We get up early (do you sense a theme here?) to have breakfast and leave to catch the train to Santa Teresa. At breakfast Judith lets me know she isn't feeling well. Food poisoning maybe. I must admit she's pretty stoic about this.
Santa Teresa is a very small community that I tried unsuccessfully to locate on google maps. We were supposed to meet our guide Emily, at the hotel lobby so she could take us to the station. But Judith was impatient and we headed off to catch the train.
This was a side trip to a lodge called Cola de Mono. Getting here involved taking a train from Aguas Calientes. Who would have guessed there was more than one place to catch a train in a town of 1600 people? And of course we went to the wrong one. The funny thing is that we walked through the one we wanted, but there was nothing that would leave you to believe you would board a train there.
At the main train station, they tell us that we have the wrong station and give us directions to the right one. By this point we're starting to cut it close, so we high tail over to the spot. We see a train up ahead and proceed towards it. Judith starts to go to the wrong side of the train--the side along the raised sidewalk. You would normally think that this would be the side but I pointed out the fact that the crowds were disembarking and boarding on the side between the two rail lines. They were walking along and in between the tracks and make the big step down or up to the first train step. It seems OK to have passengers in and around moving trains; we had to step back to let a train go by as we were disembarking at Santa Teresa. The stop is actually Puente Sacsara Comino Hidroelectrica. The train's main reason for having a stop there is to service a large hydroelectric station that provides electricity to Cuzco and area. As we come up to the train car, Emily meets up with us. She is visibly freaked as she is responsible for making sure we get on the right connection so she can hand us off to the next agent. We apogize and get on the train.
When I go and take my first photo this morning, I realize that I left my iPad SD card reader (it had my camera's SD card in it) at the Hotel. I had been working on my last blog in bed and had unplugged the device and put it on the mattress beside me. In the morning when I rolled out of bed after a few hours of sleep, I must have covered it when I pulled the duvet back. Out of sight, out of mind.
By this time we're boarding the train. Judith wants to sit as close as possible to the bathroom. Our car has us and two other people sitting at the other end of the car.
I try to call the hotel, but can't figure out the country calling combination to get through. Judith had efficiently written out how to call Peru and Equador from Canada and vice versa but we couldn't get it to work. Plan B was the emergency contact number given by the travel agency when we first arrived in Lima. I got through and explained my predicament but I had difficulty explaining what a memory card reader cable was. I was afraid that it would get picked up with the sheets and sent through the laundry or just lost altogether. It contained many many unbacked up photos going back to December...
The travel agent said she would call the hotel and call me back. To my disappointment she said the hotel looked but could not find it. I explained that they needed to go back and look in the sheets; that they needed to pull back the sheets to find it. I don't think she understood what that meant. At this point our connection is getting bad as we're traveling through tunnels and through big canyons. I wasn't sure she understood and she kept saying she would call back. I spent the rest of the train ride worrying that all those pictures would be gone.
But just as we are pulling into our station, my cell phone rings and I hear her telling me that it was found and that Emily would deliver it to me when she meets us at the station the next day. Whew. Tragedy avoided.
When the train pulls into our station we disembark and look for our ride. We connect and put our bags into his taxi. I'm guessing it was a '98 Toyota Corolla station wagon. We are on a dirt road which doesn't get regular maintenance. Maybe it doesn't get any maintenance. It's dusty. I make the mistake of trying to take photos as we're underway, rolling down the window and sticking my camera outside. It comes back covered in dust and I realize I'm getting the same treatment.
The driver honks his horn at blind spots--inside curves, approaching hills, etc. It honks a lot because there has been little engineering in the road design. He is playing what I think is Peruvian pop music made to sound like it's a foreign recording as it has English lyrics. But there aren't many lyrics. Just a two line chorus that repeats over and over again. Our driver is aggressive; he's trying to pass another driver who doesn't want to be passed and who is driving on the opposite side of the dirt road to prevent being passed. Our driver finally passes the other car who eventually catches up with us and follows close behind. For his final skill test, our driver darts in front of oncoming traffic and to squeezed in a left hand turn.
We make it to Cola De Mono in one piece. It is a rustic lodge that is best known for zip lines. It claims to be the first zip line installation in Peru. Judith loves zip lines. That's the only reason we're spending some time here. I've never been on a zip line.
We pull up to the gate and we're greated by Tanya who is one of the staff. We sign in and we're shown to our accommodation; an elevated hut by the river. We climb up a set of stairs and enter into the room. Tanya suggests we don't leave the door open as there are bugs flying around.
It's a little rustic cabin on stilts, absolutely opposite to the luxury hotel we were staying in the night before. I take the bunk bed because I'm probably more nimble than Judith.
I can't remember the last time I slept in a bunk bed. The room is small and overlooks the Rio Sacara. Judith is surprised by the roar of the water, but I think it's pretty standard for fast moving mountain streams.
It's about 10:00 am and breakfast is being served. There is a group of three travellers from Germany. I have some coffee; Judith has hot water. There are small black flies everywhere, particularly around food and people.
After breakfast, Judith crashes. She's still sick, so we delay zip lining until tomorrow morning. I do a little blogging at the outdoor tables but the bugs chase me inside to our hut. There's nowhere to sit; I crawl into bed and snooze some.
We get up in time for lunch. Judith ops for dry toast, I try the chicken skewers dish. It's very tasty. There are some cats that come check us out. Judith starts to pet them. They're not exactly indoor cats and are dirty and hungry. Judith begins to feed them and soon runs out of white bread. She goes and crashes after lunch. Being near a bathroom is important.
I check out the hammock and some of the other facilities on site. After a while, I think Judith is onto a fine idea and I go and have another nap. I wake up in time for some dinner; Judith has been lying awake for a while, so we proceed to walk over to the kitchen and talk to the owner. I asked for something light; she suggests vegetable soup with toast. That's perfect for me; Judith has dry toast. The cats come by again; they get fed again by Judith.
After dinner we play a little on the fooseball table. We also played a Peruvian game where you score points by throwing coins at a board. Depending on which slot your coin falls in determines the number of points. There is a metal frog in the middle of the board and if you can get your coin in it you score the highest point level. We said goodnight to the owners and staff who were nearby having dinner.
We go to back to our cabin to get ready for bed. Judith is hoping she'll feel better for tomorrow's planned zip lining.
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