Huayna Picchu, back to Cusco - June 3, 2011

In order to hike Huayna Picchu (the mountain in the background of Machu Picchu), you needed to get a stamp on your park ticket that allowed access to the trail.  A total of 400 hikers a day were allowed to hike the trail; 200 starting at 7am, and 200 starting at 10am.  I had planned to get in line at 5am; however, we were so tired from days of hiking and camping plus the bed was so comfortable, that we didn't get out the door until after 5:30am.  The end of the line happened to be right outside the hotel entrance.  The first bus from Aguas Calientes arrived not much later after we queued up, so we beat the rush.  It was definitely worth it to be able to hop out of bed and get in line...a valuable perk of staying at the Sanctuary Lodge.  The people who arrived before bus service started had hiked 2 hours up from the town.  So glad I didn't have to wake up at 3am and use up energy.  I mentally counted all of the people in line up to our position and it was about 200 people; I was worried that we wouldn't get the 7am stamp.  Turned out that most of the people ahead of us wanted the 10am stamp as they were tired from the morning hike so we had no problems getting the 7am!  We then went back to the hotel to have breakfast.  Babe had the "Andean" breakfast and I had a mushroom, tomato and cheese omelette with a side of bacon.  There was also an accompanying buffet that offered fresh fruit, cereals, breads, pastries and juice.

Important note:  we hadn't purchased tickets in advance for the second day at Machu Picchu, as I had read in traveler reviews that the hotel would send someone down to the town to buy the tickets as long as you gave them exact cash.  If it turned out that the hotel couldn't do it, then our plan would have been to take the bus to Aguas Calientes ourselves.  When we checked into the hotel, I inquired about ticket purchase and the desk clerk said it would not be a problem, yay!  We had the right amount of soles (only soles were accepted) though if we didn't have the cash, we could have charged it to a credit card but it would cost an extra 10% service fee.  We also left our passports with them as they were needed to purchase the tickets.  The desk clerk said that the tickets would be available by 9pm that night.  What service!  However, since late July 2011, the Peruvian government has limited tickets to 2500 per day to coincide with the 100 year anniversary, so waiting until arriving at the hotel (or even arriving in Peru) to get your tickets may not be a good idea if you are heading to Machu Picchu anytime in the near future.  Plus, if you want to hike Huayna Picchu, you have to buy specially marked tickets ahead of time.  The government set up an official site to buy tickets.  If you are reading this blog entry much later in the future, double check the ticket situation as terms may have changed again.

Back to our regularly scheduled programming...  After breakfast, we went back to the room to get our hiking gear, then we were off!  The trailhead to Huayna Picchu was on the opposite side of the park entrance and we had taken a scenic way to get there, hitting dead ends amongst the ruins.  The time was fast approaching 8am and I hadn't known in advance if there was a cutoff time for the 7am group.  When we got to the control gate, there was a line, but it turned out people were waiting for stand-by, so we bypassed them and ended up signing in at 7:59am.  I saw a sign saying entrance time was 7-8am!   I don't think they would have turned us away at 8am, but they probably would have let the stand-bys enter to round out the 200 person limit and we might have been turned away.

waiting to get in

The way up to the top of HP was described to take one hour in good weather for a decently fit hiker.  The path was Stairmaster-like, with some narrow, treacherous sections.  Although it was merely 8,000 feet, I had to take frequent breaks to catch my breath from all the stairs (and slowing down Babe).  However, I was glad to find that despite my huffing and puffing, we made it up within 45 minutes.  What a view!  There were lots of dangerous perches to take pictures, which everyone took advantage of. ;)   The shots were worth it and it was quite an adventure!  I don't know how the Incans lived there, hiking back and forth from MP every day for water and supplies.

switchbacks made of stairs, ugh (and yes, the same outfit again!)

waiting for others to make it up some steep areas

some narrow areas had cables to hold on to

the hike went through tunnels

we're really high up

I did it!

this was probably a bad idea

picturesque

view of MP below

going down was just as bad

one misstep could be fatal

we saw a lone guy on the peak to the lower right...next time...

We hiked back down and went straight to the hotel to take a shower and pack to make the 11am check out.  It was nice to discover another convenience of the hotel:  they would deliver our bags to the Aguas Calientes train station so we wouldn't have to carry it onto the bus, at no extra charge! 

As our train back to Cusco wasn't until the afternoon, we went back to the ruins to take one last look around and then enjoyed our included lunch.

another beautiful day, with wisps of clouds

I finally changed outfits

lots more of MP still being excavated and reconstructed

time for a refreshing beverage

causa with shrimp

mixed seafood ceviche

squash soup

shrimp spaghetti

salmon trout

After lunch, we hopped onto the mini-bus for the 20-minute ride to the town of Aguas Calientes, also called Machu Picchu Pueblo.  (Jimmy had given us our bus and train tickets the day before)  You've seen the narrow winding road in previous pictures; watching the steep drop from the bus window was nerve-wracking.  I tried to take a picture of it but it doesn't do the road justice.

We weren't sure when to get off the bus as the train station wasn't in plain sight, so we got off with the last people.  I believe that the next to last stop would've been closer, but we got to walk a little bit within the town, which looked like it was full of pizza parlors and souvenir stands.  I was happy we had three great meals at the hotel!

At the train station, we found someone holding up a sign for the Sanctuary Lodge and gave them our claim check.  We got our bags and headed into the passenger waiting area.  After some time, Babe noticed that his jacket was missing from being strapped to the outside of his backpack.  I told him to go back to the porters as it may have been accidentally pulled off while moving bags around.  Thankfully they were able to find it!

waiting area

The announcements for the trains were made in Spanish and English.  I knew enough rudimentary Spanish to decipher the train numbers and departure times.  (and I was surprised that I picked up enough of a French conversation spoken near us to learn that the train ride would be slow because it would stop and move backwards to switch tracks and that we would arrive close to 7pm!)  Eventually our train was ready for boarding, and we discovered that our seats were not adjacent.  Many couples and groups were separated in that car.  We ended up doing some musical chairs and all was well.

the first class car

our second class car

seats were still nice

A snack was provided on the 3 hour Vistadome train ride.  We had just eaten lunch, so I was in no mood to put more food in my stomach. (well, I did try a little nibble of everything...)  Even though it was advertised as just a snack, the train attendants went through a lot of trouble to set up tablecloths and place settings.  They pushed a cart beforehand, selling alcoholic and specialty beverages.  Then the snacks were distributed along with an included non-alcoholic beverage.  Once the tables were cleared out, we were treated to a fashion show.   So odd but I suppose we were a bored and captive audience.  The train attendants were modeling alpaca knits such as sweaters, cardigans, hats and shawls.  The designs looked nice, but I was sure everything was probably marked up big time.  If a passenger wanted to buy an item, the train attendant radioed in the order from a walkie-talkie and it would be waiting for them when they got off the train.

dessert, a chimichurri-like sauce for the chicken roulades, potatoes, cheese, veggies, washed down with Inca Cola

We passed some time chatting with the couple sitting across from us, whose names I cannot remember.  I think they were from New York and had attended a wedding in Lima before making the trip to Machu Picchu, staying at one of the nicer hotels in Aguas Calientes.

The train arrived in Poroy little after 7pm, and the girl from Qori Travel (which I never got her name!) met us; Renateo drove us back to Cusco, which took about 40 minutes.  We returned to the Libertador hotel and checked into the same room as before.  Dinner ended up being the snack food we had, as I was not hungry (what?!?).  As we had an early morning flight back to Lima, we went to sleep.  Our last night in Peru...boo hoo!