Today was a long day, we were up at 4:50am, on the bus to train station at Ollantayambo 6am, arrived at Aguas Calientes at 8am and were walking through the gates to Machu Picchu at 9am. We spent 4-1/2 hours walking up and down, through and around the most amazing terraces with truly incredible stonework. The precision of the work, the size of the stones, the elevation the work was performed, the rugged terrain have me in shaking my head in wonder. Lisa was great, she normally is quite the scaredy cat when walking up or down steps without railings and uneven steps. We both kinda huffed and puffed our way around, but it was more than worth it.
We met some llamas there, of course. A male cria and a really funny female. The feamle was quite standoffish with quite a few people wanting a picture w her, as she was adjacent to a main walkway. We tried a few tricks, but nothing.... A grabbed an empty water bottle (we are drinking ALOT of water) and crunched it in my hands..... That got her attention and over she came. Once people started feeding her she became quite friendly and a crowd gathered.
They were cutting the grass today and the rich, green smell permeated the whole site. It was very nice ~65 F with a breeze. But the sun is intense and I got a little sunburned. It got quite crowded as the day progressed, they get 2,500 people a day there. We met a young couple in line to catch the bus from MP to AC celebrating their honeymoon. They had hiked 4 days to get there and still had great attitudes, despite not having showered for 4 days. Nice people. It was really cool not experiencing people w attitudes or pissy behavior. The place was quiet, serene and obviously majestic. It is worth the trip.
We left MP about 1:30pm back to AC and had lunch w two of our tour friends at a nice place adjacent to the river. Aguas Calientes is quite busy with restaurants, hotels, hostels, camping, the train station and plenty of shopping. The Peruvian people are so warm, sincere and kind souls. Totally unpretentious, a quality I wish I could assign to myself.
After lunch, back on the train, The Vistadome, back to Ollantaytambo. There was a small fashion show of alpaca products, which was cute. Very nice quality products at reasonable prices. We visited w other people in our tour group. By this time everyone was getting pretty tired and quiet.
At Ollantaytambo, back on the tour bus for a three hour ride to Cusco, our home for two days. Here we will visit a weaving museum, a couple of cathedrals from 1600's and of course..... More shopping for Lisa. We arrived at 9pm, too tired to eat or even chat w our group. We all kinda sat and stared at each other waiting for room assignments. Thankfully, our tour organizer is handling our baggage and it is waiting in our rooms when we arrive.......
We are in Cusco and feeling a bit weary but excited to get out and see the city. We elected to spend the day on our own, bypassing the group tours. I needed some time w just Lisa, telling her "NO" when wanting to shop : ). There is a central market where we can get a taste of local flavor, literally. Speaking of taste, I tried alpaca for the first time. It is very lean and tasty. I had a loin portion served medium. Of course. I could never eat one of ours but had to try it. Cusco is a large city and the architecture is amazing, mainly with Spanish influence. The roads are stone and narrow. The cabs about the size of a Smart Car. Today will be fun and relaxing with a dinner including all of our companeros to talk about the day and plan our long journey tomorrow to ~14,000 feet at Lake Titicaca. Some of our group have experienced the "Cusco Cleanse" and are look quite bleak. I will let you figure it out.....
Okay, out for a day a fun a frivolity, followed by a pisco sour. They are 2 for 1 everywhere. : )
Brad
The grass "fields"
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