MUNGO EATS Latin America

Our quest to get to Machu Picchhu continued today.  We packed up the van, under the watchful eyes of the restaurant owners in whose parking lot we spent the night, and were on our way.  The road was rougher than yesterday, gravel, not paved, but there were fewer dicey spots.  Our drive took us to Santa Teresa, which is the last town that you can drive to before making your way to Machu Picchu.  The train departs from a hydroelectric  station about a 15 minute drive from the town.  When we reached the town, a local fellow took an interest in Mungo (insisted Mungo wanted to be  set free) and the van (he loved the fridge!).  We had to wait for the train ticket station to open after lunch, so we spoke to the fellow for a while.  He gave us  some great info, regarding getting to Machu Picchu.  First of all, we could drive to the hydroelectric station in our own vehicle, and we were told that there was a fellow at the end of the road, that we could pay to watch our vehicle.  Super!  He also thought that we might be able to get Mungo on the train, although in cargo, but that bit of info turned out to be wrong.   In the end, we went with the original plan.  The kids and I took the train into Aguas Calientes (or Machu Picchu Pueblo) and Kevin and Mungo walked in along the tracks, a two hour walk.  He left before us and got to town before us.  He wasn’t sure what to expect of the walk, but it turns out HOARDS of people walk into the town, so it was like a 2 hours stroll with many other travellers.  The kids and I did fine on the train.  We met a German fellow, who spent the whole trip complaining about the drivers in Peru.  Apparently, he took a bus to Santa Teresa from Cusco this morning, and swore he would take the train back, because his life is worth more than the $30 difference in fare.

I was quite worried about this trip.  I was unsure if we would be able to find a hostal  who would let Mungo in.  As a back up, we  actually brought all our camping gear with us.  As it turns out, a gal approached us the moment we got off the train to ask us if we needed a hostal.  I told her we did and explained that we had a dog with us.  She hesitated for only a moment before telling us that she would put us on the top floor, so that we didn’t disturb any of the other guests with the dog (there are no other guests as far as I can tell).  We found Kevin, waiting at a table outside a bar, at the end of the rail line.  Apparently, he got all of 30 feet into town before some locals accosted him and asked him to share a drink with them, admiring the hound at the same time.  The greater fascination was with the dog, and  they introduced Mungo to all their buddies, and apparently were toasting Mungo as well.  Rough life, Kevin!!

So all my apprehension about getting here was largely unfounded.  Tomorrow we will visit the sacred city, and the morning after we will start our way back to Cusco.