Machu Picchuchuchu train

Having discovered Peru´s most luxurious bus company - Cruz del Sur - and being rather brand loyal, it was inevitably that our journey from Arequipa to Cusco (also spelt Cuzco) would be with them. Our decision was made even more poignant when we discovered prior to boarding that there was a waiting lounge which served unlimited drinks!


The journey to Cusco was an overnighter so we all drifted off to sleep reclining in our leather chairs, only to stir every time the driver drove really fast around a bend, which actually was quite often. 


During the drive from the bus terminal to the hostel via our transfer taxi organised by the hostel (which I realised later I had to pay for...) we drove past numerous signs for the local council whose logo is an Inca coin that I really liked the look of. 


Cusco is really pretty, very European in style and reminded me (once again) of a mixture between my beloved Bariloche in Argentina and Galicia in Spain which is where my mama is from.

Some church I dont know the name of...

This building reminded me of the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela , Spain

The main square in Cusco

Having settled myself into my hostel, I was about to leave for a wander around the town when walking through the hostel courtyard I bumped into the Greek guy - Panagiotis - who Id met a few months earlier on a bus into Chile. This bumping into people business is actually extremely common when you´re travelling as everyone tends to end up doing the same routes.


We therefore went for lunch to catch up and ate some ceviche to start, followed by some alpaca with quinoa for main. All very Peruvian. 


That afternoon, I accompanied Panas to a local computer store as his laptop had broken, as had mine. Given that he used his for work and I used mine for blogging we were both keen to get them fixed and stop using the rather limited PCs in hostels. The guy in the shop (actually I should say boy as he looked so young!) was amazing and managed to get both fixed overnight and for very little cash. Gotta love Peru!


The next day, I woke up early to set off to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Machu Picchu which is roughly three hours north of Cusco. I was tres excited as I had wanted to visit this Incan site for a long time given it is so synonymous with South America. 


The usual route up is a four day hike, however having just recovered from a rather nasty cold and having heard numerous horror stories from friends about their hikes up to the site - one friend having caught bronchitis from the trek and also slipping and falling off a ridge but thankfully only bruising herself(!) - I was rather reluctant to do the four day hike up there. I therefore (rather smugly) chose to take the train up instead. 


I chose to go with Perurail who whilst being one of the more expensive train operators, do in fact have the more modern and comfier trains. Both things which I believe are worth paying a bit extra for in my book! 


My journey started at the bus station in Cusco as the first two hours of our journey were on a bus due to some maintenance work they were doing on the tracks. I fell asleep during this time so the journey past me by...


Arriving at the village of Ollantaytambo we then caught the choo choo train up to Machu Picchu. Due to availability Perurail had booked me on an Expedition train going up and a Vistadome coming back. Basically they're two different trains, the Vistadome being the nicer (more expensive) of the two with leather seats and free food served on board. The Expedition train was pretty similar albeit you were just given snacks to eat and the seats weren't as comfy. 

The Expedition train I caught

Lost in translation

Arriving at Aguas Calientes train station which is the stop to get up to Machu Pichu, we immediately entered an indoor market upon exiting the station. To say this disorientated us was an understatement. It took us a good five minutes to find out way out and then follow the masses to the buses that would actually take us up to Machu Picchu. Which by the way were another extra cost - its not cheap this place!


Finally after a very windy and bumpy journey we made it to the entrance of Machu Picchu. In true fashion it started to torrential rain the minute we stepped off the bus. Typical. I was itching to get going so despite the rain I set off with my anorak hood up. It wasn't long before we caught a glance at the amazing spectacle that is Machu Pichu. We were a little too low initially to see it in all its glory (as you have to climb up some steep steps to fully appreciate the view of this mind blowing village set in such a precarious place) but it was still breath taking. Literally. As the altitude of almost 2,500 metres above sea leave and leaves walking around pretty exhausting. 

Poncho anoraks are all the rage here

Obligatory llama knitwear & knitwear catalogue pose

AWESOME

Same pose, different view

Walking around the site was at times akin to being in central London with all the tourists - there were so many people everywhere. All of them vying for the same pictures. I felt like I was back in El Calafate in Argentina visiting the El Perrito Moreno Glacier! 


One couple, who just so happened to be deaf and dumb, were taken pictures on a rock which overlooked the main view of Machu Picchu. The girlfriend was jumping up and down on the rock whilst her boyfriend took photos. In an instant one of the stern security guys (there were quite a few at the site) ran up to them and grabbed the camera from the boyfriend and tried to delete the jumping pictures. The poor couple, being deaf and dumb were unable to initially understand what was happening and then when they did realise found it difficult to communicate with the guard. The whole scene was fairly tragic but one Im told happens fairly often as they don't like people jumping there for safety reasons.


Surprisingly, given the location, there were llamas grazing on the grass of Machu Picchu! We even saw a stray dog chillaxing on a rock which just made us laugh as they literally get everywhere in South America.

How did it get here?!

nom nom nom

We were pretty lucky with the weather as the mist which tends to surround the site stayed away long enough for us to take pictures of the magnificent view. Unfortunately by the time we reached Huayna Picchu, which is the mountain which rises over Machu Picchu, the mist had completely covered it. This meant that any view from the top would have been obscured. This, in addition to the fact that the climb is steep and slippery meant that we didn't climb it. However I did get my passport stamped with a picture of the mountain to say Id been there which made up for it : D 

Huayna Picchu 

Whilst walking around the site, I met a lovely American girl called Evelyn who I made friends with. We got on really well and ate lunch together in the ridiculously expensive albeit quite tasty buffet restaurant that there was at the bottom of the site. 


After getting our passports stamped with a picture of Machu Picchu, we caught the bus back to Aguas Calientes, which incidentally is the most touristic town ever. We wandered around the market we´d encountered when we first arrived that day. I bought some more pressies for peeps and embarrassingly almost got sucked into buying some pan pipes until I realised that would be the most clichéd thing ever and stopped myself. Phew. 


The next day we all went to lunch at Jacks cafe which is a gringo mecca in Cuzco. I ate the Peruvian version attempt at a fry up which was delicious. En route back to the hostel we saw some Peruvian cholitas who I couldn't resist taking a pic of : D

mmmmmmm

Peruvian Cholitas