Gettin` screwed in Machu Picchu

We were up early this morning, checked out of our hotel, and just had time to grab an egg sandwich for breakfast before being picked up and taken to our bus for the 2 hour ride northwest to Ollantaytambo to catch our train (the only way to get to Aguas Calientes, at the base of Machu Picchu, is to take a train or to hoof it). Supposedly all of the trains from Cusco to Augas Calientes are full, but you can get on the train at Ollantaytambo. Whatever. So we got on a small bus and waited for over half an hour before it took off.

The drive was absolutely breathtaking. The bus wound its way through mountains, small villages and valleys filled with farmland and surrouded by the Andean snow-capped peaks. The elevation dropped from 3326m in Cusco to 2800m. We were dropped off at the chaos that is the tiny Ollantaytambo train station. Buses full of people heading for the train were arriving at the same time as a whole train full of people from Aguas Calientes. Some were coming, some were going, and amid it all were the ladies selling their crafts and food, as well as all of the locals waiting for their train. Foreigners have to take the tourist train and are not allowed on the local train, thus requiring us to pay at least 100x the price.

Our train was about 30 minutes late, but we quickly settled into our seats as soon as it arrived. It is a fairly nice train, the seats similar to a large bus, with 2 facing another 2 across a small table. Nice, but not worth the US$25.58 it costs for one way. The train took under 2 hours and was another ride full of breathtaking scenery. Dropping even further in elevation, it was amazing to see the change in environments, from snow covered mountains to valley farmland and down into lush jungle.

The train pulled up in Aguas Calientes...literally, it pulled up right into the centre of town with shops, restaurants, and hotels lining both sides of the tracks. Aguas Calientes, so named because of the hot springs in town, is home to only about 2000 people. I think all 2000 make their livings from the tourists to Machu Picchu in some way or another. Supposedly it´s not even called Aguas Calientes but is really named Machu Picchu Pueblo. If you ignore the crappy souvenier shops and stalls, rip-off prices at every restaurant, bar and hotel, and the constant hassle from touts, it´s a town set in the most gorgeous place. It´s nestled right on the bottom of a deep valley along the Rio Urubamba and surrounded on all sides by towering Andean mountains.

We put on our packs and set out to find a place to stay. About 20 hotels and a trudge up the hilly alleys later, we still hadn´t found a hotel and things were not looking too good. Well, actually, we DID have a room at one stage. A lady on the street approached us, and we all agreed on a price (35 soles) before she led us to her hotel/home. It looked good, so we said we´d take it. We dropped our packs on the bed and started unloading a few things while the woman went into the ensuite bathroom to turn on the shower to prove there is hot water. A few moments later, we heard her brother/husband/son or whoever he was shout out to her. She left the room and then came back and said `Señora, la habitaciòn cuesta 55 soles.` (Ms., the room costs 55 soles). What!??? Apparently what happened is that the brother/husband/son dude got a better offer on the street, and the lady was either demanding more than their offer or she was kicking us out!! ¡Què terrible! What a bee-atch! (perra)

Back on the prowl, we ran into an Aussie girl, Yvette, who was madly trying to find a bed for the night too. She had arrived last night and spent the night on the streets of Aguas Calientes with at least 30 others because there were no vacancies. Just as Nigel and I started choosing our benches for the night, a very nice lady (who was renting towels and bathing suits--yuck--to people for the hot springs) noticed us chatting and asked if we needed ´una habitacion´. Yes!! So she rang her friend, who said they had a room for 4 people (we had already decided to join forces with Yvette and a French guy she had met yesterday in the hopes that a room for 4 might be more available than 2 rooms for 2). The girl from the hotel even came to find us so we would know where to find the place. She led us to the place and we took a huge room with 4 beds, at only 15 soles each! Bargain!

Happy with the knowledge we wouldn´t be sleeping on a park bench that night, the 3 of us (Frenchie was still up at Machu Picchu) set out to find some lunch, being nearly 3:00 by this time. Too starving to be too picky, we found a place offering a personal pizza (those crazy pizzas are everywhere!), garlic bread and a coke for 10 soles. Maybe more than we´d like to pay, but it seemed like a good deal for Aguas Calientes, since the prices of everything are heavily jacked up here. We ate our pizzas and drank our cokes, and Yvette asked about our garlic bread. The waiter explained, `No, es diez soles para una pizza y una coca-cola O ajo de pan` (No, it´s 10 soles for a pizza and a coke OR garlic bread). Well, the sign that got us eating there in the first place CLEARLY says ´Pizza Y ajo de pan Y coke´ (Pizza AND garlic bread AND a coke). Yvette really wanted the garlic bread, and we really didn´t feel like getting screwed again today, so with the help of Benjamin (the Frenchie who had shown up by this stage), we debated the point with the waiter and finally got our garlic bread too. We weren´t charged for the bread, but we were charged a 3 soles ´service fee.´ It´s arguable whether or not this would have shown up on the bill anyway (apparently some restaurants in Peru charge random taxes and charges, but we´ve been here nearly 3 weeks and haven´t experienced it once), but we paid it and got the hell out of there.

After a quick stop at the police station to pick up Aussie and Frenchie´s packs (they had left them there while they went to Machu Picchu first thing this morning), we went back to the hotel and all of us had a short little nap. We woke up and, low and behold, it was beer o´clock. So we went to a locals place just around the corner for cheap, cold beer, suffered through their blaring music DVDs of screeching Peruvian women in concert, and then found a hamburguesa stand for dinner. For only 3 soles (AU$1.25) we got a huge, fresh burger (breaded chicken, like a schnitzel) with tomato, lettuce and papas fritas (french fries) on the burger, plus a drink. And we had all the mustard, ketchup and ajì (a chili sauce) we wanted. It was a great burger and an even better bargain, especially for Aguas Calientes, gringo capital of Peru (we thought that title belonged to Cusco, but we were wrong). We all headed back to our room and went to bed as we all had to be up before 6 the next day.