Thursday May 23, 2024
Yikes, what an early morning. We got to bed fairly early last night, and were rudely awakened by someone loudly knocking on the adjacent door. Thinking we had overslept, I asked Nathan what time it was. 10 pm.
I managed to get back to sleep, but not very well towards the early morning. I don’t have a watch, since it died after the Lares Hot Springs, so in the middle of the night I can’t check the time.
Nevertheless, at 4:15 am Nathan’s alarm went off, and we got ready for our 4:45 breakfast time. The hotel serves a breakfast buffet complete with eggs, ham, yogurt, juices, breads and rolls, cereals, fruit, sliced meats and cheese, and coffee. I managed to eat some yogurt with cereal on top, some fruity breakfast bread with juice and a little coffee. I’m still not feeling 100%, and I hope I have the strength to tour Machu Picchu. Nathan had eggs, ham and cheese with fruit and coffee.
The waiter called Nathan’s name and handed the phone to him. It was Franklin. He’d just been to the bus stop and there was no one there, so we could enjoy our breakfast until 5:20.
Once Franklin arrived, we all walked down to the bus stop. There is a little line, but they are efficient in loading passengers and bringing in fresh buses. We got a seat towards the front, but can’t really see out the windows because it’s still dark out and the windows are fogged up. The bus ride takes about 30 minutes, and we get out to stand in the entrance line. Our tickets are for 6 am (Nathan’s choice) and we get in rather quickly and ascend the stairs to enter the site.
I’m doing good so far, but I am tired and huffing maybe more than I otherwise would. Once we finished the stairs, there were several level areas to take photos of Machu Picchu from above. We waited there for 40 minutes while we waited for the sun to hit Machu Picchu, and Franklin gave us an overview of the site. Once the sun came out, we took more photos, and started the descent into Machu Picchu. We toured the site including the quarry, Sun Temple and the Condor Temple with Franklin giving in depth explanations of everything along the way. The whole visit lasted 4 hours and 20 minutes. I cant possibly do it justice, so you’ll just need to co e down and take Franklin’s tour yourself.
At about 10:40, we caught the bus back to town and agreed to meet up for lunch and goodbyes at 1 pm.
Nathan and I went back to the room and I fought with the website until we determined the problems had everything to do with the hotel’s internet and not my site. Frustrating, but simpler than a website issue.
We left the room around 12:15 to walk around before we met Franklin, and then at 1 pm sat down to lunch. Nathan and I both had pizza (I’m feeling better) and we sat with Franklin and had a toast, Pat & Andrew style. We talked with Franklin about our plans for the hot springs, and how we were to travel back to Cusco tomorrow. The tour package for the Lares Trek includes one night in Aguas Calientes, but we’ve opted to add on another night, so Franklin is going home today.
Once lunch was done, we said goodbye to Franklin, and went back up to our room where we both took a little snooze. 4:15 wake up and wine and beer at lunch will do that!
After our little nap, we wandered out of the hotel to find a coffee shop to relax where I can use the Wi-Fi. We stayed for quite a while, listening to the music they had playing and enjoyed the down time.
By 6:40, we decided to leave and venture out to find dinner. We settled on a balcony spot and each enjoyed a bowl of soup before we headed back to the hotel.