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Tag: Machu Picchu

Peru 2015: Machu Picchu

Our itinerary had us scheduled for an early Thursday morning departure from Ollantaytambo with the intention of staying the night in Aguas Calientes, a small tourist town at the base of Machu Picchu. Our tickets for Machu Picchu were for Friday, and we were planning on doing the 5:30am bus ride up to the ruins. Because of the Perurail strike our plans changed. We spent much of Thursday in line at the train station, due to rumors that the trains may run or that we could somehow get to Aguas Calientes that night. We even looked into hiring a taxi to take us as far as the hydrostation and then hiking 2-4 hours in, but eventually ruled that out, as we did not want to be hiking in the dark with the baby on our back. Everything worked out eventually. Turns out I forgot to actually book us a hostel in Aguas Calientes for Thursday night, so we weren’t out any money there. We were able to hop into a hostel close to the Ollantaytambo train station before the crowds hit. We were legitimately concerned that we would be without a place to sleep that night having been stranded in Ollantaytambo with so many others, including a school district field trip of about 60 ten year olds. We made the best of our extra night in Ollantaytambo, eating at our favorite spot one more time, Puka Rumi.

Perurail put us on the first available train out of Ollantaytambo, but we were disappointed that it didn’t stop through our station until 10:30am, putting us in Aguas Calientes at noon. We were really hoping to still be able to get to Machu Picchu by early morning. Nothing we could do about it though so we picked up a boxed lunch from Hearts Café on our way out of town and loaded onto the train.

The train provided plenty of food and we needn’t have purchased a box lunch. A lovely American couple, newly engaged, sat across from us. They had been re-scheduling their travel plans for three days and were cutting it close, barely getting to Machu Picchu…until the train in front of us was derailed! One of the InkaRail trains was derailed; luckily there were no injuries. This caused more than a two hour delay for us, but all in all it backed up the entire train system until 6pm that night! We eventually had to unload our train, walk around the derailed train and load onto another train that carried us into Aguas Calientes.

 

transferring trains

transferring trains

When we finally arrived in Aguas Calientes at 2:30pm it was torrential downpour of rain! We fumbled around with our decision making, at first thinking we should gamble with our permit- hoping we could use it the next day and just grab a hostel in town to wait out the storm. Well, we couldn’t find a hostel available, and the weather forecast wasn’t much better for the next day. After wasting twenty minutes or so, we ran for the bus station, purchased our tickets and headed towards Machu Picchu. The scariest part of this entire adventure: the bus ride up the mountain! The rain had dwindled to a drizzle by the time we bought our bus tickets. It continued to drizzle a little as we hiked up, but at the moment we arrived to the look out the rain stopped, the clouds dispersed and it was as though angels were singing our welcome (specifically my grandma, since it would have been her 85th birthday this day!). It misted for another minute or two and then the rest of our time exploring Machu Picchu was sunny and clear! It was such a beautiful way to honor my grandma on her birthday and to experience one of the wonders of the world!

After checking this off our bucket list we still had to wait out the train station delay. We took advantage of the extra time and explored little Aguas Calientes. We treated ourselves to beers and a fruit juice for Little Monkey at a cozy, posh little restaurant where we sat on a couch and toasted to our success. Wondering if the couple ever made it to Machu Picchu or not, because we knew for certain that three others had to cancel their trip, because of the rail strike. We were glad we made it, and also glad that we had scheduled Machu Picchu in the middle of our trip and not right at the end. When traveling, especially in a developing country, leave room for mishaps!

Machu Picchu Success!

Machu Picchu Success!

Ciao,

Kato

 

P.S

These sites were incredibly helpful in my preparations for Machu Picchu:
http://www.escapetraveler.com/getting-to-machu-picchu-how-to-get-to-machu-picchu-peru/
http://therewardboss.com/how-to-book-machu-picchu-tickets-online-in-only-a-few-minutes/
I saved a lot of money by using the above site and getting my permit through the Peruvian government, even though many books and sites will say it’s not possible.

 

Peru 2015: Ollantaytambo

Stepping back in time, cobblestone streets of Ollantaytambo.

Stepping back in time, cobblestone streets of Ollantaytambo.

Discovering upon arrival in Cusco that our baby carrier had been broken during transit was a stressful way to begin our next chapter in Peru. After a couple hours of frustrating dialogue, we finally got a satisfactory resolution to the problem. The airline (LCPeru) was very helpful and responsive to the problem. They gave us cash money and also transported us directly to our hostel in Ollantaytambo (about two hours away from Cusco). Arriving in Ollantaytambo, we knew immediately that we had just entered a special place.

Wandering cobblestone streets and hiking Incan ruins, we soaked up the atmosphere and enjoyed the feeling of stepping back in time. If going to Macchu Picchu I highly recommend staying at least a couple nights here and experiencing the old world.

Our hostel, Casa de Wow, was up the cobblestone streets and away from the hustle and bustle of the Macchu Picchu transits. We scored the matrimony room and were much more comfortable here then in our Lima hostel. This time we actually had hot water and eggs for breakfast. It was a great hostel for families or those looking for some quiet away from the party scene. Ollantaytambo is so small though, the excitement is just a five minute walk away.

We did a lot of shopping here for souvenirs. Beware of the art gallery though; she scammed me. Shame on me for being so gullible. If I had spent time in Cusco first, I would have known that what she claimed to be original pieces were actually just run of the mill prints that many will try to hawk to you in the Cusco town square. Oh well. We had a good time chatting with her (as she lied to us), and we have artwork that reminds us of Peru and a funny story to laugh about when we are old (or anytime we look at the print!).

We did the “Pinkuylluna” trail and I recommend it to anyone on a tight budget looking for some amazing ruins to explore. Unlike most of the Ollantaytambo ruins, these are free. It’s not what I expected as a trailhead, and we nearly missed it because of that. See picture of trailhead sign below.

Pinkuylluna trailhead

Pinkuylluna trailhead

The hike is about two hours total, but steep. If you have walking sticks with you, now is the time to use them. My husband found it using this app: Triposo Peru. Recommend that app too. We used it for general guidance here and there as an alternative to my lonely planet book.

View of Ollantaytambo from Pinkuylluna hike.

View of Ollantaytambo from Pinkuylluna hike.

Eating in Ollantaytambo is awesome. Lonely Planet made it seem like (to us at least) there were limited places to eat here. Not the case. The food is amazing and options plentiful. Our first night we went basic with a pizza special. We were not impressed with the service there; I think they forgot about us. I know things are slower in Peru, but this was reeeeaaaallllly slow. We didn’t go back there. (If I could remember the name of the place I would warn you against it, but I can’t. It’s on the corner of the main square on the left hand side as you look down the hill towards the transit area.) We loved a little café where we ate an alpaca lunch after our hike. Alpaca is delicious. We also loved everything about another cafe run by a very nice Peruvian who spoke wonderful English. Again, I can’t remember the name of the place, but it was in the south corner of the plaza. They had scrumptious sandwiches and served Peruvian beer on tap. TIP: get the beer! We were excited to see beer on tap but were not in the mood for a beer at that moment so we didn’t order it. We assumed we could get some another time. Not the case. They only serve that beer in the sacred valley. That was the only time we ever Peruvian Beer on tap, and we never got to try it. So if you find it, have a round for us! Our favorite place was a lonely planet recommendation: Puka Rumi. We ordered the burrito as recommended and just continued to eat there as often as possible. We also followed Lonely Planet’s advice and ate some ice cream from Tutti Amore while we waited for the train, and ordered box lunches to go for our Machu Picchu trip from Hearts Café. The boxed lunches from Hearts Café were delicious and a great value; tons of food. Not really necessary though because we didn’t realize that when the train company says the ticket includes a snack they actually mean a meal plus a couple snacks. Peruvians do like to feed you! If you’re seeking good coffee though the café con leche at Hearts Café was the best coffee we had in Peru.

Our original itinerary was two nights in Ollantaytambo, but Perurail went on strike and we ended up staying a third night. The third night we grabbed the first hostel with a room available, close to the train station. The sign read “Hostel”, the price was right, and we were thankful that with so many stranded travelers we were able to snag a private room. It didn’t include breakfast or anything, but that didn’t matter since our box lunch was pretty much breakfast too. While the strike situation was annoying and frustrating, another night in Ollantaytambo was a good consolation. If I could go back to any of the places we visited in Peru, I would go back there. I’m in love with this little town.

Ciao,

Kato