In Transit

There are three major segments to our trip: Cuzco, the Inca Trail, and New York City. We have completed the first two, and now we are in transition awaiting our time in NYC.

Thursday August 18
We checked out of our hostel this morning and wandered around town. Feng had an earlier departure as she was heading home, so we walked her to the train station and sent her on her way after goodbye hugs. We did some last minute shopping, especially for T-shirts that proclaimed that we had survived the Inca Trail. We pondered making our own shirts which boasted that we had survived the Inca trail bathrooms!

A bridge in the village.

Aguas Calientes has a hot spring, but we decided to rather go for massages. Otto’s Massage gave us great service as they were able to accommodate 8 of us at once. The Incan massage was a combination of relaxation, therapeutic, Shiatsu, and hot stone. This was just the right prescription for our sore muscles that we didn’t even know were sore until they kneaded them!

A few of us skipped the massages for shopping, but eventually we all had lunch and ended up at the train station for our late afternoon ride out of town.

PeruRail was a lovely experience. We enjoyed some gorgeous scenery before it got too dark to see, and then we visited, enjoyed snacks and drinks, and played various card games on our 3 hour ride back to Cuzco.

Representatives from our tour company, Andean Adventures, were there to pick us up and they safely delivered us back to Vidal’s house. Back up the 145 steps we went with luggage in hand. You think we would be used to this by now, but we were still huffing and puffing on our way up. We donned our pj’s, long underwear, and toques and climbed under heavy blankets for our cozy sleep in very chilly rooms.

Our house in Cuzco

Friday August 19

Vidal arrived to serve us breakfast, and then he helped us carry our luggage down the hill where we caught a ride to the airport. We said farewell to Bill and Tania as they were also heading home. Our 1:00 flight from Cuzco to Lima was slightly delayed, and we settled in for a long layover until our midnight flight from Lima to JFK. After spending some time on a tile floor by the pay phones, Denise and Anita scouted out a more comfy spot: a lovely lounge at the airport Wyndham hotel. We spent a few hours here watching the Olympics and playing SkipBo.