I wouldn't call today a "nightmare" because it wasn't
that bad, but this was one of the more annoying days of my trip. Despite having thousands of visitors to Machu Picchu every year, the region is not very visitor-friendly. Maybe most people books their trip through travel agents and so don't have to deal with all the hassles, but for an independent traveler, it's a real pain to get tickets, etc.
First, nothing is signed very well. Even big and basic stops like the train station, although I managed to find that without
too much difficulty. And buying my train tickets went pretty smoothly. But then I needed to buy my actual ticket to Machu Picchu. I
could wait until I got there, but I didn't want to risk the tickets selling out, or the ticket booth not being open when I needed it to be. But only one place in Cusco sells tickets to Machu Picchu, and it is not signed
at all. Nor is it close to anywhere that tourists might naturally be, like the train station or the main plaza, or near museums. Three different people gave me decent directions on how to get there, and I walked past it 3 times until I finally found it. Then the ticket office was bizzare. You have to book your ticket in one line, and pay for your ticket in another line. And the lines aren't signed, not even in Spanish. It was a real drag. But I
did get to see a lot more of the city on foot, and got my exercise for the day.
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| Some Incan ruins in Cusco. |
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| A church -- one of many. |
I'm hopeful I made a good plan for myself. I'll take a local bus tomorrow to about halfway to Machu Picchu, where these is an old city named Ollantaytambo, which has some ruins of its own. I'll spend several hours there then catch the train to Aguas Calientes, the little town near Machu Picchu. The next morning, I'll wake up at about 5am to take a bus to Machu Picchu. Well, my
plan is to get up that early. If I don't, I won't be able to beat all the tour groups that arrive on the train at 9:30, and I'd really like to see the place before it's completely swamped. Since I know it will be my second-to-last early monring for my whole trip, I should be able to get up in time (the last early morning being the day I return home and have to catch a 7am flight).
Speaking of self-motivating, my mild headache continued all day. Still not bad enough to get in the way of doing anything, but slightly painful and annoying. So I stopped to get some anti-altitude sickness medicine, and I learned that among other maladies caused by altitude sickness,
sleepiness and
general malaise are two common effects. So I no longer blame my own laziness for just wanting to lie around all day. I blame the altitude.
You should blame the altitude, I had the same effects. Have you tried the coca tea? That was offered to me many times as a local remedy. It was pretty good.
ReplyDeleteYes, that tea is pretty good. And I've either gotten used to the altitude or the medicine they sell to combat the sickness actually works. Because I'm back to being only kind of lazy, not completely lazy.
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