Back to Peru

---

We arrived at the airport in La Paz early for our flight to Cuzco. We were meant to arrive at 8am for our 10.15 flight, but got there nearer to 7 due to the taxi ride only taking 17 minutes instead of an hour. We settled down for a foot long sub after checking in. The airport was so relaxed they didn't even have proper queues and it was really small.

After our boarding time came and went we were a little annoyed that we hadnt been informed of why we were delayed. Excuses changed from bad weather in Cuzco to bad weather in La Paz, and we eventually took off around 3pm, after already having boarded the plane once and being taken off again.

We arrived in Cuzco an hour later, but it was again 3pm as we had travelled back in time. Along with a Swiss guy we had met on the plane, we took a taxi to our hostel, the Wild Rover. We had booked our stay here from the Wild Rover in La Paz, as it was half price beds for the whole of the Christmas period because the hostel was new. The evening was spent drinking beers in the hostel bar, and quite an early night. We got chatting to a couple of Irish guys who were working at the hostel and were really nice. The guy who was managing the hostel was a partner at the Wild Rover. He told us how he had come about becoming a partner which sounded really simple. He had just approached one of the partners in La Paz and offered capital with the business ides of setting up a hostel in Cuzco. They agreed and started up- it seemed they were really successful already.

The following day we went for a walk around the town to see what there was to see and do. Our aim was to book our train tickets for Machu Picchu, and transport to Ollantaytambo where the train station is located. We managed to find an Irish pub called Paddy's where we went for lunch, which was a bit disappointing. The chicken roast dinner was more like chicken chasseur. In the street there were loads of ladies dressed in traditional clothing and carrying baby lambs around for photo opportunities. Katie was particularly taken with one lamb wearing a cute woollen bonnet, he was called Richard. We paid a hefty donation to hold him and pose for pictures.

In the afternoon we browsed around a few different markets selling alpaca crafts and happy pants. There was also one market specialising in electronics and backpacks- weird combination. We were trying to get hold of a lightweight backpack so bargained with the woman on the stand. Halfway through this procedure she lifted up her top and started breastfeeding a child. We didn't know where to look, so moved on without purchasing the bag.

The train station was a little out of town and required a walk through the stinkiest market ever to get to it. We eventally made it there and it was closed. A guard at the station told us that there was a Perurail office in the cental plaza where we could book our tickets. Damn- and we had walked so far- we were staying right near to the central plaza. So back through the stinky market we went, headed for the central plaza. Perurail was open and we managed to book tickets on the backpacker train for the following evening, the 23rd. Our plan was to stay in Aguas Calientes that evening and get up early on Christmas Eve to catch the bus up to Machu Picchu. The tickets cost just under 70 US dollars each with a return train the following day.

We needed to be in Ollaytantambo for 7pm the next day, and it was a 2 hour collectivo ride away. Instead of wasting the day before our train, we decided to book a Sacred Valley trip which was a guided tour around a few different ruins around Cuzco. One of these ruins was at Ollaytantambo, which was great for us as we could stay there. In the first tour agency we were quoted 20 USD per person for the trip, and 15 dollars on top for lunch. The next agency we were quoted 20 USD including lunch. No guessing over who we went with. We were told that our admission ticket wasn't included but that it would cost us 40 pesos with our student cards. We booked the trip and were very pleased with ourselves.

Wandering around town we found a book shop which was selling Marching Powder, a book about the San Pedro prison that Luke had been trying to get hold of for a week or so. This is a prison that convicts are able to live in with their family members. Apparently the prisoners used to produce cocaine and sell it. Nowadays tourists are able to bribe guards to let them in for a tour of the prison. We didn't go as we weren't free on the right days in La Paz and we were a little scared of being caught and getting arrested.
Anyway, so Luke managed to get his book which he thought was a photocopy of an original, for about £7.50. He was very excited anyway. We headed back to the hostel to pack our bag for our overnight trip, check out of our hostel as we were planning to leave early, and also to book a flight for Boxing day back to Lima. We had a busy night carrying out these tasks, and were in bed by 1am ready for our early morning pick-up.

The following morning we were up at 7 to get ready for our tour to the Sacred Valley. Our bus didn't arrive on time it was about 45 minutes late, but we were the first people on it- so we couldn't understand why. It was raining heavily and was pretty miserable and we had no gloves or anything. The bus began to fill up pretty quickly and within half an hour we had collected everyone and were on our way. Our guide was really infomative and spoke English.

Pisac was our first stop- for a local crafts market. It was evidently a place where all tourists were herded to, and for that reason the priced had been hiked right up. Even so, Katie bought a little leather purse for about £1, other than that we bought some chicken empanadas and then were back on the bus on our way. Our next destination was the Pisac Inca ruins, where wer would buy our admission ticket which would allow us access to both of the ruins on our trip. We soon realised we had been lied to in the tour agency, and that it would cost 70 peses each as opposed to the 40 pesos that we had been informed of. We were not impressed, and we were not in a position to change our plans. So we had to cough up and get on with it. The ruins were pretty cool to see though, and we got to climb around the terraces and into the buildings. Apparently it is illegal for any of the ruins to be restored unless there is drawing evidence of how they used to look like. We were also shown some holes in the face of a cliff where bodies used to be buried. Creepy.

We got back on the bus and headed to the banks of the Urubamba river for lunch. Different people on our bus were booked into different places. We were disappointed we weren't booked into the place where we first dropped off- it was a really pretty almost Georgian style property surrounded by manicured lawns. The restaurant where we were eventually dropped off to was actually ok though, and it offered a reasonably good selection of buffet. Dinner was served with a Pisco sour each, which is a drink that tastes like really sweet Ouzo. It was finished with a huge sambuca shot. However, neither of us were Peruvian enough to handle those. Luke was a little shocked to find that the casserole he had been enjoying was alpaca. But when in Rome. There was a man performing a little song while we were eating our lunch- most people were ignoring him so he ended up applauding himself. One person on our trip bought his CD and had him sign it!

Our guide came to collect us after lunch to take us to Ollaytantambo. These ruins are based right in the centre of the town, or more accurately, a town has formed around these ruins. We had to climb right to the top of the terraces again, around 200 steps. At the top our guide told us all about how the Incas transported rocks from miles away to make prettier buildings as offerings to the Gods.

The rest of our trip were headed to some other ruins, to complete their Sacred Valley tour. However, us and another couple, Michelle and Mark, were staying in Ollaytantambo in order to get the train to Aguas Calientes. It was only around 4pm so we decided to pass the next 3 hours with some drinks in a bar. We were greeted with the sounds of UB40 which seem to be really big over here in South America, along with Kenny G and Michael Jackson who are massive particularly in Bolivia. Kate's mom would love it here!

Finishingh our drinks at about five to seven, we had a panicky rushed walk to the train station down some dark cobbly streets. It was a good job really that we had had a few drinks and that there were four of us. We made it to the train where we were a little disappointed that our seats weren't together, despite what Perurail had told us.

---