Apr 06 - Machu Picchu to Urubamba

Apr 06 – Machu Picchu to Sacred Valley

Our train back from Machu Picchu to Urubamba in the Sacred Valley wasn’t until 4pm, so the morning was spent exploring the town of Machu Picchu (the town formerly known as Aguas Caliente but they don’t want to have a Spanish name now so it is now just known as Machu Picchu town……).
The town seems to have a permanent raging torrent running though it and whilst we might be raising the flood alerts, life seemed to rumble on regrdless of any movement of the 100 ton boulders.

The Vistadome train ensures a spectacular view

Last minute Llama purchases made, we met up at the train station for our trip back. 

Another lovely scenic trip back through the river canyon with high mountains and lush vegetation. A little fashion show on the train to encourage people to buy yet more alpaca clothing was done by the same teams serving tea and coffee – all very bizarre. Yet again Paul’s dancing skills came into their own as he was set upon again by the dancing dervish !!

Sheena and Eileen have spotted a gap in the market in Scotland and will now be contacting Scotrail to get the franchise to sell Scottish knitwear and whisky on the trains…….move over Richard Branson the Lassies are coming through…………….

The train meanders around the sacred valley

We arrived at the train station in Ollyantantambo to a complete zoo of minibuses picking people up and as it is a little bottleneck with only one narrow road in and out, it took us 40 minutes just to get out of the station !

We headed off to our next stop in Urubamba in the Sacred Valley. Where we were staying is within a school and centre for underprivileged children started by a Dutch lady. There are 8 bungalows set within beautiful gardens at the back of the school area (you drive across the basketball court once you enter the main gates !!). The school houses and feeds up to 100 orphan children and educates and feeds another 100 as day pupils. The money from the bungalow stays and donations support the whole enterprise.

It is all an eco environment, so the rooms all have fireplaces but no heating and the little main building houses a small but very nice restaurant where we all had dinner in front of another roaring fire.