Aguas Calientes

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Kelly and I were really hoping to sleep in today and then lay in bed for a few hours watching TV, but unfortunately our hotel had a 10am check out so our dreams were dashed. Instead we slept until 9am, quickly ate the continental breakfast and then stored our bags at reception so we could explore Aguas Calientes.

Aguas Calientes lies in a deep gorge below Machu Picchu. A virtual island, it’s cut off from all roads and enclosed by stone cliffs, towering cloud forest, and two rushing rivers. Despite its gorgeous location, Aguas Calientes has always been a bit of a no-man’s land, with a large itinerant population, slack services that count on one-time customers and an architectural tradition of rebar and unfinished cement. Despite that however the city reminded me of a quaint Swiss village the way it sits by itself in the mountains, next to rushing rivers. All the rocks in the river are so smooth and white from the water rushing over them. In addition to being the basecamp for Machu Picchu hikers, Aguas Calientes is also known for its hot springs (hence the name). Kelly and I decided not to go since we went to the hot springs in Santa Teresa, plus we heard that the ones in Aguas were not nearly as nice.

I hate to say this but perhaps the most memorable part of the day was actually a bulldozer that was in the river moving giant boulders (I think for aesthetic reasons). I have no idea how that huge bulldozer managed to get down to the river in the first place. The banks of the river were pretty steep and the bounders were huge. It was so entertaining that quite a few people started congregating to watch. Unfortunately we missed the bulldozer getting out of the river, that would have been a sight!

A major thing on our to-do list today was to buy gifts for our families, so one of our last stops before lunch was to a local jewelry store. The silver made in Peru is actually of higher quality and durability but for much cheaper prices so needless to say we spent a lot of time in this store. In the end I purchased a beautiful necklace pendant in the shape of a Peruvian medicine man. It is multicolored and all the stones were found in Peru. It is so beautiful and a great way to remember my time in Peru. I also got a necklace for my mom which has a mountain on it with a beautiful blue sky above.

Just in time for lunch it started pouring so we quickly found a spot to eat and get out of the rain. We went to the La Lena Gill (for Lena of course) and had pizza. It continued to rain for most of the day as we made our way through the local market to get more souvenirs. We also wasted some time at a coffee shop. Our train ride wasn’t scheduled until 4:30pm and there is not much to do in Aguas so it was a long day.

At 4:30pm we got on a Peru Rail train and headed to Ollyantambo. The Peru Rail is a wonderful train line that runs throughout Peru. The rail cars are very nice and the glass ceiling and side windows provide an unforgettable view of the countryside. Everything was so green and off in the distance you could see the snow-covered mountains.

From Ollyantambo we took a bus to Cusco, this is the route everyone takes since the train does not go directly to Cusco. Kelly and I were the last ones on the bus so we had to sit upfront with the driver. I mentioned how scary Peruvians are to drive with; well at one point this guy had not one but two cells phones in his hands! On the positive side before we went around a turn he would mouth hail-Mary’s to himself so I figured God was looking out for us. The bus ride took about an hour and a half so we arrived in Cusco a little after dinner. While we were happy to be done with the hike, arriving back at Cusco was hard. The weather had gotten much colder and our altitude sickness quickly returned. So after getting a quick bite to eat we went back to the hostel.

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