Train to Machu Picchu
After leaving our Sacred Valley hotel, the minivan took us to the Ollantaytambo train station and arrived a little after 10 am. We walked down to the 10:32 am train. Al carried our one bag. We had to show our passports and Al showed the boarding passes to the Vista train #203. We got on the correct car but Al stayed out for a few minutes so we had to stand and move around others a bit as we did know what seats we had. Al came on and we sat in 29 and 30 with Al right in front of us.
There was free food provided (snack box with healthy bar and water) and you could buy alcohol. While it was 5 pm somewhere, we stuck with water. There was a family of Americans sitting around us (our age parents, adult children and one tween boy). They used the 5 pm somewhere rule to have some champagne. Our guide Al pointed out sights on the 1.5 hour trip. We arrived around noon
There were some sights along route. The train went along the same path as those who chose to hike for four days to get to Machu Picchu. So the scenery was basically a rugged valley with the train running along a river. Also along the first part of the route, there were native villages. In fact, the train stopped for a few minutes at one of them to unload supplies for the town.
Hotel and bus up to entrance
We exited the train at the Machu Picchu Pueblo (Aquas Calientes) station and found the restrooms in the station. Then went down through local craft/souvenir market and a set of stairs to the street. At the bottom of the stairs, we turned left and went up about 50 yards to our hotel, Casa del Sol. We checked-in and went up to our room as Al waited in the lobby for us. The room was a small-ish standard room with king bed, TV, and standard bath with shower. It was clean and pleasant with our view being a river that ran behind the hotel. We unloaded some things (including passports & bulk of $$) and went back to lobby to meet Al.
Back out on the street, we walked down about 100 yards to buses to Machu Picchu. Al had boarding passes and we were first on the bus so we sit directly behind the driver. The trip up to MP entrance was about 30 minutes along a steep, narrow road with frequent switch backs. Often, the bus had to stop for another to pass.
Machu Picchu
At the top, we got off the bus and Al showed us to a nice restaurant where we had our included lunch (sign on window said $45 per person). The buffet lunch was very good. We sat by ceiling to floor windows/doors and one of the many stray dogs sneaked into the restaurant and under our table. A server showed him out. When we finished our meal, we WhatsApp’d Al and told him we were coming out. He was waiting for us.
We walked up stairs to the entrance where Al showed our tickets and they asked for OUR PASSPORTS!! I guess that this must be because they do not want someone using someone else’s tickets. But, while we had been warned to bring them with our small luggage, we never thought they would be needed to enter MP, so we had left them in the hotel!! Luckily, they accepted the pictures of the passports that I had in my phone. WHEW!!
Once in we took a path down to get our first glimpse of the ruins.
Al gave us a choice of routes. We could either go down to a really easy route OR we could climb about 300 stairs to a higher vantage point. We opted for the 300 steps, which came in sections with switch backs and level areas between flights of steps. We stopped occasionally on the level areas to catch MY breath. While we had been taking an Rx suggested by our cardiologist, the altitude impacted me especially, with my heart rate elevated and getting tired quickly. Finally, we reached the top of the 300 and had a great vista of the ruins.
From where we were, we could go up another 100 feet of stairs, OR we could start down from here to get into the ruins. We opted for down as Momma done drown all the dummies. (Note: There is separate route which is UP the peak of the mountain in the background of the above pic. This takes you to the highest point in MP. But, it is a 1.5 HOUR trek each way and DOES NOT include funeral services for the elderly!!. That was a no-brainer NO for us – LOL).
We walked down (and sometimes back up) through the ruins. As you can see from the pics, the weather was beautiful with high clouds, blue sky, and shirt sleeve weather. We stayed about 4 hours. One note: Inca’s sucked at building steps, as for us old folks, they were a challenge sometimes, especially for Margi even with her walking sticks. As we left, Al suggested a simple route that we could take on our visit the next morning.
It was relatively late in the afternoon so there were LOTS of buses waiting to take people down. We boarded one with no wait but got the last two adjacent seats in the last row. The 30 minute trip back to Machu Picchu Pueblo was uneventful. We exited the bus literally 100 yards from our hotel. Before Al left (we were going to be on our own tomorrow), we asked about changing our return train trip tomorrow to earlier in the day, as we were scheduled on a 3:40 pm train. We had 6-7 am MP entry time tomorrow and had to be out of hotel by 11 am, so we didn’t really see what we would do for 4-5 HOURS. Al wasn’t sure but said he would go up to train station and check.
There was a cafe with outdoor seating just yards away, so we agreed to wait there for him. He returned quickly to say he would check more tonight and let us know. We said goodbye and we would see him Thursday in Cusco.
At this cafe, we got drinks and ordered some French Fries as we were both hungry. As we sat there, a train passes by within feet of us. It was the Hirum Bingham express train from Cusco which was the luxury ($800 pp) way to arrive.
As we enjoyed our drinks, FF, and sights, a visitor joined us. We offer FF but apparently, he was on a meat only diet!! As we saw throughout Peru, there were lots and lots of dogs wandering about. The guides said that they all have homes but we wondered about that.
After our refreshments, we walked about Machu Picchu Pueblo for a bit. There really wasn’t much to see. There were some restaurants and souvenir shops but otherwise, just a few nice views. After this short walk, we went back to hotel.
Follow this link to Machu Picchu Pueblo/Aquas Calientes pics
At about 7 pm we headed down to the dining area for our included dinner. Margi had trout and I had alpaca. Food was ok. We had wine with dinner, which was not included so we paid for wine before we left dinner. Went back to our room where we crashed and watched some CNN news.
I noticed that Al had tried to contact me on the WhatsApp app on my phone. I returned the call and we spoke (not text). He said that I should go the the train station office either this evening (open until 10 pm) or first thing in the morning. I should tell them that my wife has taken ill and we needed to take an earlier train. He said that they should accommodate us. I told him I would to in the morning as we were totally spent now.
Before going to bed, Margi and I discussed our scheduled trip to the ruins again early on Wednesday morning and reached the conclusion that we did not feel up to going again. And, there was the suggestion from Al that if I go to the train station early in the morning, I would be able to change to an earlier train back to Ollantayambo.
wasted day in Machu Picchu
I was up at 7 am, showered, dressed, and headed down to breakfast alone. At about 7:50 am, I left the hotel and walked up to train station. This involved winding through the craft market (with all stalls closed) to get to entrance. At entrance, there were LOTS of locals around the entrance, which I approached slowly but no one told me to stop. Inside the station, I found the Perurail window and one local was discussing something with the female agent. I waited a few minutes until they were done. I asked if the agent spoke English and she said yes, but there was a window and she was speaking through a mike and wearing a mask and was hard to understand. I told her my wife was ill and we needed to get on an earlier train. I even showed her a text that Margi had sent me with this in Spanish. I was told that I had to change the ticket two days in advance. Bottom line: We were still on the 3:40 pm train and had a day to kill in Aquas Calientes.
I made my way back to the hotel and got there shortly before 9 am to find Margi having breakfast in the dining room. I gave her the bad news. As there was not a great deal to see in the town (we already walked around yesterday and Margi wanted to save shopping for Cusco), we went back to our room to rest. Around 10:45 am, we headed down to front desk to checkout and asked them to hold our one piece of luggage until the afternoon.
We walked around a bit but as everything in the Andes, everything was on a hill, Margi’s knee limited us. After walking and sitting, it was just noontime and we looked for someplace to have lunch. Looking involved walking up one side of the river until we finally thought we have found something. Margi took a stab at “best restaurant” on the Internet but it was NOT close to where we were, so we went into a restaurant and had an ok leisurely lunch.
After lunch, we crossed a foot bridge over the river through town to the train station side into the middle of the craft market. We wandered a bit uphill and found the entrance to the train station. We found a place to sit in the waiting area. The density of people in the waiting area varied as multiple trains arrived and departed during our two hour wait. Margi opted to lay on some benches outside and got some sun. Later we talked to a 40 ish American couple from Washington state who had hiked the entire 4 day Inca trail. They mentioned it was challenging but they had trained before the trip. My comment was that training for a vacation seemed like an oxymoron!! They were heading back to Lima before returning home.
As the time for our train approached, I examined the ticket more closely and it was confusing with several times listed. We tried to board a train that we though was ours, but they scanned the ticket at the entrance to the car and told us that this was NOT our train. Frustrated, we waited another 15 minutes to get on the correct train.
During the train ride, there were two “shows”. First was someone (female) dressed in a native costume with a mask who danced up and down the aisle to recorded pan flute music. The other was an alpaca fashion show followed by a cart to buy alpaca products. Margi was not interested in buying but was interested in a poncho type alpaca sweater that can convert to various things and made a mental note for shopping in Cusco.
The trip was uneventful but turned out to be closer to 2 hours than the scheduled 1.5 hours because as we got close to Ollantayambo the train had to stop to allow other trains to pass. Finally at the station, we got off and quickly found the restrooms before lines formed (in ladies room). We exited the station and started to walk up to the parking area (following the crowds) and found a Vipac person with a yellow “Fatcheric” sign. He led us to the parking area where we had to wait for a few minutes for our minivan. There was a hot chocolate/coffee shop next to where we were waiting so Margi was cold and got a hot chocolate. Unfortunately, I gave her a 50 sol note and they had to send someone down the street to make change, so we delayed our trip to Cusco by 5+ minutes. The English speaking Vipac person was not going with us, so we took off with a non-English speaking driver for our hotel in Cusco, which was 2 hours away. We didn’t arrive until after dark.
Hit back button and select Cusco.