Machu Picchu: The Journey to Aguas Calientes

We´re splitting up the giant post...here´s the first part....

You can read the "plan" for our trip sin guia (without a guide) in the last post. Our main goal for Wednesday: Travel with Charlie, Rhi, and Paria (three other travelers we met at our hostel in Cusco) and arrive in Aguas Calientes and buy our Machu Picchu entrance tickets before the office closed, reportedly at 10 p.m.

Wednesday Charlie, Matthew and I caught a taxi to what turned out to be the wrong bus terminal (apparently, there are three in Cusco). After a confusing hour, we ended up at the other terminal and met Rhi, who told us to run because the bus was about to leave and was waiting on us. Finally, we were on the road, at the very back of the bus, for a 5+ hour trip to Santa Maria. Matthew was all very excited about the scenery (see photo above), while I was excited about trying to sleep and trying not to get sick from the motion/bumps.

When we finally made it, we crowded into a car for about 2 more hours of riding along the mountain side. We passed many exhausted walkers, some of whom looked toward the car longingly. One girl was panting and told us that we were "so f-ing lucky" that we weren´t walking, as her friend asked our driver for directions. We continued around the curves, exiting at one point to walk over a muddy area that the car wouldn´t make it through with all our weight (and hoping the driver wouldn´t reverse and drive away with all our stuff), stopping at one point so the driver could cover his engine with plastic to protect it from the water we had to drive through (see photo above, we´re about to drive through that river), and stopping at another to pick up a man who got in the trunk. The driver had agreed to take us to Santa Teresa, however stopped short, along with many other parked vehicles, and told us that´s as far as he went. We were confused, and asked if he was sure, but eventually got out, paid, and started walking.

We had only been on the road for a few minutes before seeing a huge crowd of people, a bulldozer, and a landslide. Great. Luckily, we had to wait only a few more minutes before it was cleared enough to cross to the other side! There was a van whose driver was eager to take passengers the rest of the way to Santa Teresa, so we piled in. Thinking we had to walk the rest of the way to Aguas Calientes, we exited and asked which way, and the driver told us he would take us farther for a little more money. Worried about time, we all were ready for the ride. The driver took us as far as the cable-car river crossing.

Dusk was encroaching and we hurried down to the cable car, laughed at what we were doing, snapped a few photos, and crossed the river. I was happy for the two guys on each side of the river who did the heavy pulling for us. The rest of the journey was up to us, walking walking walking.

What was described in our travel book as a two-hour walk took almost five, due to the combination of a detour took because of another land slide, the dark (and my weak flashlight), a consistent rain, and our path, which consisted primarily of train tracks. Although it seemed like we were part of the Amazing Race, trying to get to Aguas Calientes before 10, competing with a group of Japanese travelers who also hoped to arrive in time to buy tickets, I was relieved to be accompanied by the other walkers. We  figured out the path together, and one man even lent Matthew his headlamp when Matthew´s flashlight died. It was a long walk highlighted with events like my walking into a big piece of metal and scraping my leg and crossing over a rushing river via a railroad bridge (see how scary it is even during the day...and notice that foot bridge to the left we somehow missed in the dark). However, no serious injuries (my leg is ok) and we arrived exhausted, of course after the office was closed. I paid 15 soles for pringles, juice, and gatorade at the first shop we saw, we found a hostel and crashed for the night. Enough adventure to last a little while, and this was just what we had to do to get to Aguas Calientes.