The morning after a rough and gross night sleep in a weird room, we got up very early to make our way to the airport, where we were only to find that our flight had been cancelled and they had tried to call, but were not able to reach us. Duh, we had given them our cell number, which had stopped working at the border. There was a long line of people waiting to get answered, including a man who had to be in Lima for an appointment with the US Embassy that day for a visa. He refused to move until they got him to Lima, which was completely unfair to the staff that was dealing with so many upset people. We felt horrible because we could just imagine how much was hanging on that visa, but the man was being unreasonable, asking them to just get the plane in the air, regardless of whether it had mechanical problems or not.
We were told that we would not be able to fly out until the next day, but we managed to convince the lady at the counter that we needed to get to Lima, seeing as how our train tickets in Cusco were already bought and our schedule was so tight. She was nice and got us on the 7:00 flight that night, plus set us up with a free room with free breakfast and lunch while we waited! I know that being a traveling person who gets their plane delayed or cancelled would be terrible, but I must say that it was nice being able to take a hot shower in a very nice room, sleep the day away in comfortable beds after our rotten night sleep in the grungy room from the night before, and get served breakfast by room service. We even had free internet. And we called Landon to tell him that we were not going to be as early as we had hoped, which turned out perfect because he was still out nerding it up at the raptor-raising facility outside Lima.
We finally got on the plane that night and were on our way to Lima. As we went through the airport business of getting off the flight, Chelsea and I discussed what the likelihood was that Landon would be there to meet us. I had told him on the phone that he could meet us if he made it to the airport or we would find a pay phone to call him from once we landed. (The cell phone service we have in Ecuador does not carry across the border, although all a person has to do is buy another chip for the phone, so Landon did that and Chelsea and I were simply without service throughout Peru.) We were SO thrilled to see Landon. We were a little tired and feeling very alone, having not seen anyone else we knew for what seemed like months. We were like giddy school girls, peeking over the crowd to see if we could spot the gringo (who is actually technically an Ecuadorian citizen). We had just decided that he wasn’t there when I spotted him and squeaked excitedly that I had seen him. Chelsea ran to the man in the black felt hat and we had a happy, huggy reunion.
In Lima we found a fairly cool hotel that was $5 per night that for some reason smelled like urine as we went to sleep. Chelsea's bed was not in any way flat. The slant was measurable in definite degrees. But we slept well and in the morning got up and took a cab to a place in the city where the big bus stations were. Lima is a city of 11 million people, so this was quite a trip in the morning.
We decided to go with the double-decker Cruz del Sol bus and got the cheaper tickets in the top and back of the bus. Unfortunately we didn’t know what we were getting into and the ENTIRE trip to Cusco (which, by the way is 21 hours), the door to the bathroom was swinging open and wafting unpleasant smells to wake us up. But to make it worse, the door was specifically designed to stay closed when moving, meaning that one had to use quite a bit of force to open and shut it. So we were woken up persistently by people being unable to figure out how to open it, it being slammed shut loudly, or it swinging wide open because someone had not used enough force to fully close it. It was miserable, but we were able to sleep, although I was definitely affected by the altitude. I kept getting very dizzy and my heart would patter, but it went away by the time we got off the bus.
When we DID get off the bus, we had learned our lesson about getting bus tickets at the last minute, so right away we bought our return tickets, giving me time to figure out where the heck we were and where we should probably head. We found a hostel with a room that had great light, a good bathroom, and a beautiful view, then we headed out to the main plaza to look around the city. The next morning we were scheduled for the train ride to Aguas Calientes, where we would stay for two nights.
The train ride came way too early in the morning, but we were able to make it to the station on time. Unfortunately, the train was delayed in the middle of the tracks for at least an hour, but if my memory serves me correctly it was more like two hours. There had been a mudslide and the mud had to be cleared from the tracks before the train could go any farther. It was thrilling to pass the place where the slide had been because the mud really was unpassable, even after they had been working to clear it for so long. The men were in rubber boots, but I’m pretty sure that they did not keep all that mud out.
We arrived safe and sound into Aguas Calientes, and as we were doing so I thought to myself, hmmm…. The UI Alternative Service Break team could have been here this weekend. But since it was a Sunday afternoon, I didn’t think much of it, since if they had been there, they probably would have gone by then to get back to Cai Cay, a little town outside of Cuzco.
We climbed up the huge hill and crossed the river into the other side of the city. We hiked up the hill at least ¾ of the way to the hot pools, asking every hostel we passed for their price, finally settling for one that was as cheap as we could find, but with a cute little courtyard. We dropped our stuff, washed up a little, and headed back into the town to check it out.
Aguas Calientes is an amazing city because there are no cars. The PeruRail train is the only way in and out of the city (creating a ridiculous monopolizing of the route and stupidly high prices), meaning that each bus that goes from Aguas Calientes up to the Machu Picchu park had to be carted in by train. Everyone walks (there is no other way to do it) and the city is just nestled into this little canyon, crossing the river which is half hot and half cold. There are hot pools and a plaza and a market and a beautiful cobble-stone walkway. The restaurants are right on the street and offer 5x1 Happy Hours and talking parrots. It is a magical place. Touristy, yes, but magical all the same.
We took to an internet café after buying our entrance tickets into the park (we got a discount because we were international students!). As I was emailing, I looked up to see a young man with a bright orange afro. It couldn’t be Owen. Owen lived in the same building as my brother Dan during Dan’s sophomore year and was often mistaken for him because of the red afro, although other than the hair they really look nothing alike. I was so freaked out that I went to chat with Landon, who had also lived with the two and was pretty good friends with the afro Owen. I said, “Landon, that guy looks freakishly like Owen.” His response was that he knew, he had seen him, but I insisted that it was so much of a resemblance that it was creeping me out. Landon looked closer, got up from his seat, kept getting closer while staring at this man until he was only a few feet from him. “Owen?” “Oh my god, Landon!” The two had no idea that they were in the same country, much less the same city. We had just stumbled across the UI ASB group!
I got to see Owen and my friend Chad and they said Christina was coming. As soon as I saw her, I ran to her in the street, where she promptly screamed bewildered and hugged me. She had been telling her team that she just knew someone she loved was in the town, that she could feel it. They had all thought she was crazy.
It turned out that they had to catch the train back to Cusco and then a bus back to Cai Cay at 6:00, so we chatted for a while and then said goodbye, although I headed straight for the station after we had eaten dinner to say goodbye to them again. I’m glad I did because Greg, who had been with the team I went with the Peru the year before for ASB, was with the group, though we hadn’t seen them, and because he had gotten his bag stolen with EVERYTHING in it, he had to get back to Lima to apply for an emergency passport to leave the country. So I would not have seen him because he would have left early before Landon and I headed to Cai Cay. It was great to see them. I felt like the veteran because I knew where everything was.
We shopped for a while, went to the hot pools (which were GROSS just like I had heard they were), and then headed to bed, since we had intended to hike our way up to the park the next morning.
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