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Published: June 13th 2007
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At last, this blog is finally going to completely catch me up to the time that I am writing this. YEAH!
So...Aquas Calientes. I got to have my first real train ride ever, and the views were amazing although somewhat spoiled by the power lines running along the Urubamba river. About 5 kilometers from Aquas Calientes is a hydroelectric station on the river and the power is run back up stream to the Sacred Valley area. We did get a nice surprise on the train as we paid for the cheap ¨backpacker¨train, but we actually got the mid-priced Vistadome train, and therefore were served a nice snack of a ham and cheese sandwich and chocolate brownie with orange juice. It was especially nice since we didn´t have breakfast that morning. (Hope we get the same on the way back!)
Even knowing that Aquas Calientes was basically a gringo centered (and unattractive) town, we were still a bit shocked at how ugly it is. Perched in the narrow canyon carved by the Urubamba, surrounded by magnificent scenery, it is truly an eyesore. The streets run all over the place, very narrow, with little light from the sun since the
buildings are on top of each other due to limited space. It´s rather claustrophobic actually. Our hostel is set up the side of one of the mountains, up a narrow long set of stone stairs. It is run by a very young (18??) woman named Tatiana. She has a Russian accent, although she has S. Am. features. Our room is like a little cave, with very little natural light and hardly any electric light either. And, we can tell we are in the cloud forest, because everything has the same damp, musty odor that I associate with the beach. But, our joy at putting Urubamba town behind us made it seem a palace!
After dropping off our stuff, we headed down to buy tickets to Machu Picchu (120 soles - an insanely high price, about $35) and then to the bus depot to buy tickets for the 15min trip up the mountain to the site. The bus ride is a bit scary, these are big buses taking the hairpin turns up the one lane road a quite a clip. And, it´s not uncommon for two buses to meet which means one usually has to back up to a widened
area of road so that they might pass each other. Then, after 2 years, we are finally there. Machu Picchu! Lost City of the Incas. It was truly amazing, and photos can´t convey the size and scope of the entire complex. The feats of engineering to perch those agricultural terraces on the top of that mountain - I just can´t even imagine. There were plenty of tourists, of course, but really it wasn´t difficult at all to find areas that were mainly tourist free. Especially since most were with groups or hired on of the many guides offering their services at the gate. These folks wented along a certain path, hitting the highlights but never really exploring the site. Most arrived on the 10am train and left on the 4pm train, only spending about 2 - 3 hours at the site. Stef and I arrived at about 9am and left at about 3pm and we still only covered about 1/3 to 1/2 of the main site. We never even considered any of the side trips which required some hiking. And, even though we took our time and rested, we were still completely wiped out by the time we left. I
can´t imagine arriving in the am, seeing the site, and having to catch the train back to our hostel. We could hardly stay awake on the bus ride home!
Since we would have to climb stairs back up to the Condor (our hostel), we decided to stop and internet first, and found the best internet cafe yet. (of course...this is the gringo capital of Peru). Dinner was at the hostel restaurant, gourmet food with great prices (30 soles, about $10)! (We though about eating at the Sanctuary Lodge, the only place to stay at Machu Picchu .... $29 for a buffet....ummmm, no). Then we retired to our little cave for the best shower we´ve ever had in Peru, lots of hot water, with the ability to adjust it of course, and great water pressure. However, since we are in a cloud forest, once the bathroom was steamy, it stayed steamy (still steamed up this am!), so everything is now damp. Still, it was great to get warm, if only for a little while.
This morning, we got to sleep in, yeah!! But I woke up with one side of my lower lip a little swollen. Stef immediately reassured me with descriptions of the kissing bug which carries Chagas disease.....thanks, Stef. And now I am catching up on my blog, hopefully I can finally get more photos added! Today´s plan, get back to Ollantaytambo by train, meet Florencio for our taxi ride back to Cusco (YEAH CUSCO!), and ship some of our excess baggage home (DHL office in CUSCO...expect a package mom and dad.....but DON´T open!). Also, we are going to buy some llama-wear since Puno is supposed to be even colder than Cusco/Urubamba etc....yikes. Cusco, here we come!
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Bryan
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Why were you kissing a bug? ;)