5:00AM – It was another early day for us. Our train leaves st 3:30, so we had to get an early start. We checked out of our room and had our luggage transported to the train station. Then we were off to Machu Picchu. This time we decided to explore the lower parts of Machu Picchu, and we made our way to the Wayman Picchu checkpoint. They only allow 400 people per day to climb Wayna Picchu, and we made it there pretty early. It would have been a difficult hike, so we decided not to do it.
8:30AM – We got back to the hotel just in time for breakfast, since they stop serving at 9:00AM. We ate and rested up before returning to Machu Picchu once again.
11:00AM – We finally made it to Intipunku after a 1 1/2 hour hike. The view from up here is pretty amazing. We can see our hotel and the entrance to Machu Picchu from here.
12:30PM – That’s it for Machu Picchu. There’s still so much we wanted to see, but we ran out of time. We went back to Tinkuy Restaurant for their buffet again. This time we had to pay. It was US$29 each. Apparently we were supposed to have eaten our box lunches yesterday, and then use the meal tickets for lunch today. It was much more crowded today than it was yesterday.
2:00PM – We boarded our bus to Aguas Calientes. Local merchants had set up a marketplace outside the train station. After some negotiations, Alice was able to buy a clock for 26 Solis (~US$9). It had a llama on the face of the clock.
3:00PM – Boarding began at 3:00, and we left the train station on time at 3:30PM. It’s a three hour and 50 minute train ride to Cusco.
7:30PM – David picked us up from the train station and took us to the Casa San Blas Hotel. After getting settled, we went to the hotel restaurant (Tika Bistro Gourmet) for a quick bite to eat. I had the beef tenderloin and Alice had the zucchini and eggplant ravioli.
10:30PM – It looks like I’ve figured out how to connect via WiFi, so I’m back online.