Pics from the Bros
Interesting Facts:
- Moro bars are not unique to New Zealand; there is also a Moro bar made by Cadbury in Ireland that is slightly different.
- A Moro bar is eaten every 2 seconds in New Zealand.
- There is a Wikipedia page on Moro bars.
- Belinda is sad enough to do a web search on Moro bars.
Yoyo couldn’t be more laid back and big-hearted. He casually invited our friends, Seth and Parker back to the house with us and then suggested they stay with him too. This was so wonderful but by no means expected. He was full up but wanted to house us all so we pitched our tents on his veranda that we shared with his three dogs and two parrots. This was a perfect situation for us and as always we were every so grateful to have somewhere welcoming and safe to rest our heads after cycling our leggie’s off.
An excursion to Huayllabamba (a neighbouring town) had a festival on that Yoyo wanted to show us. We arrived as a parade started and were able to see energetic dancing and fantastic costumes that depicted different stories and times in the town’s history.
Machu Picchu
After lengthy discussions and number crunching (thank you so much Seth) between the four of us on the best way to get to Machu Picchu; we decided on the train. Other options included: the ‘Santa Teresa’ way, trying our luck with walking or cycling on the railway or our 2nd favourite option was to tube-it down the river (not a real possibility but sounded fun). There is no straightforward or cheap way to get there so you eventually just have to run with something. Basically there is no road getting to Machu Picchu’s nearest town, Agua Callientes and Peru Rail charges exhorbidant prices to take this 1 ½ hour trip from Ollantaytambo (a nice town to spend an hour or two). Fortunately for us they have recently introduced a new ‘backpacker’ class which offers tickets for considerably less (but are still ‘Gringo’ prices that are not congruent with the cost of other things in Peru and run at undesirable times). ANYWAY!
We managed to score a great price on a hostal in Agua Callientes at Number One Hostal (only the best for us!) for 12.50 soles each. Agua Callientes is a total tourist town filled with restaurants and hotels. Desperate and persistant workers line the streets beconing your attention, trying to convince you they have the best offer even though the neigbouring business is selling the exact same thing at the same price. The other sucky thing about this tourist drenched town is that retailers size you up before giving you a price for a product you’re interested in, let alone that prices are already ridiculously marked up to start with. ANYWAY AGAIN! This is not meant to sound negative but I guess it's been a bit of a culture shock after spending over a month in rural Peru and it takes some readjusting in the head. Sorry people!
So you either gripe about this tourist trap that you have CHOSEN to experience or you take it for what it is and have a nice day. So soon after ‘starting to have a nice day’ I (Bee) ‘started to have a terrible night’. Our entire stay in Peru has been tummy bug free (which is quite a feat apparently) until the night before visiting Machu Picchu. Excellent timing. I lulled the boys into a dreamless sleep as I made numerous trips to the bathroom all night to spend quality time with the toilet bowl. It was then not possible to leave with the boys at 4am as I was still needing more time with my new found friend in the bathroom. I managed to make it up the mountain later in the day but missed out on climbing up Wayna Picchu and walking out to the Inca Bridge but was able to take in the spectacular and classic views of these ruins from ‘Hut of the Caretaker of the Funerary Rock ‘ and slowly stroll around the bulk of the rest of the ruins. We still think other ruins are just as impressive but there is definately something special about the location of Machu Picchu up so high and (often) shroaded in mist; it is a very beautiful setting.
As you can see by the photos; the boys got some interesting (and they hope original) ideas into their heads but also did a huge amount of walking. They viewed Machu Picchu from every possible corner and the last couple of days have been paying for it with extremely sore legs. Ask any long term cyclist about walking long distances and they will tell you how hard it is. This is very frustrating considering we are so fit but cycling and walking use such different muscles. As we were walking back to Yoyo’s in the early hours of morning we all agreed we were glad to have seen Machu Picchu but equally happy it was over.
It was tempting to stay longer in Urubamba in the easy company of Yoyo and his family but after yet another satisfying breakfast we jumped back on our bikes and followed the river to Pisaq which has a famous Sunday market. It was infact Sunday when we cycled through so we had a nosy about before climbing one last time to reach Cusco; the biggest and most modern city we have experienced in over a month and another milestone (cycling wise) for us all.
Summary of our trip to Machu Picchu (for those planning their own trip to ‘the Lost City’)
- From Urubamba to Ollantaytambo we caught a Collectivo that took 30 minutes and cost 1.20 sol each. Our return was at 2am so meant we only had a taxi option and we paid 15 soles for all four of us.
- Book your train tickets with Peru Rail online in advance to get the best choice of ‘backpacker’ times. We booked it the day before and meant we had to catch the 10.30pm train back to Ollantaytambo which was a very drawn out wait. The tickets were roughly $30 US one way per person for the ‘backpacker’ class.
- Number One Hostal which is on the same lane as Number Two Hostal (on the otherside of the bridge to the train station, near the Mercado Central) gave us a room with four beds and a bathroom for 12.50 soles each.
- The boys Left Agua Callientes at 4am to walk up the mountain and get their tickets stamped to allow entry into Wayna Picchu which was perfect. The boys chose the second group to go in which gave them time to look around other parts of Machu Picchu before it got busy and they didn’t have to step aside for people on the descent.
- Be prepared to pay for the toilet at Machu Picchu even though you paid 126 soles to enter the ruins.
- Take your water purification device so you don’t have to pay for water. I.e. A 500ml bottle of water in Machu Picchu is 8 soles and in Agua Callientes the Phura Peruvian 2L bottle of water is between 3 to 3.50 soles (you can pay 5 to 6 soles for other brands).
- Take food with you. The cheapest ‘menu’ you’ll find is in the upper floor of the Mercado Central for 7 soles but they do sell a great fruit salad for 6 soles that is well worth it right in the centre of the upper floor.
Why didn’t we go the DYI Santa Teresa way?
- Time (at least 10 hours of travel from Urubamba to Agua Calientes, not including wait times and possibility needing to stay in Santa Teresa if we missed connections)
- Alot of transfers (collectivos, walking/train, taxi etc).
- Potentially only works out to be able $10 cheaper after all is said and done.
- We know this way is very scenic and has hot baths in Santa Teresa but we were not feeling it!
- No guarantee we would be allowed on the tracks.
- After going in the train, it didn’t look like there was much space to the side of the tracks, going through the tunnels would be hairy and pretty bumpy terrain too.
- Didn’t fancy a five to seven hour walk.