@noellejeanseward: South America Journal: Entries 35-36 ••• ↟ 35: Machu Picchu Fiasco ↟ We got up before the sun to head up to Machu Picchu. Yesterday, Moonshine and I were told that our Waynapicchu tickets were transferable for any other route at any time today. When we got to the bus, however, they wouldn’t let us on the first bus. Our friends went ahead while we waited. When we got up to Machu Picchu, the guard scanned our tickets and said, “these tickets are for tomorrow.” After another 40 minute wait, Moonshine pleaded our case to the manager in a last ditch effort  – how we’d already had to wait for several hours, overpaid for our tickets because the trail we booked was closed, separated from our friends, and didn’t have the option to come back because we’ll be on a plane tomorrow.  Somehow, we got in. We walked around, eavesdropped on guided tour groups, watched the machu picchu llamas live their best lives, and eventually caught up with our friends.  Queue: 7 hour bus ride. The bus made exactly one stop. The bus was hot, and the roads were not friendly to those prone to motion sickness. I listened to music and my audiobook for most of the way to tune out the turning of my stomach. ••• ↟ 36: bleh ↟ We had planned to meet up with our trail friends to say goodbye; however, I took about 3 bites of the hostel breakfast before running to the bathroom and having it all come right back up. I crawled back into bed. I could only hope that it would pass before having to travel this afternoon. By the time I got in an airport taxi, I felt somewhat stable, but that stability was shaken loose by the cobblestone bumps. I white knuckled the car door trying to breathe through the nausea. Somehow, I made it to the airport.  In Lima, I found a place to sit and wait for Moonshine. Her flight arrived an hour later. Lima was a shock to my nervous system – multiple people on the street stopped to tell us we were likely to get robbed. I am not a city person. The nicer areas are in the opposite direction of the bus station – we have a night bus up to Huaraz. Today was emblematic of the unglamorous side of travel, but all things considered, we made it through relatively unscathed.  ••• #peru

Noelle Jean Seward

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Sunday 17 May 2026 12:00:43 GMT