I got onto the bus at about 1pm and traveled down to Agua Caliente. You can throu a rock from one side of the town and hit the other, and I had an hour to kill, so I walked around a little bit. There are a lot of peasants that were selling trinkets, but nothing that was too different from what they had in Cusco. I didn't pick anything up. They also had a 'road' on which were a number of restaurants. I went into a tea house there and drank some more of that Coca tea. They had a computer there with Internet access!!! Yes, even Agua Caliente has an internet café. No Starbucks though, yet.
Click here to see some pictures from Agua Caliente
The train ride back was uneventful, and I returned at about 6:30pm. It was dark as we arrived. The train conductor turned off all of the lights in the train and put on some eerie Peruvian music as we crested the mountain. There was an incredible view of Cusco all lit up. You could see the Plaza des Armes and the rest of the city. Unfortunately is was impossible to take a picture (at least with my camera). The tour company met me at the train and drove me to the wrong hotel. I figured that I would be staying at the one I stayed at before, but they insisted when they dropped me off that this was the place. Of course it wasn't. I called the tour company and they informed me that I should have been dropped at the other hotel. They offered to pick me up, but it was only a few blocks, so I walked.
Once in the hotel, I took a nice long shower and relaxed. I was exhausted from climbing that mountain earlier in the day. I still managed to get myself up and out for dinner at the Plaza des Armes. I just had a sandwich. I had intended on going out and having a few beers, but I was very tired. I went to a British expatriate pub called 'The Crossed Keys'. It was filled with tourists. It wasn't too bad except for the fact that they had no British beer, and that the TV was showing an American football game! I was a little disappointed to see that. Then I went home and fell asleep. I was still feeling a bit lonely after what was now three days of isolation.
The next morning I was picked up and flown back to Lima. The tour company had taken my return tickets when I arrived in Cusco for 'reconfirmation'. I was a bit worried, but they gave them back to me at the airport. I flew back to Lima and arrived at about 11am. I took a taxi back to Fernando's place. He was at work, but he had left me the key. I rested for a bit and did some laundry. Then I took a walk around the park area. Just north of Fernando's house is another park called the 'Parc d'Amour'. It has a big statue of two people kissing. It is very popular in Lima to have your wedding pictures taken there. I walked further north to another park that had a lighthouse. I had a few more hours to kill, and so I walked East a few blocks into downtown Miraflores. It was a nice place all around. I wished that I was more hungry, there were a lot of restaurants. I was also down to my last sol. I had some US money, but no Peruvian currency left. That was a problem, since Peru exacts an 'airport tax' (read:extortion) of S25 for anyone leaving the country.
Click here to see some more pictures of Miraflores
Eventually Fernando came back and the two of us went to pick up Jessica. We went to dinner in a nice restaurant, and had some fun listening to the conversation at the next table. There was an older man and one of his young, female employees. He was hitting on her and telling her that his wife didn't understand him. She was not buying it. I paid for dinner with my credit card, and Fernando gave me S50. At least I had money to go home now.
After dinner we went back to Jessica's house. They were having another party, this time for Jessica's sister's birthday. Again it was fun to peek into the lives of real Peruvians. They were all glad to see me again. Jessica's brother invited me to the wedding. I told him that I had to go back the next day. He begged me to stay. It was interesting to note that I sat and chatted with Jessica's brother and some of his friends about politics for a while, and they didn't know that I was American. They were surprised when I told them. They must have thought that I was just stupid and incoherent. They talked a lot about war with Ecuador, which thankfully will not happen now.
We didn't stay too long. We went to a grocery store where I was able to buy some Peruvian goodies to take home with me. The next morning I took a taxi back to the airport and flew back to the United States. I had a little bit of a shock when I realized that the extortion tax was $25, not S25. I barely had enough money to make it out of the country. The customs people had bomb detectors at the Miami airport, but no one seemed to be concerned that I had a box of Coca tea in my bag.
Well, that is my story. Thanks for listening.
Part 6: A Final Note
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If you are thinking of going to France instead of Peru, see my France Page
If for some reason you think that I'm a great writer, and you like scary, conspiracy-laden, psychological thrillers, you can read my novel, City of Pillars, published by The Invisible College Press. It has nothing to do with Peru though. PS: I use my middle name as my nom de plume, but it's still me.