Slightly later than expected we arrived in Cusco this morning (4th August). With a little over an hour to spare we took a taxi to the rail station to continue our journey to Machu Picchu.
The taxi was a little suspect with the car alarm going for most of the journey. About halfway through he pulled over on a deserted street and took out a knife.
Fortunately it was just to pry open his car remote to change the battery so he could turn off the alarm. Silence at last (!) and off we went to the train station arriving with time for breakfast.
We were lucky on the train, having a set of 4 seats to ourselves. The train had large panoramic windows plus some more in the ceiling so we could admire the mountains towering above us.
About an hour into the journey the attendants started coming round with mini tablecloths and cutlery giving them out in silver service style. It felt quite uncomfortable looking out the window at the shanty towns whilst we relaxed in our air conditioned train in 1st class comfort.
As the train drove through the villages the driver pumped the horn and you could see everyone outside putting their hands over their ears or those of their children. It quite detracted from the excitement of the journey somewhat. At times it felt like we were intruding too much into the lives of the local people! :-(
Around 2 hours into the journey the scenery started to change. The landscape became green as far as the eye could see and the river flowed faster, a significant change from the canyon territory we had just come from (empty rivers and cactus filled deserts).
The scenery was reminiscent of Borneo although the rainforest trees were somewhat smaller.
Just after lunch we arrived in Aguas Calientes, which can only be reached by train.
Aguas Calientes is a tourist haven for anyone visiting Machu Picchu. We were greeted by stall upon stall off tourist niknacks, a distinct change from the wonderful calm we have experienced so far.
Our hotel was a short walk from the train station and our room was remarkably different to anywhere we have stayed so far. King size bed, hot water, heating, sofas, fridge, wardrobe and a safe.
Next we needed to buy our entrance and bus tickets to Machu Picchu. These aren't easily available online and given that the number of visitors is limited to 2500 per day there was a risk none would be left.
On attempt 3 at getting our tickets having found out they only took cash and then that they needed our passports we finally were in a position to buy them. Fortunately the guy at the counter seemed quite happy to sell us a pair of tickets at 128 soles each (£45!) plus the bus fare. However when I looked at the date on our tickets it said 9th August - they were sold out for tomorrow :-(
When I queried this the guy said not to worry just use the ticket for tomorrow anyway. With not much else we could do other than hope he was right we went back to our hotel and made good use of the comfortable surroundings. This was our first chance to truly relax since arriving in Peru.
Fingers crossed for tomorrow as we'll be having our earliest morning yet so we can catch the first bus up to ensure we see the sunrise - assuming they let us in!
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