After Freddy concluded our tour yesterday, we were given some free time to roam around the Incan city before having to meet the rest of the group for lunch in Aguas Calientes. There are only two “directional path” options to take, so we took the route that we had not already traversed, climbing upwards for a better vantage point of the complex.
A few of our group members actually raced back to the sun gate (Intipunku) since the skies had cleared of the cloudiness from earlier. (Tom and I opted not to do this since a) I’m slow and b) We thought the view would be underwhelming.
Apparently we were right, though the others decided to go moreso for the sense of closure.)
At lunch we were very disappointed to discover that our train and subsequent bus back to Cusco would not have us arriving until 10 or 11 PM which was far later than the advertised typical time of 8 PM, especially considering the fact that we had woken up at 3:30 AM. We ended up having to burn about 4-hrs of time just drinking, chatting, and roaming aimlessly. By the time we got back to the city, after a 2-hr train ride followed by a 2-hr bus ride (requiring a baño ecologíco stop for everyone that had been drinking), we were completely drained.
About 10-mins later Tom and were very unhappy to find out that the Pariwana Cusco Hostel, whom we had made reservations with over the phone when we stayed at their sister hostel, Pariwana Lima, had absolutely no record of our reservation! Nor did they have any private, double rooms available! We were both beyond pissed as they only had dormitory beds available and did not offer any viable alternatives for us. The last thing we wanted to do after a 4-day hike was to share a room with strangers that would very likely compromise our sleep.
Fortunately, Milhouse Hostel, who we had stayed with before we left for our hike did have the availability we were looking for, and was just around the corner. (Note to self: I still need to leave the negative review for Pariwana).
After a warm and toasty night’s sleep in our private room within the restored monastery, Tom and I ventured out in the late morning for a lazy, hazy day. We grabbed a quick bite and visited the Cusco Cathedral (no pictures allowed) in the afternoon, roamed the streets of San Blas in the early evening, and then headed back to relax for the rest of the night.
Originally, we had both been thinking of buying either a lute or flute from Sabino Huaman (one of only two luthiers in all of Peru, and whose small shop we accidentally stumbled across before we left for our hike), but we decided that while conceptually it would be a unique item to own, it was not a necessary souvenir….and our legs were so so tired.
