Aguas Calientes to Cusco

The train leaves at 9:00am, and we were supposed to be at the station at 8:30am. It seems an interminable time to wait 30 minutes, especially since I arrived at bit earlier at 8:15am.  I was supposed to go to Ollantaytambo, but the tracks have been wiped out of existence for a few km due to landslides. We get a bus transfer on station prior.

When we get on the train, it was a sleepy and enjoyable trip. It has a kind of olde worlde feel about it. The scenery is outstanding, running through river valleys and rural countryside. Many ruins of Inca and pre-Inca can be seen. 

At our destination I elected to take a private coach 'collectivo' instead of the rail transfer and headed directly to Cusco. I wanted to organise my next trip to Ausangate (which instead will be a jungle trip to Manu).  Along the way  to Cusco we see the land slip devastation of the rail and rural work life. A lot of the Peruvians cannot afford buses and use trucks to get around. 
 
We arrive at Cusco at just past 2pm. I walked from the bus terminus to the plaza and chose not to stay in San Blas as I wanted to move on to the next trek. I ventured in to a nice looking hotel and was surprised that it was a very reasonable 100sol at night (about $35US). An en-suite with hot water, room to myself and breakfast - bargain. Sol Plaza Inn, if you ever get there, nice and proximate to the 'action' with quiet, clean rooms. The only gripe I had is the rubbishy keyboards on their computers. NOTE TO SELF: get a notebook or Ipad as  wi-fi is everywhere in Cusco !


I looked hard to try and find the travel agent I was going to use for my trip to Ausangate. I failed after wandering down this seemingly endless street trying to find them. Instead I end up buying souvenirs – alpaca jumpers, table cloths even a poncho. Couldn’t help myself, alpaca jumper x 4 = 110 soles circa $40AUD – I mused that we get ‘fleeced’ on clothes in Australia, such a huge price difference ! How I am going to get all this back with my limited luggage space is a mystery that I will solve later.

Returning to the hotel I was bombarded by various offers to purchase this and that from shoe shines to restaurant to trips. One offering was an ‘Inca’ massage. Now, my legs were hurting after many days on the track and thousands of stones steps in Machu Picchu. So tentatively I accepted an offer for a massage. I negotiated a price of 15 soles for the hour instead of the quoted 20 (all of ~$7 AUD. ) I go into this back room and thought what am I doing ?  It took me a while to relax because of the thought I could be robbed or something.  Well, all I can say is go for it – all legit and of excellent standard. The lady really knew what she was doing, I got a good solid kneading of my legs and back and the hot rocks were a delight.  I felt so good afterwards that I tipped her back to the 20 soles requested initially. The place I went to is on Triunfo street up near Pumacurco (on the right heading up).

Near the hotel I noticed operators promoting the Manu jungle. I thought that maybe I should do this instead of Ausangate to give the legs a rest and, the jungle looked appealing, as it does on the promotional pictures.  I chose Manu Adventures and their seven day trip to the Manu national park leaving tomorrow morning. 
 
Hassle 1:
the operators claimed their Mastercard machine was malfunctioning so I had to withdraw US$ from an ATM. Should have bailed then and gone to another operator.
Hassle 2:
the ATM I used only allowed $200 withdrawals and charge $2.50 US per transaction. Cost me $10US to withdraw.
Hassle 3:
Counterfeit currency. I got $60US in $20 notes of fake currency.  So as a warning do not use Interbank ATMs - ‘globalnet’ and stick to the credit card for big amounts.
Hassle 4:
do not bother with the International or national police when it comes to forged currency. I wasted my time – up until almost midnight filling out a dubious report with these guys. You can bet your bottom dollar that the waste paper bin has been used and the fake currency re-circulated. (of course I could be wrong, but I have yet to get an email confirming any investigation. Dubious report – they typed it all up on a non-official document because I wasn’t claiming theft ….)
 

 I found Ben and Chris and met with them before going to the police. We tried to rendezvous with Jan but could find him so we went to a pub instead. I showed them the false notes, pointing out the irregularities, luckily it was only 60 bucks. I only went to the police to try and get something done before others get ripped off. It was good to catch up and talk about their route to Salcantay from the Choquequirao trek we just completed.


 What a day, what a night.

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Location: Aguas Calientes 08681, Peru

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