Perrrrruuuuu

Puno was our first stop in Peru after crossing the border.  We didn't spend a huge amount of time there, but we did get to visit the really cool Uros Islands, a.k.a. "The Floating Islands."  They are hand-made straw-like islands about a half hour from Puno.  It was really interesting to see, but of course we were only allowed onto the touristy ones so it was hard to see what life was really like there.  Still, very cool.  

We were pretty excited to find a bus company earlier that morning that claimed to be the only company that makes no stops on the trip to Cusco.  The bus was leaving at 9:30 p.m. and would arrive around 5 a.m.  No problem, we thought - the Cusco train station would open about that time too, we could go and purchase our tickets and be on our way to the Sacred Valley (on the way to Machu Picchu).  Well, turns out the bus isn't exactly nonstop, as it made quite a few stops on the way.  Plus, even with the stops, we somehow managed to arrive to the Cusco bus station at 4 a.m.  In our groggy states, we still thought we'd stick to the original plan, but our plans quickly changed after we witnessed the following, in rapid succession:


--the kid sitting next to me passed out in his seat, then literally fell out of the seat and did not even flinch
--a group of clarinetists, saxophonists, etc arrived, and one sat down next to me where the kid used to be (he was now laying directly in front of the chair on the floor), and passed out immediately too
--a man running after another man with a big-ass knife (not the butter kind)


Feeling obviously super safe, we decided to high tail it to a hotel via a taxista named Alfredo.  We knew the name of the hotel we wanted to stay in because we thought it was where Melissa stayed, so he took us there.  When we got there, a) it was way too far from everything and b) it was completely closed (we later found out there are 2 Imperial Hotels).  Alfredo claimed he knew some other places, and at 4:30 in the morning, we didn't have many options.  Luckily, he took us to a hotel that a) was right near the main square in town, Plaza de Armas and b) was very open, with an employee standing outside waiting to greet us.  We were very thankful, checked into the hotel, and went to sleep until a normal hour.  


After a good "night's" sleep, we hit the town to get things going for Machu Picchu and then explored Cusco some.  The San Blas neighborhood is awesome and we found a great cafe for lunch, where the waiter had both the same watch as me and nearly the same glasses.  Bizarro!  

That afternoon, we took the ride of our lives to a wonderful little town called Ollantaytambo, halfway between Cusco and Machu Picchu.  The ride of our lives entailed taking a "colectivo" at the speed of 500 mph for an hour and a half.  Taking a colectivo is really the only option to get to Ollantaytambo and all it is is a van that leaves from a random parking lot when said van is full.  Fortunately, it filled up quickly and we sped off.  The car was filled with native spanish speakers and everyone was screaming at the maniacal driver, "Despacio!!!!!" (i.e. SLOW it down).  Well, he didn't, but somehow we made it to Ollantaytambo anyway, of course in record time, all in one piece.  

Ollantaytambo has a nice set of remains and is quite a charming town.  We loved the hostel we stayed in (Hostel Iskay) and had allll day to check out the town because our train to Aguas Calientes, i.e. the town at the bottom of Machu Picchu, was not til 11:30 p.m.  

We finally made it to Aguas Calientes and got about 3 hours of sleep because if you want to climb Wynah Picchu from MP, you have to be one of the first 400 people to arrive.  We were #s 391 and 392.  Phew.

While walking around MP, I kept hearing that the hike was scary, steep, you name it.  I definitely got cold feet and Caitlin reminded me that I forced us to get up at 4:45 and that she was going with or without me.  I agreed that it would have sucked not to do this climb after getting up at that insane hour (although a sunk cost!), and so, we made the climb.  It is very steep, tiring and gorgeous, but certainly not scary and I had nothing to worry about.  It was amazing - just a 2 hour round trip stair climb with unbelievable views:

                    On the left is the road to MP, the right is MP.

After the hike, we left MP and returned to Aguas Calientes, where our train was supposed to head back to Cusco at, you guessed it, 10:30 p.m.  It was about 2.  We were elated to find out that we could upgrade with only $30 more to a train that left around 6.  Woo hoo!  Nevertheless, we still got back to Cusco on the later side, but I think it was because we didn't have an insane colectivo driver this time. :)

That next day in Cusco was not a high point for me.  I threw up bright and early in the morning and retained a headache the rest of the day, so Cait set out to do the sightseeing for us.  She toured around and I got to know our room really well.  On the plus side, it was the THE nicest room of the trip, and it even had a flat panel T.V.  On the even plus-er side, Cait was a very lovely caretaker and brought me loads of goodies from the outside world.  

I woke up the next morning feeling much better, so we attempted to see another set of remains called "Saqsaywaman," pronounced "sexy woman."  Sadly, there were way too many stairs for a recovering woman like myself, but Cait went up and told me all about it.  

After Cusco, we boarded a plane (a plane!!) to Lima, where we got to see a movie, a flower show, sleep in a dorm room, and I finally got to try some of their ceviche.  We also got to drink some of the best juices ever, with fruits native to Peru, as well as sip Pisco Sours at the Gran Hotel Bolivar.  Delish.

At the end of our trip, we had been in the following:
-2 airplanes
-3 trains
-10 buses
-19 rooms
-countless taxis


This was a trip of a lifetime and I can't wait to start on another part of SudAmerica.  Yippee!