9-23 (Tuesday)



We got up around 5 .am. to prepare for today´s journey. We hauled our suitcases downstairs to store them and paid our bill. We had just started walking down the hill to check out a new hotel when our van arrived. I had the driver stop by the old hotel to see if they had found my medicine. They hadn´t.



We arrived at the station along with all the other tourists heading to Machu Picchu. We boarded the backpackers train for our four hour ride to Aguas Calientes where we will spend the night before going on to MP the next day.



The train would go forward for awhile and then back up. It did four different switch backs. We had breakfast on the train (not included!) The two guys from Seattle that we saw at dinner last night were right across the aisle from me.



We saw trekkers from the window and learned that the Inca Trail had been closed for a few days due to a fire on the mountain. We could see where it was all scorched. It reminded me of our trek in Irian Jaya. There was an active fire where we were trekking that time.



In our car were two girls and a guy from London who had been in the Great Amazon Race. They told us that an American team from California won the race by two hours. They said that was unheard of. That team made a long skinny raft instead of a short wide one.



After arriving in Aguas Calientes we walked around the town, shopped and Barbara had a beer. We sat outside for a long time. It was really nice.



Tomorrow we climb!! We´ll be leaving the hotel at 5:30 so we can see the sun come up over Machu Picchu. By the way, we love our hotel here. It is super!!