5/30/15: Ollantaytambo

I woke up earlier than I meant to today because I was worried about a couple details that I needed to wrap up before heading to Ollantaytambo. I got breakfast and brought my stuff to my hostel for tomorrow night, since they had promised that they would be able to hold onto my bag for the night. I had to then withdraw cash for what will probably be the last time in Peru, and then heading to the station for the "collectivos," or shared taxis to Ollantaytambo. I was really nervous about doing it because all I knew about it came from a single blog post from a website I had explored maybe three pages of. Luckily, it worked out pretty well and I was able to make it just fine. It almost seems as though most things are like that - just go with whatever is happening and it'll work out.

Ollantaytambo is really meant as a stopover city on the way from Cusco to Aguas Calientes, the city that connects directly to Machu Picchu. I have no idea how I knew to stay in it, but I decided to spend a day there, and it was definitely worth it! One day is more than enough - there are basically two big attractions to see, and little else.

The first is the Ollantaytambo Temple. I called is preview of Machu Picchu because it has very similar steps but it much, much smaller - you can see the whole thing in about 2 hours, or less if you don't explore the more remote areas. It's really beautiful, and when you get up into the mountain, you have a great view of city, even if the city isn't very interesting.

I then went down the street towards the train station to make sure that I could make it there in the wee hours of the morning tomorrow - it's not far but it's also not close. The streets nearest the station are lined with merchants selling all kinds of souvenirs and food.

I didn't have much else to do, so I went to the other Inca structure in town, Pinkuylluna. It was a lot more difficult to climb, but was free and worth taking some time to explore!

On the way there, I met this middle-age man who was climbing this mountain and really showing me up by pushing on constantly. All I wanted to do was slow down and read a bit with the gorgeous view, but it was cool.

Apparently the city was celebrating a local day today, and they had tons of people walking around the streets and the Plaza de Armas. They had a huge celebration with fireworks and music and dancing, and it was a cute little affair considering you can see the entire town from one spot on the mountain. I got some dinner and just chilled in the hostel for the night since I would have to wake up at 5 am the next day to catch the train to Ollantaytambo.

The hostel was relatively quiet and there was only one other person in my hostel room, even though it was a 10-person room. She was nice though – she had actually been volunteering in Cochabamba herself, with a different organization. She was able to tell me a little bit about the city and recommend that I check out Copacabana rather than Puno, so that was definitely nice!

Overall, a chill day, and a great precursor to Machu Picchu for tomorrow!