Today we head back to Cusco - we will take the journey in two stages. First the train to Ollytatambo (there are no roads from Aguas Calientes) and then by bus to Cusco. You can go all the way by train, but this is more reliable. We head over to the train station, where we are given our tickets. Some of us did not give copies of our passports when the tickets were purchased, so they made up some names. Lars was Bill Clinton, Jacqui was Cindy Crawford and Paolo was Sharon Stone. As you can imagine, there were a few jokes made.
The train is meant for tourists and it leaves on time. It is a self-powered car and they even have attendants who serve us coca tea or coffee!!! It is a nice ride down the valley along the river. We get into Ollytatambo on time and transfer to the mini-bus that takes us to Cusco. We arrive in Cusco at 11 AM and check back into the same hotel.
After settling in we head into town for some lunch. We meet up with some friends of Paolo - Tom and Heather. We have a big lunch and it is happy hour so we order a few drinks. After lunch we go to our favorite cake shop - El Buen Pastor - for dessert. It is up a steep hill, so at least we get some exercise before we dig into a couple of yummy pastries. While there, it begins to hail - it is large hail and the rattling on the tin roofs is deafening. We decide to hang out in the pastry shop and have another piece of cake!!!
From the cake shop we head back down to the main square to a coffee shop. By the time we finish there it is already 5 PM and we slowly make our way back to the hotel, window shopping along the way. After a short rest, we head out again. The group is meeting up for dinner and we all gather at the Cross Keys Bar on the main square. From there we go to Maconda, where we had gone before heading on the Inca Trail. It was not as good this time - maybe too crowded - but we still have a good time. On the way back to the hotel we stop off at another bar. It is smoky so we do not stay too long.