Today we are on the move.  We have spent 7 nights in Cusco and are looking forward to a change in scenery.

We are to be outside the tour office we purchased the transport from at 8:30 for pickup.  We arrive there by 8:15 and the place is locked up tight.  We pause and wait patiently.  At 8:30 still no sign of life and we begin to wonder if this trip, the first one that has provided us with what we North Americans would call legitimate vouchers, was the one that was fraudulent.  Not to worry.  About 8:35 we hear someone call “Stuart”.  We look up to find a woman with a gaggle of people in tow walking up the street to where we have caught other buses.  She barely breaks stride as she crosses the street and turns left.

 

On the bus we head up and out of Cusco.  The traffic comes to a stand sill as we approach a market that is spilling out into the street.

 

 

 

The old meets new with this woman who is dressed in traditional dress, but speaking into her cell phone.

 

We board our train.  It is Inca Rail.  The last train we were on was Peru Rail.  This is not as swanky as our Andean Explorer.  However the seats are comfortable and they provide us with a snack and a drink AND it is much cheaper than the Andean Explorer and only about 2 hours long.

 

 

 

 

The car has skylights as well.

 

 

 

The Urubamba River flows swiftly alongside the railroad tracks.

 

 

 

 

The Andes tower above us.

 

 

 

We also pass some ruins along the way.  Not sure what these are, but they are very large and interesting.

 

Once we arrive in Aguas Calientes I notice these recycling and garbage bins.  They remind me of the garbage cans along the Sea to Sky highway when I was a child.  They were call Garbage Gobblers.  Interesting containers that encourage people to deposit trash in the correct spot.  These obviously go a bit further with “Organics”, “Non Organics” and “Dangerous Product”!

 

 

This is the main square in Aguas Calientes.  Much smaller than Cusco.  Our hotel is just off to the left of this square.

 

 

These are the delivery guys in town.  They haul these carts heavily laden with goods to stores and hotels in town.  They need to be very strong and we need to get out of their way while they do their very hard work!

 

 

 

The train tracks go right through the center of town.  Bars and restaurants line the tracks offering favorites for people around the world.

 

 

 

 

 

We find a place for a snack, “Nahcos Espsecial”  These are not tortilla chips, but wonton chips.  It comes with guacamole and beans.  The beans are awesome!!   Oh yeah the beer is cold too 🙂

 

 

 

It is the time of day when the trekkers are making their way into town after 4 days and 3 nights.  While sitting here we see many of the porters making their way into town.  Here are 4.  They are heavily laden with HUGE Packs!!  Notice the 3rd one in this group.  The others all have some type of large backpack, he has the typical Peruvian backpack, a blanket!  There are strict regulations on how much weight a porter can carry.  They have weigh ins to ensure they are not overloaded.  Perhaps these guys are carrying the light stuff???

We are to meet our tour guide for Machu Picchu at 7PM at our hotel “Gringo Bill’s”.  We are waiting in the lobby and it is now 7:20.  We speak with the fellow on the desk and he makes a call for us to our tour supplier.  The message is he will be here in 5 minutes.

In about 9 minutes he arrives and introduces himself as Vladimir.  As he is quite obviously Peruvian we both wonder about his name.

He explains to us the process to get the bus up to Machu Picchu and when his tour will start.  He mentions that it is “Rainy Season” (which should end at the end of March).  When we say that the Rainy Season was over yesterday, he grins and says “That is sarcasm”!  We all have a laugh.  Sometimes sarcasm is lost in translation 🙂

After we are finished I asked him how he got the name Vladimir?  He smiles again and says he thinks his parents saw a movie with a character with that name and thought it would be a good name for their son.  He seems confused with their choice.  He seems to have a good sense of humor, so our tour tomorrow should be fun.

The altitude here is about 6,800 feet.   I can feel the difference BIG TIME.  So much easier to walk around and up and down hills and steps.  I had no idea what I would feel at a high altitude.