So this morning was the beginning of my first early rise day on this trip. I was supposed to get a wake up knock, yes, I said wake up knock hehehe at 5:30 this morning. That was going to be enough time to pack, eat a small breakfast, then catch a cab to the train station in order to exchange my reservation for an actual ticket.
Turns out that for some reason I woke up many times throughout the night and one of those was at 5:15 so I packed and headed downstairs. The guy that was going to “Knock me up, before I go go” was just waking up himself but managed to grab me a piece of bread and call me a taxi. While getting my taxi a girl named Debra came into the lobby and asked him to turn on her hot water. Not sure why but in this 10 second space we shook hands and introduced ourselves. (Random thought but she will be important later)
This is the bed at the Sami Wasy hostel. It was a very nice hostel in my books and the bed was super comfy with lots of blankets because it got quite cold at night. Things to look for in the picture are:
- The rock wall that my hostel is built into
- The hardwood floor that I could hear the room below snoring through
- The Sismo sticker on the wall, they are everywhere and identify safe places to stand during an earthquake
City of Cusco from my room
Samay Wasi Hostel balcony in Cusco
City of Cusco at night
So back to our story, with my bread sticking out of my mouth I hauled my luggage down the stairs from the hostel to the nearest road where a truck was wedged in between two of the tight cobble stone roads in Cusco. Since the truck was blocking all access to the hostel I had to look for the taxi at the bottom of the hill and wave him down, then we met half way, I walked, he reversed.
The taxi cost 3 soles, and I am told that really unless you are riding at night or really far you shouldn´t pay more than 2.5 soles in Cusco. I was tired and wasn´t going to fight over 50 cents. The driver was very cute because his car has no heat when he hopped out of the car to put my bag in the trunk he was wearing a woven blanket around his waist like a skirt. We soon arrived at the train station and before I could even get out of the car people were selling me things through the taxi cab window. Once I stood up at achieved my full 6’4″ height I was given a bit more room but was still targetted at a potential sale.
I had no problem getting my train ticket and moved from the reservation line-up to the queue for the train. The train was sold out but I had a very nice window seat in the first car of the train. Moments before I the train takes off, in this very busy train, the seat next to me is occupied by Debra. (from our story earlier) I think hmmmm that is pretty random that we both end up in the same section of the train. The more we talked though the more interesting things got. Our birthdays are only 1 day appart, we both have a similar travel style, we both do photography, the list went on. It was really nice to chat with her and the train ride just flew by. We began to think that maybe I was meant to change my travel plans and hike Machu Picchu with her and here local Peruvian friend that also happens to be an official guide. This would differ from my plans to get up early in the morning and do it the next day. So we played it by ear and waited to see how it played out.
View from the train to Machu Picchu
Main street in Machu Picchu as seen from my room
The train track outside of my window in the middle of main street
My Budget Hotel Room
Ahhhh I am running out of internet time for this post so I will have to wrap this up quick. In the end I ended up not going with Debra and her friend but I have a feeling that we might cross paths again. Her friend though did point me in the direction of the ATM in town and the place to purchase my bus ticket for the next day.
More on Machu Picchu tomorrow.
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