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Published: July 21st 2010
Hola Amigos!
Since our last post we´ve had quite the experience. Once we signed out of our internet connections after last writing, we asked the receptionist at the internet cafe/travel agency for Wednesday or Thursday train tickets to Aguas Calientes, the stop off point before taking a short bus ride to Machu Picchu. After calling the train station she told us we Wednesday and Thursday were all booked. She could arrange a ticket for tomorrow (Tuesday) though. This presented us with a small problem. You´re supposed to spend a few days getting acclimated to the climate in Cuzco before going even higher up to Machu Picchu. The hotel we´ve been staying at since after the first night is a couple blocks up a hill near the main square in Cuzco. We couldn´t walk up it still without having to take a break so we´re clearly not fully adjusted to the altitude. It looked like we had a clear choice, either go tomorrow before we´re ready or be huge wussies who are afraid of a little light air. We bought the tickets.
After buying the tickets we had to do a little change in our day´s gameplan. We originally wanted to just spend the day lazying around Cuzco since a little travel break has been in order but now we needed warm clothes and supplies for Machu Picchu. We walked around looking for some decent warm thermal shirts that weren´t too expensive. We eventually found some we both liked, only later to realize that they were the exact same style. Yes, we were going to be ´that couple´, the aweful ones who match all their clothes. We already were going to be wearing matching North Face jackets, why not go one more layer? After getting money, snack food, eating dinner and picking up our laundry we were finally back at our hotel. Our train left from Poroy, a small town 20 minutes from Cuzco, at 7:45 so we needed to head to bed early to wake up, shower, dress, eat, catch a cab and be at the station in time.
That hope of getting a good early night´s sleep didn´t work. Just as we were about to drift off, Patty started feeling sick. That queasy feeling turned into full out throwing up in the toilet for a couple hours. Eventually with an empty stomach and aching body Patty fell asleep. The alarm brutally went off at 5 AM we got going. Patty was still not well but feeling somewhat better. We went upstairs to eat our breakfast (with an awesome view of Cuzco by the way) the worker was fifteen minutes late and was rushing to get our continental breakfast out. We were running a little late now and had to find a cab in the main square (another 10 minute walk) to make it to Poroy. Luckily there was a cab right outside our hotel on our tiny little street.
Feeling good that we made it to the station with more than enough time, we were immediately greeted by a lady who works for PeruRail who told us there is work being done on the tracks so they were going to shuttle bus us an hour an a half to a train station farther down where we´d board there for the final two hours to Aguas Calientes. Once at that town, Ollantaytambo, we had to wait in the street for about an hour for our train to arrive. Eventually we boarded and were off on the most beautiful train ride through the Sacred Valley.
In Aguas Calientes you have to buy your tickets to get into Machu Pichhu in a practically unmarked iPeru office. We waited in line then for fifteen minutes before realizing that you couldn´t pay with a credit card and they don´t give change?! Patty waited in line while I went running through the town looking for an ATM.
Here´s the thing about Aguas Calientes, there is a store, restaurant or hostel to service all the travellers coming through. It´s building up too. You can see that in five years it´s just going to be a haven for travellers. Anyway, on every window there is a ´Visa and Mastercard Accepted´ sign. Every place takes cards except that damn iPeru office. It is also the only town we´ve been to in Peru that doesn´t have an ATM on every block. I ran throughtout the entire town looking for one while Patty stayed in the ticket office. Eventually I found one across a bridge after ten minutes of full out running. The machine wasn´t working...of course. Running back in the main square I spoke to a police officer who I think was happy to point me towards the one working ATM. After getting our tickets and a quick bite to eat, we boarded a minibus to take us up to the site. This ride up is a thrill enough. The small road is gravel, full of winds, and has drop offs that could make you cry just looking at.
Once we made it up to the site and passed a turn where you can first take it all in, the whole journey was so much worth it. It is simply incredible. Despite seeing it in pictures and on t.v., nothing compared to the beauty of seeing it with our own eyes. We won´t try to descibe it as we´d fall short. We also had a sunny sky and warm weather the whole time we explored the site.
After a ton of pictures we eventually had to leave and after getting lost in the ruins for a bit eventually made it out. We trained back to Ollantaytambo then had to wait outside a PeruRail parking lot for a minibus back to Cuzco. Eventually, we were back in our hotel room by 9:30 and quickly crashed.
Today has been the slow, recuperating day we´ve needed. We slept in, briefly walked around town and bummed around the hotel some more. We´re going to look now into tickets out of Cuzco, most likely to Puno to see Lake Titicaca and then the Amazon. Could have another day here though if tickets are full. Who knows?
The adventure continues.
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Dave
non-member comment
Wow
This is great stuff - keep the reports coming!