Día 26

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Day 26. July 26. My birthday! Couldn´t have asked for a better itinerary for today...

The day started off with a midnight call from Fiore to wish me a happy birthday, and I went to sleep not too much later. At around 8:30am, Erin and Erin popped into my room to say happy birthday and throw balloons at me while I was still in bed under the covers. Had a quick breakfast at the hotel, and then we were off to Aguas Calientes.

We stopped in Ollantaytambo to buy water and rain ponchos (yes, I had one and left it at the lodge) and I finally found the bag I was looking for. Not that I had a particular one in mind, but I knew that I would know when I saw it. Natalie insisted on buying it for me for my birthday =)

Willy (our busdriver) dropped us off at the train station and took all of the luggage that we didn´t need to our hotel in Cusco, where we would be arriving Friday afternoon. The train ride was about an hour and a half to Aguas Calientes, and when we got off the train, we had to walk through a gigantic market filled with stuff to buy. I had to shield my eyes because we did not have a lot of time (and I did not have a lot of money...)

Our hotel was not the Inti Inn as we were originally told, but the Machu Picchu Inn. The hotel was just ok, nothing in comparison to the beautiful lodge we had just left. But our room smelled. At least we were only there for one night, right?

Lunch was at a buffet near the hotel, and following lunch we boarded the Machu Picchu bus, which would take us to the starting point for our hike. The 30 minute busride up the windy, narrow, muddy, two-lane road was an adventure in itself. But we arrived safely and began our trek through the lost city of the Incas. For information on Machu Picchu, click on MachuPicchu

Note of importance- upon our arrival at the starting point, there were a few stray dogs roaming around. One of them looked just like Sashi!! Except he was a boy dog... I could tell because while I was petting him he got a little excited....

We climbed about 300 feet, stopping in many different places to learn the history of the settlement. I have to say I can´t imagine another birthday ever being this exciting! It was amazing... the pictures do not do this historical site the justice it deserves, but being there and seeing it in all its beauty makes it clear why it was nominated as one of the new 7 Wonders of the World.

A few hours of breathtaking views and spectacular history lessons from our esteemed tour guide Juan, and we made our way back to the hotel. A visit to the internet cafe (no surprise there) and some browsing of the shops near the hotel. Just as I was heading back to meet the group for dinner, I heard drums and music and turned around to see a very large parade of children marching through the cobblestone streets of Aguas Calientes. They were carrying instruments, crepe paper balloons of varying designs lit up by candles on the inside, and wearing beautiful multicolored ponchos. This was an early celebration of the upcoming July 28th holiday, El Día de la Independencia del Perú.

Dinner at the hotel was orange chicken (eh, nothing to write home about- well, nevermind, already doing that) and some kind of jello cake. Everyone sang Happy Birthday and I blew out the candle and made a wish.

Spent some time at internet cafe trying to upload pics (I know, I know, I have been behind) and then went back to hotel to get some sleep.

Early day tomorrow- planning to hike Waynu Picchu and see the sunrise. Alarm set for 5:30am..

¡Buenas noches y feliz cumpleaños a mí!

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Photos

The whole gang
...but where´s Edmundo