We were on the cheapest train (there are three levels) and it was very nice. It is still not that cheap though, and we heard that peruvians can take the same train for about 5x less than they charge the tourists. Definitely a racket.
Waiting in the train station. Excited to get on our way!
I was, of course, the first person to ask the guards if I could sneak out to the trains for a picture, and I think they regretted allowing me because about 100 people followed suit.
The train ride is through gorgeous countryside, straight through small towns, and across rivers.
A group of people way tougher than us, hiking the Incan trail while we speed past in our lazyman's train.
Since our train left fairly early in the morning (7:45), we arrived in Aguas Calientes around 12:30. Some people do Machu Picchu as a day trip, which seems crazy fast to me; I am very glad that Patrick planned for us to stay overnight.
The town is super small, so we easily walked to our hostel and checked in. It was definitely a step up from the net house (or as Patrick has so sweetly dubbed it, the hell house), but still pretty icky. We are starting to see why backpackers smell so bad and look like they never shower; if we are "splurging" on $35 a night places and are still afraid of the bathroom and bed, I can't imagine what the $15 places are like. Good thing we are already in love because I'm pretty sure we look (and smell) like homeless people. Case in point: My accomplishment for today? Showering, washing my hair AND shaving my legs. Yeah, that's a big deal these days. Gross.
Anyways, after checking in to Pirwan, we explored the town. There are a zillion identical restaurants, all with a 15 sole lunch menu of soup, entree and drink.
I finally got to have lomo saltado, and I have to say, for $5 it was pretty dang good!
There were tons of street musicians wandering the streets. I love the music here, it really adds to the experience.
We finished exploring the town about an hour later. The Incan flag is very similar to a flag we are familiar with in the US, but the meaning is very different! Also, it is the law that in the month of June, every building must have the flag displayed somewhere. So we saw lots and lots of rainbows.
It is definitely a poor city, but extremely clean and there are police all over the place. Tourism is clearly their sole source of income here, and they take it seriously.
We grabbed an early dinner at a really cute place called The Tree House Restaurant; it felt similar to places in San Francisco and the food was good too! We finally tried Alpaca - in the form of a pasta dish.
It was pretty good - the flavor was very similar to beef, but it was kind of dry and the texture was a little weird. I don't think I would be able to tell what it was if no one told me, it could easily pass for beef. I wouldn't seek it out, but am not opposed to eating it.
We attempted an early bedtime since we had to wake up the next morning at 3:15 am to catch the bus to Macu Picchu. Yikes!
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