Day 47 – Saturday, March 14, 2026
In the morning there was a piece of good news and bad news. The rain had actually stopped, but I found my clothes hanging on a cool attic, they were still completely wet. I then went to the reception, asked if there was a laundry with a dryer - then the hotel staff told me they themselves had a dryer, and it costs a small amount. Why did they not tell me the previous night...? I believe in Chile the solution would have been less complicted...oh well, a few minutes later, my clothes were actually dry.
Strange start to a somewhat weird day. I got to the bus station, where I met Nora and Freddie, my hike mates from the previous day (the Japanese guys opted to do a later tour). A big nod to the Peruvian organizers of the flood of tourists, everything was working like clockwork (orange?).
Still in town
The weather. Yes, the rain had stopped, it was relatively mild, but - here comes the issue - it was foggy, especially up on the peak.
Alas, Machu Picchu did not really embrace me. Well, as I had explained, I had gotten utterly wet reaching the base camp. Nora anf I hired a guide, last minute for a relatively low amount, he neither spoke too clearly (very thick accent) plus seemed not really motivated (probably the amount was below his liking). I looked in envy at the other groups having an interactive, lively guide explaining things. Even worse, there was a pretty thick fog all around the monument: it prevented me from seeing the famous green peaks with the ruins in front. Bad luck - hey, Friday the 13th was the previous day!
Peekabo!
Do you see what I see?
Ruins
Pretty terrace
Maybe Freddie did the right thing - he did not join our guide and decided to wait for the fog to clear. I deemed this hopeless, plus was expecting the rain to start again.
Nora and I completed the Circuit 2, yes, we were impressed, but the big "aaaaaah" feeling was missing. We descended by bus - and guess what, all around us was wonderful sunshine, with just a few clouds.
Mystic mountains...
...covered by fog
We were both really tired and decided not to do the "easy", 3+ hour hike and the 7+ hour bus ride on the way back, but to spend a fortune on an "adventure of s lifetime", 2-hour, $80 train ride - not to Cusco, just to a town called Olaytaytambo, the gateway to the Sacred Valley.
Before boarding the train, we had a very tasty lunch; avocados as starters, then a steak flank in a yummy sauce - for a decent price. Pretty much everything else was blatantly overpriced.
The owner of the restaurant entrusted me with her 3 month-old relative, so cute!
What a cute baby!
The "adventure of a lifetime" was a scenic train ride, but the marketing team must have high on cocoa leaves for branding it this way. We had a nice chat with Alex, a young guy from the UK.
Nora and I parted after arriving to Ollantaytambo. It is a small, but lively (and very touristy) town with cobblestone streets, flanked by Inka ruins on the hilltops surrounding it. Nora wanted to return to Cusco, I decided to discover the Sacred Valley - by bike. It was a pleasant, sunny afternoon.
Ollantaytambo
I will spare you the details - first, finding a bike for rent took an hour, then getting one delivered took even more than that. In town, while waiting, I witnessed saw something quite interesting- a march for a group of young girls being baptized.
Finally, the "bike" (let's be nice and call it that) arrived. It was quite a wreck- gears not working, brakes in need of new pads, the seat post rusty. Even worse, the backpack that came with the bike was so tiny, hardly anything fit in.
Still, I decided to roll. For a while, it was downhill area, then it was flat. The issue was when the first incline csme - I could not change gears - also, the chain fell down. The outlook was bleak - just like the late afternoon weather, it had gotten quite overcast. I decided to give up and turn around. On the way back, some stray dogs barged at me - one even snapped at my ankle - without any harm, though. I was not in the highest of all spirits. I returned the bike and caught a shared taxi (a ride of about 2 hours) to Cusco. The Sacred Valley will have to wait for me - as it turned out, I did not return on this trip.
It was late Saturday night by the time I arrived in Cusco and marvelled at the churches and monuments of this city.
Once again, Cusco at night...
...this one, too
I them booked a trip to the Rainbow Mountain for the following day, with a start at 4:30 in the very early morning. I returned to the nice hotel in the center I had stayed at earlier and retired for the short night.