Peru-Brazil 2013 – Day 10 – Return from Aguascalientes to Cusco

Remembering that the last day still counts, we tried not to be in much of a hurry getting back home to Cusco. From Aguascalientes we took the train to Ollantaytambo, in a beautiful glass-ceiling car that allowed us a full view of the majestic Peruvian Andes.

Once in Ollantaytambo we were picked up by a guide and a van, who drove us to the mountain fortress of Pisac. This is one of my favorite Inca sites, although in fact it is three sites connected by a path that runs along the cliffs. Alma and Tom decided to get back when the stairs started (we are still hurting from the climb to Huayna Picchu), but Margarita, Annie and I made the whole circuit, in awe at the bird’s eye view we were getting over a good stretch of the Sacred Valley.

 

An hour later we were deposited in our hotel, and Alma finally had the chance of letting the guide know what she thought about his services. Although all other people we dealt with had been friendly and helpful, this particular guide was rude to her, and kept her waiting for nearly an hour at one of the pickup locations. I tell you, he must have felt the wrath of old Wiracocha come onto him!

We passed the afternoon packing and getting ready for our respective departures the following morning, and in the late afternoon Alma, Tom, and I took Tita back to her room back in Cusco, and finally had a quiet drink on a second floor restaurant overlooking the Plaza de Armas, where we made wild plans for the future and eventually said goodbye. They are all off to Key West in Florida, to look at buying a house there, and Annie and I are off to the second part of our trip, the Amazon.