Machu Picchu

November 3, 2010

Up at 5am to get ready for the tour. Got a taxi ride and then another taxi ride to Aqua Calliente to pick up the train. Were given Train tickets, but was supposed to meet the guide at the Machu Picchu train station. There was no guide, no bus tickets to the top and no entrance fee tickets. Had to call the tour guide who was no help and then talked to some handler who got us the required tickets. All this took 2 hours. We arrive at Machu Picchu and had to wait for an hour for the tour guide (new one) Had a great tour of Machu Picchu and then went back down the mountain to the train station. Apparently there are 2 train companies and we had to wait another 2 hours for ours, who was broken down, so we were piggy backed on the main train company (PeruRail). Our train car had no lights, so we got to watch the fireflies outside. Once off the train, we were to pick up a taxi and they would get paid from our tour operator. He didn't know our tour operator and we had to pay him. We will be going back to the tour operator tomorrow morning for our taxi cab money and also to complain. We could have done this ourselves, saved the hassles and saved time and saved money. Not impressed. The tour company name is "Promotur's" Do yourself a favor and DO NOT USE THEM.

Enough with my rants, I got my taxi fare back this morning. Machu Picchu was very impressive. There are many different types of tours that can be done, from 1 day tours to 11 day hiking tours following the Inka trail. Many people choose a 2 day tour. Our tour guide was very good. We enjoyed him very much. He conveyed that a lot of opinions heard on TV has been disproven and that MAch Picchu was just a regular town with regular people who wanted to farm that area. No gold or silver was found (a sign of royalty) and that only bronze was found which is a sign of the working class. Being perched high in the mountains, this town was very protected from the Spanish, but the town folk left and the Spanish never found Machu Picchu, thats why its so important, because much of the original buildings and history was not taken and or destroyed by the Spanish. It is a very well preserved site and 70% of the sight was still intact after 500 years of earthquakes and looters. Machu Picchu is on the Amazonous side of the mountains and is actually in tropical weather. As we were taking the train from Ollanteybamba to Aqua Calliente, we saw a huge climate and vegetation change. All in all, we enjoyed the day.  

November 2, 2010

Arranged our Machu Picchu tour for tomorrow, then got my rear tire patched from the inside. Went for a ride out to Urubamba and back. Had to dodge rain clouds, but never got wet.

November 1, 2010

Got our riding gear cleaned and found a few bike shops that open. Bought some more chain oil and then washed the bikes. Adrienne showed up about 5:30pm to the same hotel as us without checking out her emails. How lucky! About an hour before Adrienne arrived, JD and Jean from Arizona showed up, so the group of us went the Norton Rat's Tavern for dinner and beer and lots to catch up on.

October 31, 2010

Halloween, A lazy day, said good-bye to a number of bikers that were leaving from the hotel and helped move Dean's sidecar out and hook it up. Had laundry done and took a ride around town to get our bearings and check where the bike shops are. Worked on my blog most of the day.

Cusco

October 30,  2010

We had had to have our bikes out of the restaurant by 7am, so we were up early again, but this appears to be a normal thing cause we go to bed early. We don't like to be out after dark to much. Anyways, we are off down the road with 120kms to Cusco. The first thing to greet us is more heavenly paved twists for about 1/2 hour, then road repairs due to many washouts from there winter weather. More twists, more little towns to slow down for and then before we knew it, Cusco. Wow, 375,000 population. We motored into town and the drivers are the usual crazy. Martina Had warned us that they have helped many people ship there bikes from here because of accidents, so we are on high alert. followed the road into Historic Central and parked to find a internet cafe. We needed to find the Norton Rats Pub because it is owned by and American biker that came down years ago and stayed. He is a mender of Horizons Unlimited and has been in contact with Adrienne. Funny thing, the internet cafe that we stopped at was 4 blocks from the Pub. The pub overlooks the Plaza De Armas central plaza and easy to find. We end up stopping to a a police where to park and he gives us a police escort to a hotel not a block away from the pub. We are here now. The Casa Grande Lodging is rustic, but has been updated. When one is so close to the center of everything, the prices always are reflected for the convenience. At the Hotel , there are 6 other bikes with riders from France, Brazil and Australia. We arrange to meet at the Norton Rats for 6pm. After beer and Hamburgers, Good conversation in English, Michael and I  leave our follow travelers and head to the plaza to watch Halloween Fireworks. Our fireworks displays pail in comparison tho these. They shoot projectiles past the church into the air and massive explosions of light and sound, at t he same time they have these willow racks with fireworks attached going off with things going round and round and up and down and shapes and and and… Thats the day, good night.