesterday despite a shaky start (at our 5:40am pickup time, we almost ditched the plan due to queasiness). Illness held off for the whole day however, and we had an exceptional visit to Machu Picchu, followed by a dip in the hotsprings here in town. We're exploring Aguas Calientes this afternoon until our train leaves at 4pm, but will keep an eye on the nearest bathroom at all times. Realized that this wasn't just altitude sickness, but something more sinister, and we're all in the same boat at the moment. Fun. Grateful we we had a good day yesterday though. With Machu Picchu, you go prepared to tromp through it in the rain if that's ... read more
Cusco and the journey to see Machu Picchu
Published: February 2nd 2011South America » Peru » Cusco » Aguas Calientes
January 15th 2011
hey everyone, here are the pics from Cusco and our journey to Aguas Calientes ( the base for seeing machu picchu). our next blog will be of machu picchu itself!!! SOOOO AWESOME! Love, Quinn and Randi... read more
January 15th 2011
here are more machu picchu pics! we think the computer messed up and there is no order and there may be doubles... but they are great pics! and at the end are some pics from lake Titicaca at sunrise and the border crossing between peru and bolivia! YAY... read more
December 19th 2010
This is my belated blog entry about my trip to Macchu Picchu. It was beautiful, breathtaking, impressive, and very much fun. We took the trains in one day and hung out for an overnight before heading up to MP for the day. After MP, we spent a day enjoying the tourist attractions of the town, meaning the hot springs. Also, everything in Aguas Calientes costs 15 soles during the off season. In Perú, prices are very negotiable, and in Aguas Calientes, the town you stay in to get to MP, everything costs 15 soles. It is the magic number in negotiations. Any meal, hostel room, or trinket that starts out costing more than this can be negotiated down to 15 soles. Perhaps this was because we visited shortly before the beginning of the rainy season, a ... read more
