Day 14- Cocolmayo Hot Springs

Today we woke up early and walked to the train station. 

We boarded the fancy VistaDome carriage destined for Aguas Calientes. 

The scenery was incredible and the service was awesome. It was definitely more luxurious than hiking the Inca trail, but maybe we can do that when Max is a little older, and strong enough to carry me. :)

Max liked the train, but was most excited about the hinges on the table...

And running up and down the aisle. 

 

When we arrived we quickly found out me hotel and then went back to the train station to find our way to some hot springs outside of town. Probably the most difficult place we could have decided to venture to, but that's life with Mark Spencer. ;P

Once we purchased our tickets for Hydro Electrica we were sent to Estacion Policia to catch the train. We had to scramble to get there as it was in the center of town. We stood in a long line of people waiting to board a carriage that had way more people than seats available. I started thinking this was going to be an "interesting" ride crammed in a train with a baby, but as soon as my heart rate and blood pressure started to rise, we were directed to the tourist carriage that had plenty of room and nice seats. This made for a much more pleasant ride. 

The adventure was still awaiting us on the other side with the most thrilling taxi ride of my life. At times it was like off-roaring, while others it was like being in rally cross. We were on a tight schedule to make it back for the last train so I think our driver was trying hard to maximize our time at the swimming hole. 

It was all worth it to see Max's face when he got to swimming for the first time in weeks. I don't think I've ever seen him smile so big. The hot springs were beautiful and filled with locals who were camping. We had a nice hour soak while it was relatively quiet, and the tourist buses started rolling in as we left. 

We made it back to the train with time to spare. 

And Max finally found a stray dog that we let him pet. 

On the walk back to the hotel, Max stopped to socialize with some local kids and helped his self to one of the boy's cookies. Dada compensated the boy for the stolen cookie with some money. 

Our friend André (the French chef from Urubamba) suggested we eat at his friends restaurant. It was adorned like a pirate ship, which we thought wa very suitable for Max. The food was amazing and exceeded our expectations. Max fell asleep halfway through dinner and is still resting soundly as I type. 

We are now ready for the climax of our trip, Machu Picchu awaits!