9-Jan-2003 - Got up at 4 AM, only to find out that the water wasn't running, again. While we were packing up, Corey found the switch that turned on the water. This time, it was right in the bathroom. He didn't find it in time to allow us to take showers, but I was able to shampoo my hair.

We got to the train station around 5:30, and our train was set to leave at 6:15. For some reason, the 6:15 train is the last train. During the train ride, we talked with a couple from New Mexico living in Chile that was travelling with their family.

Aguas Calientes

We got to Aguas Calientes around 10:15. Aguas Calientes is a small village whose raison d'etre is to serve tourists travelling to Machu Picchu. It existed before Machu Picchu was discovered, but was not much more than a collection of huts. With the rise of tourism to Machu Picchu, it erupted into a town whose sole purpose is to extract money from tourists. This was not hurt by the fact that it is also home to a set of hot springs. The town is now a solid mass of restaurants, hotels and shops.

We checked in to our hotel, the Hotel Los Caminantes. Naturally, this place did not have working hot water, which is very ironic in a village called Aguas Calientes. We could have went to Machu Picchu today, but decided to wait until the next day so that we could be fully rested. We went to a restaurant down by the train tracks; there are a row of restaurants there that have virtually identical menus. After that, I spent several hours soaking in the hot springs, and we got some dinner.

I checked out the cuy al horno again, and this time it was fifty nuevos soles (or fifteen bucks) which is obcene by Peruvian standards. Regardless, I ended up trying it. When it came, it looked like a roasted road kill. It is supposed to be eaten by hand and no, I didn't try to bite its head off. The first bite that I made got a piece of skin, and I gagged. Once I figured it out, it seemed to taste like chicken with what I could only describe as a saltwater flavor. After trying some, Corey said that it tasted like squirrel. While I thought that the meat itself was ok, this paticular meal violated by insistance that a meal not require work (and thus, free of bones and other inedibles). Because of that, I believed that I left more meat on the remains than I was supposed to. After that, we all went to sleep early.

The Cuy... before and after

10-Jan-2003 - Got up and got moving. We arrived in time to catch the 7:30 bus to Machu Picchu, but against by objection, we balked when we saw that the round trip bus tickets were $8. We started out on the five mile hike, got slightly before half way up the mountain, and turned back due to exhaustion. We ended up getting the 9:30 bus, so our abortive walk cost us two hours.

Either way, we all forgot about this once we arrived at Machu Picchu. Machu Picchu is definately a sight to behold. In many ways, it was the same as most of the other ruins that we've visited, but just on a much more massive scale. The way that it sits on top of a mountain like a monarch's crown adds to the impressiveness. We spent several hours marvelling at the ruins.

The ruins of Machu Picchu, in all their glory

At about 3 PM, we went back to Aguas Calientes to get food, and catch the 4:45 train to Ollantaytambo. Once there, Corey got the train back to Cusco, so he could catch is flight home the next day. Pradip and I ended up staying at El Albergue Ollantaytambo. Comparatively speaking, it was a pretty nice place, and with real bathrooms with toilet seats and hot water.

El Albergue Ollantaytambo