Aguas Calientes is a small town in the valley below Machu Picchu. Everyone who goes to Machu Picchu passes through, and the town is optimized for just that. There is no road going here, only rail, and the Inca trail - so your experience here will be something like this: First, you leave the train station. That drops you at one end of the local Inca market, which is a labyrinth of stands selling baby alpaca blankets and such stuff. Second, you work your way through the labyrinth, at times suspecting that the stands are being rearranged to keep you trapped there until you actually buy something. Third, you cross the stream going through the town and end up on a bus bound for Machu Picchu.
Fourth, you machu the picchu.
Fifth, you come down on a bus. Sixth, you eat at a restaurant - the prices are slightly higher than elsewhere, but still quite reasonable, given that you are far away from any logistical center. Seventh, you work your way back through the Inca market, alternating between wishing you had left breadcrumbs the previous time you passed through, and wondering if you are being monitored by Inca scientists as a rat in a maze. Eighth, you board a train and leave.
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2012-01-04 16:52
2012-01-04 17:13