journey back to Cusco

I met Effrey at 1:45 and we went to the train station, which is rather hidden behind the local tourist market. The ticket master checked my ticket against my passport very carefully. The train turned out to be comfortable and only about 2/3 full. Two men wheeled a trolley with coffee and pop up the aisle once. Many people fell asleep with the rocking. The route back to Cusco follows the Urubamba river - the best views are on the right side of the train, which might be hard to find, as most people sitting backwards. The train stopped several times to let the oncoming train go by and blew its whistle to warn people off the tracks - villagers use the tracks as a path. It took only about one hour and 15 minutes to reach our start point. I looked out at the bridge and thought how far we'd come.

I ended up walking down to where Effrey sat to thank him for his extra help. He was storing my trekking poles and reached for them to give to me. I asked if he could use them and was relieved he was not insulted. I had been puzzling for 2 days over how to phrase the question. He glowed and it made my day.

We got off the train in Ollantaytambo and were met by a GAP van which drove us the rest of the way back to Cusco. Apparently this is the faster option. At the station there were many tourists waiting to buy tickets to go to Agua Calientes. I saw evidence of the strike the tourist on the bus had told me about - the driver had to dodge big rocks scattered across the road in several spots.

By 5:30 I was back at the hotel. Hot shower finally - unfortunately white towels became grey. I ate at my usual steak/chicken sandwich place.

Effrey told me he does 50 trips a year. As the trail is closed for the month of February, I thought perhaps I had misunderstood his answer. But then he said that his next time out was Saturday morning. We got back to Cusco Thursday night.