So right now I am in Agua Calientes, totally exhausted and ready for the 3 and a half hour train ride to Cusco where I´ll try to write more fully about the trek while it´s fresh in my mind. Aqua Calientes is a small town at the foot of Machu Picchu with the train tracks running right through the middle. Shops, restaurants and hostels line the tracks. Our guide pointed out an internet cafe close to the meeting place and I am feeling a bit more human (albeit filthy) after a hot coffee and a bit of catching up. Surprisingly I didn´t miss the internet at all.
I loved the trek. It was better than anything I could have imagined. The Andes are startlingly beautiful. The going was very very hard. At times, I was desperately gasping for air and my legs turned to concrete. It really did become a matter on mind over matter. Two people from the other group turned back on the first day. I was with 4 21 year olds and 2 24 year olds, and on day one, I tried to keep up and paid for it later. Once I talked myself into thinking with common sense, I walked a lot by myself, many times with no one in sight, and enjoyed it more. It rained today so we were unable to get the standard photo shot of us before descending into Machu Picchu as it was totally covered in dense fog. But for me, it was a climax regardless.
Apprently there was a strike in Cusco yesterday over the high cost of living here and some tourists became a little nervous as there were huge boulders placed in the road and a tree was chopped so it fell over right when a bus went by. Their cab driver took them down side roads to avoid the demonstrations. But it was only for 24 hours so trains, cabs and restaurants should be fully operational by the time I get back to the city.
