Day 8 – We decided we all needed a down day. However, when you are traveling and staying in Airbnb’s there is usually very little you can do besides watch TV (which is less effective if your spanish isn’t great) or surf the internet, read scriptures, play games, or catch up on social media on your electronics, so we still tried to get out of the house for at least a little bit to take an electronics break.
When I was first planning our trip, and learned about Aguas Calientes, I thought it would be good to stay for 3 nights. The first night I knew we’d be dead tired from hiking the Inca trail all day and want to rest, and then day 2 we were seeing Machu Picchu, so rushing through that experience in order to take a long train and taxi ride back to Cusco didn’t seem fun. Plus we’ve learned through traveling with kids so often not to push them too hard, too fast, and that rest days are CRUCIAL to all our sanity. So 3 nights sounded just right. It would allow us a good amount of time to explore and relax.
However, when I told some of our earlier tour guides my plan EVERY single one of them shook their head at me and told me 3 nights in Aguas Calientes was way too much. “It’s too boring,” they all said. I couldn’t believe my ears! Did they not realize where they lived and that they have a world wonder in their backyards?? Machu Picchu isn’t a UNESCO site for nothing. Just the mountains alone in Aquas Calientes would have beckoned me to stay for weeks. Needless to say, I didn’t listen to the voices and we kept our plans to stay 3 nights. I was so glad we did!
I ended up taking us all up to some Hot Springs in Aguas Calientes that were only a 10 minute walk from our Airbnb. With all of us carrying heavy packs, and doing Inca Stairs for 2 days straight, it felt like the perfect activity to rest our aching muscles. Also unbeknownst to us, the hot springs were also near a beautiful waterfall! The water in the waterfall was freezing, but so so lovely!
There were also lots of carved rock sculptures as we walked through town and up to the springs, but such a quaint and lovely little place. We all had a really good time. Afterwards we went out for what’s called Chifa, which is Peru’s version of Chinese food! Delicious! 🥰
Unfortunately we had a bit of a run in with the owner whose sign on the store said she took Visa, but when we went to pay she said she couldn’t do cards. But a visa was all we had, so we ended up having to go two doors down to a store that did take visa and use their machine. Whew! Just glad we got it worked out, but another crazy day in Peru! ❤️
