I spent a day or two mucking around in Cuzco just catching up on sleep and planning my next move. I did a decent backup of my photos with a DVD burn and basically just pottered around the hostel with a few guys. I spotted the Aussied heading for my chicken joint which I had given them directions for so I tagged along with them. They were stoked with the value which was awesome. That night I met a couple of Kiwis in my dorm. Rowan and his girlfriend were from Christchurch and are on a 3 month trip before Rowan started work at Russell McVeagh in Wellington. I quizzed him about a few firms in Christchurch and we just yarned for a bit. The were doing the Inca Trail in a day or two with Peru Treks so I wished them luck and gave them a few hints. I took them the Italian restaurant I had been to several times with Max, which they were stoke
The next morning I decided it was well time to leave Cuzco so I booked a bus ticket for that night. It was an overnight ride so I went for semi cama with the best bus company given I would not be paying for a nights hostel etc. It was well worth it, the bus reminded me of those in Argentina which I did not expect. I had heard bad things about overnight buses so was pleasantly surprised by the hot meal and blankets etc. Superb!
Arriving in Arequipa was great. I had been given directions to the hostel by Sidsel, who i had previously met in Puno, and turned up around 8am to check into a comfortable dorm room. Sidsel would soon make and appearance and we would have a nice breakfast on the terrace roof top. Arequipa has an amazing backdrop with two large volcanoes, Misti and Amapoto around 6000m and higher. Misit is perfectly conical and impressive!
We figured out a plan of attack for the next day or two, which would involve a Colca Canyon trek at some stage, as well as a music festival in a few days time. Arequipa has some lovely architecture and a beautiful main Plaza de Armis. We did a walk down to the plaza through the pedestrian streets. We would bump into Lara and James from the Inca Trail trek which was nice. They pointed us the direction of the museum where the frozen mummy is located. It was an interesting tour and gave us a good idea of the landscape as well as the cultural aspects of the Peruvian society. Tourism doesn´t seem to really have fired up at this time of the year so we were often in bars with very few other gringos and the owners of the bars and restaurants were doing there best to drum up business. At one point a bar tender almost crashed through the doors literally running out of the bar to get to tourists walking down the alley, not wanting to be beaten to them by other operators!
We would make a few walks around the city to various view points and cheap lunch spots. The next morning we split up to do our own things as Sidsel did not want to pay the 30 soles to get into the Monasterio Santa Catalina. I thoroughly enjoyed my walk around the 600 year old monestary which is basically like a small citadel inside the city, with fortified walls and many streets, all named after Spanish towns. It took around 3 hours in total!
That night we decided to hit the bars new San Fransisco. After a meal at Istanbul, a nice Turkish place, we hit a total of 8 bars and night clubs. It was a pretty interesting night a whole lot of fun. One louge bar with couches and a terrific view over the city was one highlight, as was a Swedish pub with live music. We got back in around 5am, although we almost got mugged as a guy started to chase us near the hostel reaching into his jacket pocket for something!
We spent the next day hungover going around a music festival at various places in the city which was a bit of a let down. We made a trip to the bus station to buy our tickets and got the most dodgy taxi home, with no official plates and every surface spot welded, classic stuff.
Sidsel and I had organised our Colca Canyon trek, a 3 day 2 night affair with a group of around 15 other people. We has a pretty early start to kick things off, around 430, which turned out to be totally unnecessary given the days walking would only be a few hours and we had plenty of down time before and after lunch. I had my bread, banana and jam sammies ready to go for the 3 hour shuttle ride into the valley. We stopped at Chivay on the way to pay the entrance fee and pick up a couple of saltenas for breakfast. Our next major stop was the mirador cruz de condor. It is an absolute tourist mecca now with large buses and shuttled occupying every spare section of roadside. We were lucky enough to see 4 of these incredible birds fly over, some within pretty close distance. It reminded me of Singapore zoo where they have a condor show with the birds swooping over the crowd´s head!
We would start our trip from (NAME), a tiny little village with a plaza de armis (of course!) and not much else, although our lunch of alpaca steaks was pretty enjoyable. Our guide, Victor, was a young passionate 21 year old keen to learn more English and share his local knowledge so we struck it pretty lucky there. The first day´s walk was simply a downhill plod into the valley where we would stay at a very basic lodging for the night. We had amazing views of the canyon from above, looking down to the Oasis where we would spend the second night poolside and amongst lush trees. I was reminded of trekking in Nepal, with rocky tracks cut into the hillside above dusty valleys dotted with small villages. We would, like Nepal, have to give way to animals coming up the track servicing the needs of the villages.
The first night was enjoyable, with a few hands of German Rummy and an amazing sunset from the lawn and garden area. The rumours and stories of scorpions on the trek turned out to be true, with the girls discovering a small scorpion on the door frame of their lodging, although it is apparently not poisonous. We played with a small dog from the neighbouring property and got a pretty early night for a 5am start the next day.
It was a pretty reasonable plod to get the second day started, heading up to the second village (NAME) and a small but very interesting museum. From there, it was simply downhill to the Oasis! Stopping for views and photos on the way, we arrived at the Oasis a little after 1pm and settled in for the afternoon. The pool area was pretty awesome and tropical, albeit with pretty cold water. We passed the time in the afternoon playing some more Rummy and Arsehole. Now power at this place so a cosy candle lit dinner with the group before another early night. The shack I shared with the Brazilian chap was very basis, with bamboo walls barely offering any protection to the outside world with a thatched roof that would not hold back even a light shower. We had scorpions on the earth floor mincing around! Closing the door before bed was more of a psychological move given there were gaps in the walls big enough to walk though anyway.
People had been dreading the third morning because of the thought of a large climb back to the top of the valley. The guide suggested 3 hours although it looked like a pretty easy climb with many zig zags to the top so I knew it was really only going to take an hour and a half or something, being only a gain of around 800m or so. Pretty good guess, as the Brazilian, the young Russian chap and I pushed on to the top with only a break or two in a little over 1 hour 40 minutes. We had to wait for the rest of the group, which would be around an hour and a half more haha. The aussie lady, Geneane, managed to hire a donkey which bought her to the top in about 2 hours, leaving her partner to walk up by himself haha.
We returned to the plaza de armis and hung around for our much needed breakfast, which we did not have before leaving early that morning so that was well deserved. The ride back to Arequipa was pretty uneventful, broken up by a HUGE buffet lunch at Chivay with llama, alpaca and other meats and local dishes. We also went to the hot pools, which was a bit odd given it was like 35 degrees and the water was pushing that also. The Brazilian guy I was with managed to talk his way to a discount for half prices for us into the pools and even a discount for his buffet meal; if you don´t ask you don´t get I suppose.
That night I packed my bags and met up with the crew at the Istanbul restaurant again for drinks before heading to the bus stop to meet Sidsel. I decided that if I could change my ticket to the next day I would, allowing me to head back into Arequipa that night to party with the reset of the guys, which turned out to be a pretty entertaining evening. Not a late one but good enough for a laugh.
Prior to my bus that evening which I managed to change for free the previous nigh, I took it very easy, having a solid admin day in the internet cafe getting photos backed up, blog updated and my CV sorted also. Pretty productive but not a lot of fun really but needs to be done. I also got a copy of batman and watched that with a bag of bulk bin chips from the shop next door, which had become a bit of a popular cheap snack!
I made my way to the bus station around 730, to find a bit of food before the overnight trip. Some awesome chifa for only 4 soles (2nzd) with all the trimmings went down pretty well really, filling a gap before the bus. My last overnight bus ride!
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Machu Pichu - 21 November
Bags packed and ready to go. I transferred all my surplus stuff into my trust blue feed sack and put it in the hostel storage room in preparation for a quick departure the following morning at 430! (or was it 530....really early in any event). The guide from Peru Treks turned up on time and we made our way to the bus down the road. The previous night I had purchased some buns, jam and bananas for my breakfast, not wanting to get ripped off in some tourist town later that morning.
The bus journey took us into Ollaytambo where we would stop for breakfast at a restaurant. Although I had already had my banana and jam sammies I couldn´t resist the fruit pancakes, adding to them with the yogurt I had bought the night before which was a nice touch. We all introduced ourselves to each other and headed back to the bus, most of us buying walking poles from various sellers downstairs, which were basically a broom handle with a bit of colourful fabric and a loop on the top, with a rubber foot. Pretty basic but with all the steps on the trail they would prove pretty useful. Back in the bus to make our final 20minute ride to kilometre 83 where the track starts.
Soon after packing our newly issued sleeping bags and bed mats we made our way to the check point. It was funny watching the Russian couple try and sort their two sleeping bags and bed mats out as they only had day bags and there was no way their bedding would fit in so they tried several ways to strap it on the outside haha. Just before the checkpoint we took a group photo, which was interrupted by a train arriving which was pretty exciting. We made our way through the checkpoint, having to stop to get our wet weather gear on due to the rain that was beginning to fall more constantly The rain wouldn´t last for long, as we made our way up the track to our first Inca site and a break for a bit of food and a yarn. It was obvious from the first morning that the walk would consist of short stints of walking followed by long breaks to allow the slower people to catch up. We would walk on ahead making good ground only to have a couple of unhealthy young New York doctors plodding slowing in the rear. No big drama as the walk would be a pretty relaxed affair and just chilled out.
At our first lunch we would also get a sense for the style of food we could expect for the next found days. Arriving at the camp to clapping porters standing around tents set up earlier that morning we were given orange juice and stools in the sun while the final preparations for lunch were done. Lunch was inside a communal tent with a large camp table with table cloth and cutlery setting. After the mandatory first course or soup, we were treated to trout, chicken, salad and other great stuff, with a selection of hot drinks to follow. Not a bad start to the culinary experience I had heard so much about from other people.
After lunch we had our first uphill section, with the guide letting us push on ahead while he followed up the rear. It was a nice walk with great mountain and valley views, ending at a bridge over a stream where we would wait for the rest of the group, which would be around 25 minutes! Some 20 minutes later we arrived at the first camp, set on a terraced area below crops and amongst a small village. Some of the chaps played soccer on a fairly rough pitch with overly enthusiastic porters etc, which I sat out due to my sore foot and not wanting to get injured on the first day! I shared a tent with Lisa from Germany, who turned out to be pretty decent company. We all got a pretty early night as the next morning, like all of the mornings, would be an early start.
We were awakened at around 530 with a hot cup of tea in our tents which was a nice touch. It is light by around 5am so we were already stirring when it arrived. The second day has a reputation of being the most difficult as it involves a long slog straight up to Dead Woman´s pass at 4300m or so. Some people had elected to get a porter for the rest of the trip, the thought of walking with gear was just too much after the first easy day. A Canadian park ranger was the first to take up the offer. We joked that perhaps he got around the park in a huge pickup rather than foot as he was struggling pretty badly! We would push on up the hill for several hours to stop at a large flat campsite for popcorn and snacks. We arrived around 40 minutes before the rest of the group and lay in the sun for a while before it got a bit cold. With all the groups lying around on this big section of grass with alpacas etc walking around it made for a nice sight, although the rest of the climb, and steepest section, was clearly visible and looked a bit daunting to some.
It was actually a pretty decent climb and once we found our rhythms we made good time to the top to join all the other groups. I started yarning to a couple of Aussie lads on an around the world ticket while we waited for the rest of our group. As per usual, the two doctors and the Canadian park ranger were in the rear, arriving over an hour after the rest of us, who had only taken an hour and a half or so to get to the top. After some group photos we only had to walk down an hour or so to camp, which we could make out deep in the valley below. It was our first decent downhill plod and would give us a taste of how hard the Inca steps are on the knees.
Arriving at camp to cold orange juice as great, and an hour or so later we would have popcorn and biscuits and a general introduction to all our porters, cooks and guides. It was nice little ceremony and gave us an insight into the lives of the porters and how much work they do and the hardship they face. One guy, old mike as he become known, was 62 years old and still slogs along carrying 25kg (the max weight). We just pottered around camp sleeping and reading before dinner was served. We would all get a pretty early night as the third day is the longest and would require another 5am early start!
We had a pretty steep climb to start the third day but we would stop often to look at many inca sites along the way. At the top of the climb we performed a ceremony to Patchamama the god of the earth for good weather and a general thanks I guess. It was a pretty interesting little ceremony and gave us all an insight into the beliefs of the local people.
After the ceremony it was pretty much flat to our lunch spot. We would first stop at the largest inca site we had seen so far which was immediately across the valley. It was an awesome site with a heap of rooms to visit and lots of information from the guide. Lunch was a pretty awesome affair once again, although I fell asleep in the sun afterwards and really struggled to get going again after lunch. We were all pretty tired after several early starts and the sun was really baking! At least the walk to the next rest stop was flat and pretty interesting, leading through inca tunnels and high above the valleys below. We all met up again at another campsite looking down on the town of Aguas Calientes from high above. Machu Pichu was pointed out to us in the distnce, although we couldn´t see the village from this angle. The final camp was down in the valley, which was several hours below and after another couple of interesting inca sites.
The camp was pretty awesome, although confusing as hell. Perched on a hillside on several terraces it was pretty easy to take the wrong turn and end up on a different level, which happened a couple of times. I resisted the urge to hit the restaurant on site to have a hot meal or shower, not really seeing the point in it. I caught up with the Aussie guys and took photos of the awesome sunset. After dinner we would be treated to a massive cake the chef has prepared in a saucepan, more like a hot pudding with icing. It was truly excellent! We would then have to sort out tips etc which is always a pretty difficult thing to sort out. That out the way and the show of appreciation by the porters seemed to be pretty genuine which was nice.
Another early night as we would be getting up around 430 to get a early start on the track first thing the next morning. The next morning we only got a pancake, the porters seemed pretty keen to get back down to town to spend their tips so we were left pretty hungry and with no lunch pack that the other groups through the same company got. We were the last group to get to the checkpoint and to the Sungate which was a bit frustrating. However, the view from the Sungate was absolutely nothing as the fog was thick and intent on not clearing for us while we waited. We pushed on down towards the main Machu Pichu village, stopping at several other sites. We were briefly treated to a glimpse of the village in the distance through the clouds which renewed all our hopes for a good view later that day. It was an amazing site to see the village perched atop a narrow hill with mountains surrounding on several sides and deep drops on others.
When we arrived at Machu Pichu at the famous guard tower site where many post card shots are taken there was no view whatsoever and people just standing around waiting for the fog to clear. I was frustrated and impatient because people were just standing around and I wanted to get inside to get a ticket to climb Huyana Pichu later that day and tickets are limited to 400 per day. I managed to convince our guide to let the assistant guide take me down to the park entrance to store my large pack (no packs can go into the site) and then rush to the start of the climb to get the ticket. I got number 360 odd so was pretty stoked.
I went back to the entrance and waited for ages for the rest of the group to make their way down from the top. It was pretty late before everyone got down and after the scheduled 9am start of our 2 hour tour so that was a bit frustrating given I had to start the walk up between 11 and 1. The tour was very interesting although I felt sorry for our guide because everyone was pretty darn tired and lacked the attention he deserved. Never the less we all learnt a lot and got a good insight into the ruins. The weather had cleared up perfectly and was sunny and bright which was a massive relief.
I headed up Huyana Potosi which turned out to be a real slog and incredibly steep with ropes and wire most of the way up to cling onto. The views from the top were certainly worth it with Machu Pichu sitting far below in valley giving a tremendous perspective to how it fits into the landscape. The way down way was pretty hairy in parts, with lots of very steep steps which were barely deep enough to take a foot placed sideways. One chap had pretty much lost it and was making his way down with the help of other chaps with a large line forming behind him. We eventually got passed and started a quick decent. It was apparent that the large police presence up top was largely to help old people back down who had underestimated how steep it actually was...not the best job.
I walked around the site for a few more hours before heading back down on the bus to Aguas Calientes. I refused to buy water or food at the site given the truly overhiked prices. A bottle of water that cost 1 sole in town cost 10 there and a small sammie was 20!! So terrible, so I decided to wait until our group lunch down town.
I got down with plenty of time and didn´t miss much of lunch. The pizzas were like 25 soles, which is also very expensive but no real alternative and it was nice to share a final lunch with the group and sort out a tip for the guide. We had several hours to get to the 6pm train so I backed up my photos and kicked around the town which was touristy as hell but had the interesting feature of the train running through the middle of it. The train was a pretty darn comfortable ride to Ollyantambo, where we would transfer to a bus back to Cuzco. On the bus I yarned to the Aussie chap which was good fun and passed the time well. It certainly was a long day arriving back at 10pm after gettting up at 4. Glad to have finished it and able to relax in Cuzxo once again.
The bus journey took us into Ollaytambo where we would stop for breakfast at a restaurant. Although I had already had my banana and jam sammies I couldn´t resist the fruit pancakes, adding to them with the yogurt I had bought the night before which was a nice touch. We all introduced ourselves to each other and headed back to the bus, most of us buying walking poles from various sellers downstairs, which were basically a broom handle with a bit of colourful fabric and a loop on the top, with a rubber foot. Pretty basic but with all the steps on the trail they would prove pretty useful. Back in the bus to make our final 20minute ride to kilometre 83 where the track starts.
Soon after packing our newly issued sleeping bags and bed mats we made our way to the check point. It was funny watching the Russian couple try and sort their two sleeping bags and bed mats out as they only had day bags and there was no way their bedding would fit in so they tried several ways to strap it on the outside haha. Just before the checkpoint we took a group photo, which was interrupted by a train arriving which was pretty exciting. We made our way through the checkpoint, having to stop to get our wet weather gear on due to the rain that was beginning to fall more constantly The rain wouldn´t last for long, as we made our way up the track to our first Inca site and a break for a bit of food and a yarn. It was obvious from the first morning that the walk would consist of short stints of walking followed by long breaks to allow the slower people to catch up. We would walk on ahead making good ground only to have a couple of unhealthy young New York doctors plodding slowing in the rear. No big drama as the walk would be a pretty relaxed affair and just chilled out.
At our first lunch we would also get a sense for the style of food we could expect for the next found days. Arriving at the camp to clapping porters standing around tents set up earlier that morning we were given orange juice and stools in the sun while the final preparations for lunch were done. Lunch was inside a communal tent with a large camp table with table cloth and cutlery setting. After the mandatory first course or soup, we were treated to trout, chicken, salad and other great stuff, with a selection of hot drinks to follow. Not a bad start to the culinary experience I had heard so much about from other people.
After lunch we had our first uphill section, with the guide letting us push on ahead while he followed up the rear. It was a nice walk with great mountain and valley views, ending at a bridge over a stream where we would wait for the rest of the group, which would be around 25 minutes! Some 20 minutes later we arrived at the first camp, set on a terraced area below crops and amongst a small village. Some of the chaps played soccer on a fairly rough pitch with overly enthusiastic porters etc, which I sat out due to my sore foot and not wanting to get injured on the first day! I shared a tent with Lisa from Germany, who turned out to be pretty decent company. We all got a pretty early night as the next morning, like all of the mornings, would be an early start.
We were awakened at around 530 with a hot cup of tea in our tents which was a nice touch. It is light by around 5am so we were already stirring when it arrived. The second day has a reputation of being the most difficult as it involves a long slog straight up to Dead Woman´s pass at 4300m or so. Some people had elected to get a porter for the rest of the trip, the thought of walking with gear was just too much after the first easy day. A Canadian park ranger was the first to take up the offer. We joked that perhaps he got around the park in a huge pickup rather than foot as he was struggling pretty badly! We would push on up the hill for several hours to stop at a large flat campsite for popcorn and snacks. We arrived around 40 minutes before the rest of the group and lay in the sun for a while before it got a bit cold. With all the groups lying around on this big section of grass with alpacas etc walking around it made for a nice sight, although the rest of the climb, and steepest section, was clearly visible and looked a bit daunting to some.
It was actually a pretty decent climb and once we found our rhythms we made good time to the top to join all the other groups. I started yarning to a couple of Aussie lads on an around the world ticket while we waited for the rest of our group. As per usual, the two doctors and the Canadian park ranger were in the rear, arriving over an hour after the rest of us, who had only taken an hour and a half or so to get to the top. After some group photos we only had to walk down an hour or so to camp, which we could make out deep in the valley below. It was our first decent downhill plod and would give us a taste of how hard the Inca steps are on the knees.
Arriving at camp to cold orange juice as great, and an hour or so later we would have popcorn and biscuits and a general introduction to all our porters, cooks and guides. It was nice little ceremony and gave us an insight into the lives of the porters and how much work they do and the hardship they face. One guy, old mike as he become known, was 62 years old and still slogs along carrying 25kg (the max weight). We just pottered around camp sleeping and reading before dinner was served. We would all get a pretty early night as the third day is the longest and would require another 5am early start!
We had a pretty steep climb to start the third day but we would stop often to look at many inca sites along the way. At the top of the climb we performed a ceremony to Patchamama the god of the earth for good weather and a general thanks I guess. It was a pretty interesting little ceremony and gave us all an insight into the beliefs of the local people.
After the ceremony it was pretty much flat to our lunch spot. We would first stop at the largest inca site we had seen so far which was immediately across the valley. It was an awesome site with a heap of rooms to visit and lots of information from the guide. Lunch was a pretty awesome affair once again, although I fell asleep in the sun afterwards and really struggled to get going again after lunch. We were all pretty tired after several early starts and the sun was really baking! At least the walk to the next rest stop was flat and pretty interesting, leading through inca tunnels and high above the valleys below. We all met up again at another campsite looking down on the town of Aguas Calientes from high above. Machu Pichu was pointed out to us in the distnce, although we couldn´t see the village from this angle. The final camp was down in the valley, which was several hours below and after another couple of interesting inca sites.
The camp was pretty awesome, although confusing as hell. Perched on a hillside on several terraces it was pretty easy to take the wrong turn and end up on a different level, which happened a couple of times. I resisted the urge to hit the restaurant on site to have a hot meal or shower, not really seeing the point in it. I caught up with the Aussie guys and took photos of the awesome sunset. After dinner we would be treated to a massive cake the chef has prepared in a saucepan, more like a hot pudding with icing. It was truly excellent! We would then have to sort out tips etc which is always a pretty difficult thing to sort out. That out the way and the show of appreciation by the porters seemed to be pretty genuine which was nice.
Another early night as we would be getting up around 430 to get a early start on the track first thing the next morning. The next morning we only got a pancake, the porters seemed pretty keen to get back down to town to spend their tips so we were left pretty hungry and with no lunch pack that the other groups through the same company got. We were the last group to get to the checkpoint and to the Sungate which was a bit frustrating. However, the view from the Sungate was absolutely nothing as the fog was thick and intent on not clearing for us while we waited. We pushed on down towards the main Machu Pichu village, stopping at several other sites. We were briefly treated to a glimpse of the village in the distance through the clouds which renewed all our hopes for a good view later that day. It was an amazing site to see the village perched atop a narrow hill with mountains surrounding on several sides and deep drops on others.
When we arrived at Machu Pichu at the famous guard tower site where many post card shots are taken there was no view whatsoever and people just standing around waiting for the fog to clear. I was frustrated and impatient because people were just standing around and I wanted to get inside to get a ticket to climb Huyana Pichu later that day and tickets are limited to 400 per day. I managed to convince our guide to let the assistant guide take me down to the park entrance to store my large pack (no packs can go into the site) and then rush to the start of the climb to get the ticket. I got number 360 odd so was pretty stoked.
I went back to the entrance and waited for ages for the rest of the group to make their way down from the top. It was pretty late before everyone got down and after the scheduled 9am start of our 2 hour tour so that was a bit frustrating given I had to start the walk up between 11 and 1. The tour was very interesting although I felt sorry for our guide because everyone was pretty darn tired and lacked the attention he deserved. Never the less we all learnt a lot and got a good insight into the ruins. The weather had cleared up perfectly and was sunny and bright which was a massive relief.
I headed up Huyana Potosi which turned out to be a real slog and incredibly steep with ropes and wire most of the way up to cling onto. The views from the top were certainly worth it with Machu Pichu sitting far below in valley giving a tremendous perspective to how it fits into the landscape. The way down way was pretty hairy in parts, with lots of very steep steps which were barely deep enough to take a foot placed sideways. One chap had pretty much lost it and was making his way down with the help of other chaps with a large line forming behind him. We eventually got passed and started a quick decent. It was apparent that the large police presence up top was largely to help old people back down who had underestimated how steep it actually was...not the best job.
I walked around the site for a few more hours before heading back down on the bus to Aguas Calientes. I refused to buy water or food at the site given the truly overhiked prices. A bottle of water that cost 1 sole in town cost 10 there and a small sammie was 20!! So terrible, so I decided to wait until our group lunch down town.
I got down with plenty of time and didn´t miss much of lunch. The pizzas were like 25 soles, which is also very expensive but no real alternative and it was nice to share a final lunch with the group and sort out a tip for the guide. We had several hours to get to the 6pm train so I backed up my photos and kicked around the town which was touristy as hell but had the interesting feature of the train running through the middle of it. The train was a pretty darn comfortable ride to Ollyantambo, where we would transfer to a bus back to Cuzco. On the bus I yarned to the Aussie chap which was good fun and passed the time well. It certainly was a long day arriving back at 10pm after gettting up at 4. Glad to have finished it and able to relax in Cuzxo once again.
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