The Germans

We met a girl from Germany while we were waiting in line, and chatted her up for an hour while we waited for the busses. Her boyfriend was actually hiking straight up the mountain and meeting her at the top. We hopped on seperate busses and, as with most encounters of that kind, figured we'd said goodbye for the first and last time simultaneously. Turns out that assumption was wrong. We met up with them later in the ruins under some shelter waiting out a really heavy downpour and then again in Ollantay at the train station, all of us looking for a collectivo (shared taxi). They are on a one-full-year trip around the world and were half way through, having finished most of the Eastern hemisphere, and were now taking on the Americas. We ended up sharing a two hour collectivo to Cuzco and may meet up with them in Seattle as their world tour has them in the area in September. Small small world.

The pic is of a horse we saw while in the taxi together. No pic of our actual friends the "Germans," but a memory shared nonetheless.

Machu Picchu

I'm posting some pictures of Machu Picchu. But, as anyone who's ever been there or has taken pictures of anything beautiful knows, they will do no justice. We woke up at 4:30am in an attempt to be one of the first 200 people up the mountain, yeah right. People must have been lined up at one in the morning, based on the number there at 5am. It rained on us all day, and though we complained a bit and thought it would be nice to see Machu Picchu bathed in sunlight, I think we caught a glimpse of it at its most majestic, nestled into a mountain side/top wrapped in a blanket of mist and clouds.

Aguas Calientes

In Aguas Calientes--the small town with access to Machu Picchu--we had reservations for two beds in a four-bed shared room at the Pirwa Hostel. They failed to meet us and the train station as they had promised, and I believe it was because of that they gave us our own two-bed room with private bathroom with hot water showers for the reservation price. We were super psyched at first, but reality set in when we realized that the bathroom had no ventilation and had not been cleaned in weeks or months. The room smelled like a hockey locker room and the bathroom walls had so much mold on them I thought it would come alive and eat us in our sleep. Pirwa: not recommended.

Side note: If you are out to eat in Peru and you get a bill with tax listed, DO NOT PAY! It is a "tourist tax" and is just an attempt take you for a few bucks. We learned the hard way.

But not to be down, it was an awesome piece of the trip. And the pedestrian only cobble street city was cool to stroll around in while waiting to see Machu Picchu or waiting for the train out.

Pics: View from our hostel room window; Pickle on the bridge from Aguas to the train station; Main Street, Aguas Calientes.