2/12/14, 7PM
At a couple minutes until seven, we are sitting on our train waiting for it to leave for Aguas Calientes (the town nearest Machu Picchu). We will arrive at 8:43 PM and make our way to the hostel, Machupicchu B&B. The plan is to get up early tomorrow to take the first bus up to Machu Picchu.
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| Peru Rail |
To anyone who thinks that because Peru is a South American country it must be cheap, you are wrong. Peru is cheap (by our standards) for the locals, but not for tourists. The train cost about USD $55 from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes. I've heard that the bus from Aguas Calientes up the mountain to the ruins is $40 and the ruins cost $45. By the end of the day, I'll be broke.
The train has left, and we are now on our way. Only a few minutes into the journey, and I'm already ready to be there. My body is worn out; we spent much of the day hiking. We had planned to see the fortress ruins, but I had a hard time stomaching the 130 Peruvian sole entrance fee (USD $43). Instead, we walked to the other side of the town to Pinkuylluna (which was free).
Although a strenuous uphill hike, the views were amazing. Unfortunately, we hadn't done enough research before we started the hike to know what we were looking at. We met a couple on the trail that told us the row of buildings that looked like houses were actually storage sheds for food.
I have since done a little research (also known as reading the guidebook), and have found out that the buildings, seen below, were storehouses called (quollqa) at a site called Pinkuylluna. Interestingly enough, grain was stored here because the higher altitude preserved the food better.
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| Incan store houses. |
It is believed that the food stored in these houses came from the crops grown on the Incas' terraced mountain sides seen below.
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| Terraces. |
By these accounts, the Incas were brilliant. I even read that they had a ventilation system for their storehouses. Not bad for 500 years ago.
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| Ollantaytambo |
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