Hot Springs

Somehow, I ended up in Aguas Calientes tonight, the tourist bonanza masquerading as a town at the foot of Machu Picchu mountain. The bus ride was about eight hours long, including stops to wait for road crews to clear rockslides. I was accosted immediately by the driver of the combi to Santa Teresa upon arrival in Santa Maria. That ride only took an hour and a half, instead of the three hours according to my Lonely Planet guide. I was accompanied by a nice German couple from Frankfurt and the first ever Uruguayans I have ever met. When we arrived at Santa Teresa, I bought a Powerade. And then, as miraculously as usual in Peru, there was the smiling taxi driver waiting to take us to the end of the road toward Aguas Calientes (they call it AC here, ha ha). By the time we got to the hydroelectric plant at said end of road, it was starting to get dark, but the Uruguayans and I decided to do the two hour walk to AC anyway. I figured it would only take us an hour because of our (really my) awesomeness, but sorry it didn't, and we ended up walking the last hour in near total darkness, guided only by the failing light of my in-need-of-batteries headlamp. But all is well now. I got my $3/night hotel room, I'll be saving a day by hitting MP a day early, and it looks like I'll be able to successfully bullshite my way in using the ticket I didn't buy.

AND they have Thai massage here!