Itinerary

Mon 11
	Breakfast
07:00	Transfer from Hotel Isla Esteves to Puno Train Station.  Assistance on Departure. Ten-hour train ride to Cusco along the dramatic landscapes of the highland plateau, only spotted by little Andean villages and herds of Llamas and Vicunas. Upon arrive in Cusco, assistance at the Train Station and transfer to Hotel Libertador Cusco.

What a long, wasteful day.  I got up at 05:30 to have a shower, pack things up and be ready to leave at 07:00.

I was on time, but again the Italians were late.  I really hate being late.  If I get stuck with them going to see the sunrise at Machu Picchu there will be hell to raise.  That's one of the main reasons I came to Peru.

The Spanish group who I've been with since I left Lima are not very happy with this tour.  And I agree.

The two-day hell ride on the cramped old bus was terrible.  The scenery was the same and the speed at which we went (meaning no rest or getting acclimatized) was crazy.

As we were boarding the train we found out that there was a brand new (paved!) highway built from Puno to Cusco - only a four hour drive!

Sure going on the train is nice but not for 10 hours!  I could be back home in almost that time.

I would have preferred an option:

1. take the train - 10 hours
2. take a bus - four hours leaving the morning in Puno free or afternoon in Cusco free
3. take the train - two hours and the bus the rest of the way

My itinerary reads:  "Ten-hour train ride to Cusco along the dramatic landscapes of the highland Plateau..." - well the scenery was the same that we've seen since Puno, until we got about 1.5 hours out of Cusco.  From what I saw, Cusco is beautiful.  As for the "...spotted little Andean villages..." part of my itinerary, I noticed that each time we stopped it was the exact same people peddling their wares!  I just laughed as not many people noticed this and they thought they were getting such deals!

This week better be more worthwhile than last week.

I have tomorrow morning free so I'm gonna have a look around as our hotel is finally walking distance to the main plaza and if I get freaked out I can always walk back to the hotel.  I did notice as we were getting off the bus that there are a few shops in the "plaza" the hotel is on.  I can always latch on to Terry and his wife (who I can't remember her name right now) who are the very friendly Spanish couple who has been speaking with me.  He speaks good English and she is just learning.

On the train ride today I sure noticed a lot of dogs again.  Seems as if everyone has at least one.  Makes me miss my darlings and pray they are all right.

Also, Peru is very dirty - garbage everywhere which is really sad.