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Day 10
4th June
We board a morning train that winds through the steep Urubamba Valley to its final destination of Aguas Calientes. Relax in the natural mountain hot baths that gave the town its name. For serious archaeology buffs, there is time for an optional independent visit to Machu Picchu before the guided tour the following morning.
Up early again and off to the station to get our train to Aguas Calientes the little town at the bottom of Machu Picchu. We arrive around 9:30 and find that we can't check in until 11:00 so we store our backs and go for a walk around this tiny but bustling little town. The streets are lined by stores selling souvenirs, drinks snacks and guided tours to the local attractions. As we walk we come to a river which splits the town in 2. Most of the town has no access for vehicles and the railway track runs all the way along the bottom of the town. All the goods coming into this town seem to arrive on the trains and are then moved by sack barrows up the steep slopes to the various stores and restaurants. Even building materials and bottles of propane gas are all pushed up the hills by hand.
We go back to our hotel and check in and then off out again at 13:00 for lunch. After lunch Paco is taking us for a small hike to see a waterfall. We head off and are walking along the railway line! Paco says its completely safe and the walk should take about 40 minutes. After about 20 minutes we see a sign by the side of the tracks saying "waterfall 30 minutes"!! Soon after we hear a horn for a train and we look behind us and there is a train heading towards us along the track. We all move to the side and let the train pass and carry on walking. After another 20 minutes another train comes from the opposite direction. After an hour of walking we come to a sign for the waterfall and are told its another 25 to 30 minutes up the hill, Mmmmm funny 40 minutes! We carry on up through the jungle and finally reach the waterfall. We take a few photos before heading back as we are concerned that it may get dark before we get back to the town and we have no torch's. Most of the group are a far way ahead of us and its Paco, the girls and myself all walking together. I end up a far way in front of the others after a while and duck into a bush and wait for them to come past. Just as they all get level with the bush I shake it and then jump out and they all scream and Jenny's glasses steam up. We carry on walking and by this time my legs are killing me. As we get back to town we decide to straight to dinner. We go into one of the local plush hotels and they say they can just about squeeze us in. Paco goes back to our hotel to collect the others. The waiter brings the menus round and it is a set menu and 3 courses. We ask if we can see the normal menu as most of us don't want 3 courses. We are told this is the only menu we can have, so we ask how much it would be if we just had one courses. The waiter comes up with some random prices and then starts hassling us to order. We say we are going to wait for the others and are told we can't as they are waiting for the table. We all get up and walk out just as Paco and the others arrive and explain what has happened. We wander down to the bottom part of town and find another restaurant which has a big open fire pit which they cook some of the food on. I have the rib of lamb and all the food is really good. After dinner we go back to the hotel and all turn in as we have a 5:15 start in the morning for the highlight of the trip our tour of Machu Picchu.
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