Peru: Spanish Intensive and Cultural Immersion

At Fairplay´s most recent Clase de Cocinar, which is essentially a giant dinner party in which the students help prepare the food, I met a fellow traveler who was planning on doing the exact same itinerary into Machu Picchu as I was.  And so it is, I have postponed my Friday classes until Monday, and early tomorrow morning I venture out on the search for a cheaper way into the once thriving city of the Incas.

Every traveler that wants to visit Machu Picchu must go through the city Aguas Calientes, a town only directly traveled to by train.  To avoid the ticket price,  about $40 each way, (the train to MP is monopolized by a British company) seven of us are traveling by bus to Santa Teresa, and hiking for six hours to Aguas Calientes, visiting the ruins the next day.

This scheme of mine to join up with these folks started last night at Clase de Cocinar, where Sam told me of her plans for Friday.  Intrigued, and suggesting I meet her other accomplices, I accompanied her to a kareoke bar after dinner, and met the other five people in the hiking party.  Through poorly rendered versions of Michael Jackson, Simon & Garfunkel, The Beatles, and certain Latin American tunes that I did not recognize, we realized it was a good fit, and thus our cohort has formed.

 Tomorrow morning the adventure begins, I should arrive back to my homestay sometime during dinner on Sunday, where I have been assured a hot plate of food will be waiting for me.  Ciao.