Spring Break Part III

We awoke in Cusco on Friday, September 11th around 8am, ate hostel breakfast, and then headed to the taxi station to make our way to Ollantaytabo where you get the train to Machu Picchu. We had a little trouble getting to the taxi station because we got a little lost in Cusco, but we made it there. In the end, it was a good thing we were running late because the cab drivers that were there knew they weren´t going to get many more people heading to Ollanta because there are only two trains a day that leave at exactly the same time everyday. I was able to haggle the fare down from US$60 to S/. 60 (Peruvian Soles) a difference of about US$40.

We got to Ollanta on time, but Austin didn´t have his boarding pass. He was able to get one at the ticket office without any major problems. Then I realized I was in a differen car on the train and there is no way to move between cars. The rest of the group had my lunch, and no one is going to get between me and my PB and J, so I sweet-talked the woman in charge to getting me into Car A. The family was together again!

The train ride from Ollanta to Machu Picchu is about an hour and a half and was my favorite part of the journey so far. It was a winding track through the mountains of Peru. I´ll upload photos, but they can´t do it justice.
When we got to Aguas Calientes, the little community in Machu Picchu, two representatives from our hostel were waiting for us with a sign with Leanne´s name on it. We hiked up the hill to the hostel, plopped our stuff down, and immediately headed out to get Machu tickets and bus passes. We then took advantage of the afternoon and wandered around Aguas Calientes where I was bargaining my ass off. It was a blast! I ran into the guys I was sitting next to on the train in the market and we chatted for a good long while. We parted ways when it was time to meet at the hostel for dinner. The group went out to dinner with Allie, Meera, and Becca, who were also staying in our hostel again that night. The waitress tried to overcharge us for the meals and slap us with a bogus care-of-tourist tax. I haggled both of those down and saved another US$25. (Fun times!)

It was early to bed that night because you have to get up at 3:30am to get in line for Machu busses in order to be one of the first 400 that get a chance to climb Winapicchu (the mountain in the background of all the famous Machu pictures).

Day three: Friday September 11th at 8am to Friday, September 11th at 10pm