It was the night before leaving the lodge in Ollantaytambo that we finally, and with much back and forth especially on Ben’s part, decided where we would be heading the next morning; Santa Teresa. There was a large group of artists partnered with a University that was taking over the lodge for the next 11 days, and the room we had been staying in would soon be occupied. We packed our bags, quickly said our goodbyes (as we knew we would be back to pick up our extra stuff a few days later), and ran down to the plaza to catch a ride. We were told getting a ride shouldn’t be too hard, but that getting an actual seat may be a different story. We sat on a bench in the plaza for about 20 minutes before a large passenger van pulled through asked where we were wanted to go. So sure enough, catching the ride was easy, and in Ali’s case the seat as well; Ben’s bucket, however, was quite a pain in the ass. What is literally one of the worst drives in the world is bad enough in a comfortable vehicle, but while sitting on a bucket scrunched between a full row and the van’s sliding door just brought it to another level. But hey, the views were pretty awesome.
Ben looks thrilled for the windy road trip ahead.
Motion sickness guaranteed or your money back!
Since the ride was headed all the way to the hydro-electric station, which is past Santa Teresa and on the way to Aguas Calientes, or Machu Picchu Town, we decided to skip Santa Teresa for the night and go ahead and knock Machu Picchu out. We had a quick pit-stop in Santa Teresa for the tour group to eat a late lunch, and Ben was able to run into an old friend who was kind enough to offer us juice and a snack, and we then hit the road and started our next challenge. It’s a little over a 2-hour walk from the hydro-electric station to Aguas Calientes if you’re really moving, though with heavy bags and headed up-hill it’s not the most enjoyable, and Ben clearly failed to inform Ali on what was involved.
The beginning of our trek to Aguas Calientes.
Ali about 40 minutes before she regretted not taking the Peru Rail train.
Just over two hours later we arrived, thirsty and exhausted, to Aguas Calientes. It’s a quaint little tourist trap at the base of Machu Picchu with no roads and a ton of over-priced everything. We found the cheapest hostel we could, which was back in the locals’ area, and grabbed a quick dinner. The Huaynu Picchu tickets (the higher mountain peak you can see behind Machu Picchu in all of the typical pictures) were already sold out for the following morning, so we bought our standard tickets and hit the hay. We planned on waking up around seven, but didn’t make it out of the hostel till around 9:40. Check-out was at 9:00, so after a brief conversation with the annoyed hostel worker we decided it would be best to head elsewhere to leave our bags for the day. We dropped our stuff off at another hostel and took the $18 bus the few hundred yards up to the ruins’ entrance. We’ve been told that this is the most expensive public transportation per distance traveled in the world. Regardless, after our previous days walk, the hiking involved at Machu Picchu, and the return walk that awaited we were happy to fork over what would typically be just shy of our daily budget to save ourselves from the 2,000-some steps. Machu Picchu, as anyone who has or has not been knows, is absolutely and spectacularly stunning. As Ali said in a previous post, the Incans were just badasses. The weather wasn’t great, and we got rained on near the end of our visit, but we almost preferred the view with the clouds. Seeing the contrast of the sharp mountain peaks reaching out through the tops of the clouds creates an even more surreal and magical sensation. You really do feel like you’re on another planet up there. We hung around a few English tour guides and picked out a little information here and there, but just explored the ancient village on our own for the most part.
Established 1450.
Lucy the Llama (Ali’s entertainment for about 35 minutes).
Machu Picchu has the most incredible views from literally any direction.
¿Qué hora es?
Ben tries his best to look excited to be at Machu Picchu (for his fourth time).
After the late rain shower died out we decided to head back to Aguas Calientes. We sat down for lunch with a father and daughter from the states, shared some chips and guac, tacos, as well as a few stories, and grabbed our bags for the not-so-short walk/run back to the hydro-electric station. We arrived back just after dark, sat around with four others waiting for a ride, and 30 minutes later were in a van heading to Santa Teresa. Ben was exhausted, but already giddy to be back “home” (as were his Peruvian godchildren).
greetings from blank 