Machu Picchu @50 Day 5

Brian Belmont
Apr 30, 2020
4 min read

Updated: May 2, 2020

October 15, 2017

I awakened and opened my curtains to reveal a rainy morning. Packing complete, the three of us had our breakfast with a view. There was much more to choose from today. Time for the train...off we went. At the departure entry there was a bit of anxiety as LaTrice frantically searched for her train ticket...crisis was averted.

The train passage was uneventful. As it was very cloudy / misty, it was hard to see. It did make for a totally different feel. We kept stopping to let passengers on so we took 2 hours instead of 1.5 hours.

It was a strong rain as we exited at Ollantaytambo. After a long walk along the tracks I quickly found a mini-bus driver with room on his bus. He had said 20 soles but as we were ready to leave he increased it to 30 as the bus wasn’t filled. We all agreed, paid him, and off we went. The 1.5 hour climb to Cusco, high in the Andes.

It was raining hard and with so many people in the mini bus, the windows were fogged up. I just edited pics while the girls napped at bit, on and off. Around 12:45 we made it to Cusco. The driver let us out at a plaza near Armas so it was a short walk. It was only spitting rain, at least.

The lady at reception remembered us and checked us in right away, I asked for a cool, courtyard room and the girls preferred a quiet, warmer, interior room. She showed me 3 rooms to cheese from. Naitro and LaTrice shared the room LaTrice had previously and I had one around the corner with a window I could open to the outside to cool off the room. It did have a weird window into the hallway the Naitro peeked in and said hi and that this was creepy...lol

We settled in and I went to their room. Naitro was wasn’t feeling well and LaTrice was thinking of a nap. In the end they decided to go eat and keep moving as if they stopped the day might be over and they’d crash,

We returned to Organic greens where we’d first eaten. The waitress remembered us and greeted us with a smile. We had the amazing mango smoothies again. I had pumpkin soup and then sweet potato and beet gnocchi. They were both amazing. Everyone’s meal was perfect.

We were all feeling better so we decided to go to the central handicrafts center. Directions were given by reception but we still got a bit lost.

On the way, being lost, we stopped in at a museum and asked for directions. This lead us around a corner where we were drawn in by a shop with totems, mosaics, ceramics, paintings and a weaver working on a panel. There was Native American flute music version of “My heart will go on”. We looked around and the shop was a maze of rooms with textiles, sculpture, textiles, garments, tribal necklaces, stone vases, and much more. At one point LaTrice reached the end of the shop and wow...it was the entrance to the museum where she had asked for directions. The museum was also a shop. It was an amazing place. It blew us away.

We took many photos of the amazing art that we enjoyed and decided on a few must haves. I bough a ceramic Pachapapa and LaTrice bought a black bull with brightly colored designs on it. It is common to place one in the House for family protection.

After asking on man at a restaurant, LaTrice asked a female cop who gave us conflicting info...but was the right directions

Attempting to continue on...out of the corner of Naitro’s eye...a chocolate shop. We stopped in and tried some of the samples, including some chocolate tea…quite nice. Along with chocolate, they sold nibs, cocoa shell tea, and many liquers. The one that had creme added was particularly nice as it tasted like the most a mazing chocolate syrup. The male clerk was very handsome and getting some attention from one of my girls. Many treats were purchased here and I brought home a pack of nibs that was far below the price I’d pay in the states.

Continued walking several long blocks and after a brief stop at a Fountain with puma an symbols, we found it, The arts and crafts center. t was much further than I thought. It was really not worth the effort as much of what was for sale was a rehash of the many things found in Cusco and most shops in the Historic Centre. The ATM would not work for any of us but also didn’t work for one of the locals we watched make an attempt.

There were a few stalls ( of the 340) that had some unique treasures. Naitro bought a carved gourd and LaTrice bought from a lady with many statues that weren’t found along our travel path. It was now dark and time to head back.

Walking back stopped at a French cafe -pastry shop. It felt like a little bit of Paris and a great evening stop for a moment of enjoyment. A definite memory to be had here. The waiters were handsome if not a bit out of place in their Parisian outfits. The desserts were attractive but would they be delicious? We had a piece of rainbow cake, cheese cake, and dark chocolate cake. The best of all was the chocolate cake but I really enjoyed my choice of the cheesecake. It was light and just enough sweetness and not too much. A little memory was created here even though it wasn’t spectacular…just a nice moment.