Tuesday
This morning we awoke at 5 am to catch our train to Aguas Calientes at 6:30. It took 3 soles to get from San Blas Plaza to the train station and on the way we passed La Plaza de Armas.
The day before, on our trek back to Samay Wasi, we ran across what looked like a festival. There were men, women and children dancing, all dressed up in traditional Peruvian clothing. There were speeches and masses of people crowing the streets and park blocks. A woman was selling small Cusco flag pins.
This morning many people were out in the Plaza again. I asked the taxi driver what kind of festival was going on, he replied the people of Cusco were up early to practice for Inti Rami.
Waiting for the train to Aguas Calientes, we were two of the few with big backpacks. Everyone else looked as if they were going on a leisurely day expedition. This is Machu Picchu people! This is not a day at the zoo! As we boarded, we put our packs on racks (phew! because we were worried we might be denied taking our packs) and settled in. We began moving.
Waiting for the train to Aguas Calientes, we were two of the few with big backpacks. Everyone else looked as if they were going on a leisurely day expedition. This is Machu Picchu people! This is not a day at the zoo! As we boarded, we put our packs on racks (phew! because we were worried we might be denied taking our packs) and settled in. We began moving.
The people next to us, a family of five, were from Maryland and had only been in Peru a couple days like us. The train was cold, much colder than we had anticipated. All of a sudden, the train shuddered to a sudden stop. We began to move in the opposite direction. We thought “There must be something wrong!” After a short distance, the train shuddered to a stop once again and began chugging in the original direction. “They’ve fixed it!” But no, another stop and another direction change. “Ah hah!” We realized there was no problem, the train was chugging up the switchbacks, trying to get out of mountainous Cusco. Along the roadside, we saw dogs, cats, chickens, pigs, and cows, all just out for a morning stroll. Little baby piglets running all over the place! As we moved further into the mountains, the scenery was stunning. Deep valleys, snow capped mountains, hardworking Peruvians tending to the miles and miles of fields.
The trip seemed long. We bought sandwiches. The train was freezing and we were thankful for having our packs with extra clothing. The boy next to us threw up.
We arrived around 11 o’clock am. We disembarked the train, packs and supplies in tow (don’t forget we were still lugging around bags of supplies for the orphanage, originally to have been dropped off the day before), and were ushered into a massive arts and crafts market.
We arrived around 11 o’clock am. We disembarked the train, packs and supplies in tow (don’t forget we were still lugging around bags of supplies for the orphanage, originally to have been dropped off the day before), and were ushered into a massive arts and crafts market.
We made out way through the maze of booths crammed with handcrafted items and found our way to Gringo Bills, in the Aguas Calientes Plaza. The hotel was beautiful. We checked in and made our way up the stairs half indoor, half outdoor, to our room. It felt like we were in a tropical paradise. The room was clean with fresh towels, nicely decorated. Our view was of the courtyard garden, which had been planted around the outdoor staircase.
We recollected ourselves and set out to buy Machu Picchu tickets and bus passes. The tick for MP was s/122 or about $45. The bus pass to get up to MP was $14. We decided to do a little shopping in the market, though Aguas Calientes isn’t the best place to get the best bargains. Aguas Calientes, though set far away in the mountains, definitely had a touristy vibe to it. We tried to haggle a bit, but honestly I hate haggling. It was obvious the money we spent here would be going to people who had much less than we did.
Aguas was cool, but clear and surrounded by high mountains. We sat for awhile in the plaza and watched other tourists and locals. Behind us we could hear the local children in school. We watched a stray dog fight. We watched a dog take a piss in the lawn around the fountain of the Incan god. I don’t think Incan god would like this. We cleaned up and went to dinner. Baked potato and beans. A typical meal as Peru grows over 3,000 kinds of potatoes. Read an interesting story about this here. The meal was good, but expensive compared to Cusco.
We finally got to bed around 8:30, trying to get enough sleep for our 4:30am wake up and our much anticipated day exploring Machu Picchu!
