Day 1 265 miles - Border to ???

After two full days of riding we slept in a bit and had a late breakfast.  We found a guy who would let us connect the laptop to his network so we updated the website.  The connection was very slow and it took about an hour.  Still, we are in the middle of no where and we can connect to the world via the phone and the Internet.  It is impressive what humans can do when they focus and work together.

We got on the motorcycle about 10:30.  We topped off with gas not knowing what we would face in Peru.  This turned out to be a good idea since fuel is about twice as expensive in Peru.  We rode the few miles we had left to the border. 

It was immediately clear we were no longer in Central America.  There were no groups of money changers, agents, fees or crowds.  We rode right up to the immigration office on the Ecuador side and had our passports stamped.  No questions, no hassles.  I then walked ten feet over to the aduana (customs) office to get the bike checked out of the country.  Again, I was greeted by friendly staff who took my paperwork and began processing it.  They were a little confused by all the hand typed forms Bertha’s office had completed.  The person working the papers eventually went to the captain and asked what to do.  The captain took a look at me then the bike and basically told the person to “get it done.”  Within a few minutes we were cleared and rode about 100 feet to the Peru side of the border.  I went to the immigration office and had our passports stamped, stopped at the policia station where they added an entry to a large book, then over to the aduana office where they processed our papers.  Again, no hassles and no money.  Just curiosity and a lot of manual filling out of forms for the bike.  Within another 15 minutes or so we were back on the road.  This was a very pleasurable experience compared to the easiest of Central American border crossings.

We started out ride in high desert type of terrain but continued to drop until we were close to sea level.  The previous day we could see huge mountains to the south but our route headed toward the coast.  It was hot and muggy but we didn’t complain much since it was a break from the cold and rain we had been in for days.

Again we were on a road practically to ourselves.  It was a really good road.  We saw thousands of goats, including hundreds on the road, all along our route.  You had to keep an eye on them.  They would cross the road in herds and would wait until you were near to start crossing. 

The terrain reminded me of Baja.  We ran through a variety of desert landscapes and came across a village wherever there was a spring or a creek.  Once we came to the first large city of Piura things began to change.  We found villages closer together and trash thrown everywhere.  It was an ugly sight.  It was like parts of Mexico used to be years ago before the people started changing their habits.  We watched people in cars throw trash out the windows and onto the ground as commonly as they breathe.

Clara and I both commented to each other about how drastic the change was after crossing the border.  Ecuador is a beautiful country where people are proud and work hard.  This part of Peru didn’t have much of either of those traits.

Lunch was very interesting to say the least.  It was hard to find a restaurant once we left the city, but we found one in a town that is not on our map.  We went inside and the bike went right over.  It is sand everywhere and the kick stand went right through without bending back into place.  We picked up the bike and put it on the center stand instead.  Hoping that would hold it and it did.  We sat down to eat and all they had was carne (beef), we said that was fine and then the lady cut off two large pieces of meat from the slabs that were hanging from the ceiling.  She then laid each side into a frying pan for a few minutes, then she put the meat on the counter cut up onion and peppers then she used a gavel to pound away.  She took a plate and filled it with banana chips and laid the meat on top.  That was lunch.  It tasted and looked like beef jerky.  We had never had banana chips, those were good and gone.  The meat was good, mostly because we were starving, but there was some left over.

We continued down the highway and came across a lot of construction.  At one point the highway went through a large set of sand dunes.  The sand had come down and covered most of the road.  Crews were trying to keep things cleaned up but it appears it will be an ongoing battle. 

After we decided to start looking for a hotel we had to travel more than a hundred additional miles.  There are countless small villages but no cities for great distances in this part of the country.  We finally came to a small city, also not on my map that looked like it might have a hotel.  We went into the center of town (el centro) and found what appeared to be a parade going on.  All the streets were jammed with people and moto taxis.  We asked for directions to a hotel and several people pointed to the same place.  It is not much of a place but it provides beds.  It is on one corner of the town square so we don’t know when things will quiet down.  It now appears this is a huge political party.  There are candidates speaking, bands playing and a loud, festive spirit everywhere. 

Antonio, the hostel manager led me to a place a few blocks away to leave the bike for the night.  It was hard to feel good about this but given all the activity just outside our window I don’t think it would be safe here either.  Antonio said it would be alright and I just have to trust that.

As for the room…  It was about $9.00 and it was no bargain if you get the drift.  Clara and I chose not to use the community showers or toilets.  We went to bed not long after we arrived so we could get an early start.

Day 2 325 miles - ??? to Chimbote

Long after the speeches finally ended the night before, music was still blasting throughout the town square and right through our open windows.  Once the music stopped the roosters started a contest to see who could crow the loudest.  There was no definite winner so they competed for hours.

We got up at daybreak without much sleep and hit the road in record time.  We waited until we arrived at the next small town to have breakfast.  The total for both of our meals was less than a dollar.  However, the savings on food doesn’t go very far when it is time to fuel up.  Gas is going for a little over $4.00 a gallon.

We went through a few more trashy towns until we got to the next big city of Chiclayo.  At that point it seemed like all the towns got a little nicer the further south we headed.  We ate lunch outside of Chiclayo and it was at this point that the scenery turned to complete sand dunes.  The restaurant was in the middle of no where next to a gas station that didn’t receive one customer the entire time that we were there.  We were also the only people in the restaurant.  That should have been a sign, but we were hungry.  The food wasn’t too bad, but the flies were.  We had to take turns eating so one person could use the map to swat away the flies from the table.  It was horrible.

Since we crossed the border we noticed that the terrain was very sandy.  From time to time we would see pure sand dunes.  Once we passed Chiclayo we saw very little but sand dunes for hundreds of miles.  The only break in the dunes was huge barren mountains and towns wherever there was water.  The tall mountains and endless dunes reminded me of southern California but on a much more massive scale.  With sand and desert comes wind and boy did it blow.  Sand got into everything, it was blowing so hard that it took a lot of strength to keep the bike on the road.  The wind was so strong you had to be prepared for violent whip lashes when passing something as small as a little dune, bush or even a road sign.  Dad said it felt like being whipped around in a dryer all day.  However, he said it was good for tire mileage because we were using only the extreme sides of the tires.

Due to such strong winds it was hard to move at a fast pace.  We also got a little off track at one point and did some unplanned exploring.  Okay, we were lost.  The cities here are so confusing, some of them have bypasses, but the ones that don’t are a nightmare.  Multilane intersections are everywhere but no signs to be had.  Some cities require you to take an unobvious set of turns in order to continue in the same direction through town.  We ended up taking the wrong but well traveled road at one point and with the distance out of the way plus what it took to get back on track we had used an hour or more of “exploring.”
                                                                               
We saw police everywhere we went a lot of them were pulling people over, especially taxi vans, but luckily we never were and each time we would pass an officer they would just wave and smile.  Another plus about South America compared to Central America.

We were hopeful about finding a nice hotel since it seemed every town we went through was a little nicer than the one previously.  We decided to ride to the next big city on our map, Chimpote.  It is a big, fishing city on the Pacific coast and not as clean as some of the previous towns.  We did find a nice hotel near the water.  Before we could get checked in and unloaded we had lots of people surrounding and watching us.  Some were just curious.  Others seemed interested in more.  The bellman showed us a safe, gated garage I could park the bike in.  While Clara showered I went out to the coast and took some pictures.  I was soon surrounded by lots of people interested in the camera.  Just to keep the peace a police officer came over and stood next to me.  He smiled and we said a few words.  He walked with me all the way back to the hotel.  It reminded me that earlier when we were trying to navigate through one of the larger cities Clara had her camera out and was taking pictures.  A friendly looking person drove up next to us in a nice care and told us to put the camera away.  While we haven’t seen or experienced any hostilities, this northern part of Peru has seemed more risky than anywhere we have visited thus far.

Day 3 335 miles – Chimbote to South Lima

Today we woke up and ate a typical breakfast of eggs and coffee at the hotel restaurant.  We then walked next door to the internet café to upload the latest news for the website. 

We then tried to exit the city.  Somewhere we obviously made a wrong turn.  It wasn’t due to signs because there wasn’t any.  All I can say is Clara and I did penitence for all our sins in this lifetime and the next.  We entered the heart of Hell and looked the devil directly in the eye and survived.  About a half hour later we somehow, probably by chance as much as fate, broke her grasp and escaped the city.  Mexico City was a nightmare but it had some measure or predictability and was actually fun.  Nothing about riding through downtown Chimbota was predictable or fun.

We drove through the desert again today, but today it was much more beautiful.  The sand dunes were more pure and the mountains were larger and more jagged.  We also saw a lot more of the ocean, which always helps the travel.  We stopped once for a break on the beach before lunch.  The beach was full of shells and pieces of crab shells.  About 150 miles down the road we stopped for an excellent lunch at a hacienda type restaurant.

As we neared Lima the highway was built right into the side of a huge sand dune.  On the first day in Peru we had to go through multiple detours because the original highway had been built on sand dunes and it was falling apart.  However this highway was in a great shape.  It is amazing how it was built.  We don’t know how it stays up. 

Just past the huge sand dune we came to a toll way.  In South America motorcycles don’t have to pay.  When we were driving through the right side of the far right lane the attendant in the box jumped in front of us and started screaming about how we couldn’t go that way and we had to go down this dirt road.  She was holding up a line of about 10 semi trucks and tour buses while she was yelling at us.  Instead of letting us go with a warning she made us backtrack and go down the “correct” lane.  This involved dad walking the bike backwards for 20 feet between a guard rail and all of the trucks and buses.  The so-called lane that was correct was blocked off with a guard rail and we had to go around that, while rubbing the saddle bag against the metal guard rail and then driving through the thick dirt to get back on the highway.  It was not fun.

One of the great things that we have noticed in South America is how more and more towns and cities have bypasses around them.  We didn’t find this in Central America and that is why it was so hard to get through the cities.  In Lima things just got better.  There is an actual highway that goes right through the city from one end to the other.  Everyone probably thinks I am crazy talking about this, but this is the first city in our entire trip that had a highway like this.  We easily made it through the northern suburbs and downtown Lima.  We are now staying in one of the southern suburbs and at one point it was like we were back in the states.  With major highways, exits, signs, and so many US companies such as Starbucks, McDonalds, cinema theaters, etc.

We found a nice, modern hostal with a gated garage for less than $20 including breakfast.

Day 4 280 miles – South Lima to Nasca

Lima has grown a little since dad was there over twenty years ago.  He didn’t like it much then and much hasn’t changed.  It is still a big city built in the sand and surrounding sand dunes.  It is brown and the sky is grey.  What a mix.

However, the things that have changed have been for the better.  There is much more application of civil engineering throughout the infrastructure.  Newer parts of town are very modern and filled with international companies.  There is a six lane interstate that runs through the entire city making navigation easy than with any large city we have gone through.

The highway remain divided and multilane for some time as we traveled south.  In fact, the entire Pan American Highway in Peru has been in excellent shape.  The sand and tall barren mountains continued for the rest of the day.  However, there seemed to be more dirt and real soil the further south we went.  There were places where people were doing significant farming and agriculture.

On the way out of Lima dad noticed signs of a lot of OHV (Off Highway Vehicle) usage in the steep sand dunes.  We had been talking about how much fun these dunes would be on a dirt bike if they weren’t so far from anything.  However, the mountains/dunes are very high and steep and intimidating.  Dad says anything less than 500cc might as well stay home.  Theses are big boys for big motors.

On this Sunday we didn’t see a lot of actual OHV usage.  However, everybody was busy on this day.  It was election day and in Peru everyone is required to vote.  It is nice that there are votes, but the people don’t like it because they are forced to and many feel it is a sham.  In order to show that people have voted they have to stick there right middle finger into purple paint.  By the end of the day it was very obvious to see how many people had voted.

We made good time on the “super” highway.  Another great thing about riding a motorcycle on the highway in Peru is that you don’t have to pay tolls.  We saved enough money to buy a tank or two of gasoline.  That’s a good thing because gas is expensive here.  In fact, most days in Peru we have spent more on gas for the motorcycle then we have for lodging and meals for the two of us. 

Since we made good time we decided to take a detour out to one of Peru’s largest Nature Preserve at Pacara.  We had lunch in the beach town of Pacara.  While we were there we saw a ton of tourists.  Before we left Dad and I were talking about trying not to dress like tourists.  Well no matter how a foreigner dresses they stand out like a sore thumb.  There were girls from the US walking around in jeans and t-shirts, but they still looked like tourists. 

We also had the pleasure of meeting, talking to and finishing our lunch with a fellow motorcyclist named Mike from the UK. Mike has been here since March and started in Buenas Aires, where we plan on finishing.  It was great to hear about different places that he has been and we plan on going.  However, we learned the road up to Cusco from Nasca is very rough and most motorcyclists have crashed on it.  Mike said he crashed twice.  A group of five other motorcyclists had gone up a few days earlier and they all crashed.  I guess what pavement they do have is very oily and the dirt is very slippery when wet.  Since it rains every afternoon it is always wet.  This got my attention but dad didn’t seem the least bit concerned.  We finished lunch with Mike and headed to Nazca where the famous Nazca lines are. 

The rest of the ride was still through the desert but there was some very fertile ground the further south we drove.  We even saw vineyards.  As we approached the famous Nasca lines we road up and down some of the steep mountains.  These were dirt instead of sand and the road made some remarkable turns as it twisted its way up and down.  It was impressive.

Once we got to the “lines,” we noticed several plans in the air.  We didn’t take a plane up to see all the lines, but we did stop at a look out tower.  I paid about $.25 to walk up several flights of stairs and see some of the lines/forms.  We headed into town and there were tourists everywhere.  This is the first time on our trip that we have seen so many “white” people.  We drove around looking for the exit to Cuzco and then a hotel in that direction.  We stopped by the sign pointing to Cuzco and there was a police officer standing there and we asked him if there were any hotels up the road.  Not only did he say yes, but he took us there himself.  The hotel was nice but too expensive for our budget.  Dad tried to negociate it down but he couldn’t get the rate below $160.  So he asked if there were less expensive nice places and the lady at the front desk went out of her way to not only find us another hotel in the area, but called to confirm a “local” rate and get a taxi driver to lead us there.  Wow, what service.  Dad and I agree that people all along the trip seem to treat motorcycle riders extra well.  We are now in a really nice hotel that is as nice or nicer than the one we left and the rate is only $27 and includes breakfast.  We wanted to make sure we got a hot shower and a good night’s sleep because we have, what we are told, a twelve hour ride tomorrow.  Assuming we don’t crash.

Day 5 295 miles – Nasca to Abancay

Today was a great riding day.  We started with the intent to ride to Cusco.  Once we got out of town a bit we saw a sign showing a little over 400 miles to Cusco – far more than we were told.  Given what we heard about the road we decided to target the last big city before Cusco.  This would leave us a short 120 miles to Cusco the next day.

This turned out to be a good choice given we didn’t get to leave Nasca until about two hours after daybreak.  We arrived in Abancay before 5:00PM and had plenty of time to relax.  It would have been dark before we would have arrived in Cusco. 

The roads were much different than I had been led to believe they would be.  The first hundred miles was old, beat up pavement with plenty of bumps and potholes but nothing too bad.  We began climbing immediately into very high, rocky desert.  When we left the hotel we were already hot and muggy.  Within a half hour we were glad we had our heavy gear and electric vests on.

The road to Puquio was rough and the scenery interesting enough that the time went by pretty quickly.  We practically had the road to ourselves.  At one point we did enter a blind corner and found a semi-truck and trailer coming into the turn the opposite direction at a speed way too fast.  His eyes looked like softballs.  I don’t know if he wasn’t paying attention, didn’t realize how sharp the turn was or just figured he had the road to himself.  In any case, I was glad we were on a motorcycle.  He yanked on the steering wheel to his right causing his right wheels to almost come off the ground.  His left tires looked like they were ready to buckle.  There was three to, maybe, four feet of road and shoulder left on the right side before a sheer thousand foot drop-off.  I just sneaked by while glancing down at how far the fall would have been.  If we had been in a car, truck or bus there would have been multiple fatalities.  As for the truck driver, I’m not sure if he hadn’t seen us and reacted so quickly that he would have made the turn.  We may have saved his life but we couldn’t do anything about his dirty drawers.

Puquio is another one of those towns that you enter and find dirt roads in every direction.  It is not at all clear what way to go through town to continue on the highway.  A lot of people must get confused because plenty of residents were more than eager to show us which way to go.  Of course, they didn’t always agree.

As soon as we cleared town it was the start of pure bliss.  The road went from dirt to one of the nicest two lane roads I have ever been on.  We immediately climbed up to over 13k feet.  We were on the alto plano.  I no more had a chance to talk to Clara about it and show here the GPS and we were at 14k feet.  We stopped looked around at a couple of lakes and snow capped mountains.  The road continued to climb.  For more than sixty miles we rode at over 14k feet.  Much of that was between 14.6 and 14.9k feet.  We rode another 30 miles at over 13k feet. 

It was cold, very cold.  We had the heaviest gear on and the electric vests on high.  It was barely tolerable.  I was glad the sun was shining and it wasn’t raining!

It’s hard to describe how it felt rolling along so high up on top of the world.  We had the road to ourselves, the scenery went on as far as we could see in every direction.  I felt in awe and honored.  Clara, on the other hand, was feeling the effects of the thin air and was starting to hallucinate.  She was seeing trucks that weren’t there and going from freezing to hot and back again.  She said she felt high on drugs.  I didn’t realize she was having so much fun until we stopped later for lunch.

While we saw maybe a dozen motor vehicles all day we saw thousands of llama and alpaca running free across the alto plano.  Unfortunately, they like to roam close to or on the road.  You had to stay alert because they wouldn’t do anything until you got close then they would jump in a panic.  You never knew what way they would jump.  We almost got a free alpaca suit.  The entire route was open range.  On the alto plano we saw primarily llama and alpaca.  As we rode in lower elevations we had to face horses, mules, cattle, sheep, dogs, chickens and goats.

At one point on the alto plano there was a long, straight stretch so I decided to see what the KLR would do at nearly 15k feet.  75 mph was all I could get then we started going downhill slightly and I was able to see the needle just touch 80 mph.  That is quite an affect given that a stock KLR will do about 95 mph at sea level.  The KLR was down on power due to the lack of air but she never complained, coughed or ran poorly with the stock jetting.  Like most bike today, the KLR comes very lean.  It runs hot at sea level but for a carbureted motorcycle to run so cleanly from sea level to 15k feet is impressive.  I guess I won’t be needing those extra jets and needle I brought along.

We finally began to drop in elevation and it started to warm up.  We pulled into Chalhuanca, at about 12k feet, and had an excellent chicken, rice and potato lunch.  As we left Chalhuanca we noticed a stream.  We followed that stream down a steep canyon for about sixty miles and watched it turn into a good size river as many tributaries fed into it.  In the process we dropped from 12k feet to 6k feet.  Just when we were preparing ourselves for the fact that we would be cold for the next week or two we drop to lower elevations and got plenty warm.  It didn’t last long.  We climbed right back up to around 8k feet into Abancay.  It is a nice town located on the side of some tall, fertile mountains. 

Day 6 120 miles – Abancay to Cusco

24!  It hit me like a ton of rocks.  It’s Clara’s birthday today and my little girl is 24!  How is this possible?  It seemed like just yesterday I watched her do so much as a child.  24 sounds sooo grown up.  I suppose as parents we will always see our children as just that, children.  Yet, 24 sounds so grown up.  She is an adult now.  Actually, at some level, I know she has been an adult for a while.  She has graduated from college and yet I can’t seem to see her other than the child I am still watching grow up.  My do the years pass quickly.

It being Clara’s birthday also made me miss Dee Anne and the boys more than usual.  In our household, birthdays have always been an entire family event.  However, it is more than just Clara’s birthday that I wish the entire family could share in.  While the trip has been completely full of wonderful experiences after another for us, I still long for sharing these experiences with the entire family.  Unfortunately, you can’t always do that.  Also, there is something to be said for sharing unique experiences one on one between a parent and a child.

I think back to when I was 24.  I was so ambitious and goal oriented.  I was busy on so many different fronts.  Would I have dropped everything to take an arduous two month trip to the end of the earth with one of my parents?  I like to think so, but not likely.  I suddenly felt honored that Clara put her busy adult life on hold long enough to share this experience with me.  It would have been easier for her to stay home and continue the regiment.  But now she knows what she would have missed.  Before, talk of such an adventure was simply talk.  Now it is real.  We both know this is something we will look back on with the fondest of memories as long as we live.

I let Clara sleep in as long as she wanted.  When she woke we spent some precious moments remembering many of her childhood memories and some of the changes she went through during certain years.  She doesn’t agree but I think 24 is just as hard on her as it is on me.  She is a beautiful, intelligent, well-mannered young adult who has a great future ahead of her.  As a father I look forward to watching the decisions she makes and the direction she takes here life.  She will always have my full support.

I have to say that Clara is showing much adult maturity on this trip.  It is neat as a father to see her curiosity peaked by new experiences and her pursuit of those things that interest her.  As a riding partner she has been perfect.  She never complains about the conditions no matter how severe they become.  She has taken over a thousand photos from the backseat of a speeding motorcycle.  She eagerly devotes some of the day to processing photos and updating the website so that others can share in this experience.  And what I like most, she wears a smile naturally and easily.  She is a hit anywhere we stop.

After a late breakfast we got on the motorcycle and headed toward Cusco.  It was a short 120 miles so we cruised slowly taking in the many wonders.  We started up a very steep mountain with endless switchbacks.  We road twenty miles and could still see Abancay below us only a few air miles away.  We spent another twenty miles dropping down the other side of this giant mountain surrounded by many similar ones.

This was more motorcycle riding bliss.  The scenery was spectacular, the air was crisp and the road was awesome.  We ran across several riders on this trip that told us this section of road, from Nasca to Cusco, was their favorite road in all of South America.  It is hard to disagree although Patagonia has plenty of routes to compete with.  Sixty miles down the road we stopped for a break and to take in the view of a river running through desert vegetation with snow capped mountains in the background.  The terrain here is so steep you can go from desert to cloud forest and cold temperatures and back in just minutes.

At one point the KLR started missing as though it wasn’t getting enough gas.  I figured with all the elevation changes there could be a vapor lock.  I stopped and opened the fuel cap and heard a great rushing of air.  I looked down and saw the gas bubbling.  It took five minutes for the fuel to stabilize.  Weird.  I closed the cap and we took off and the KLR ran as good as she has the entire trip.

We continued on through several small towns.  It must have been field trip day because we saw lots of school kids on the streets in groups.  On group was marching so carefully as they prepared for a parade.

About 90 miles from Cusco I recognized in the distance the same steep mountain ranges that surround Cusco that I had remembered from my last visit.  That was over twenty years ago and I flew into Cusco.  Still, I remembered the unique mountains.  When we finally rolled into Cusco I recognized nothing.  I remembered a small village surrounding a square where locals sold their wares.  Now it was a huge city with multiple suburbs off in every direction.  Navigating the city would be a challenge on a nice day.  To make matters more interesting we went from sunshine to a torrential downpour of hail and heavy rain.  Everyone else pulled to the side of the road.  We continued into town.  At one point there was a half inch of hail covering the highway.  Then just as quickly, we were out of the rain.

It took a few attempts but we got close to the downtown plaza and finally found a room at a hotel that had a place to keep the motorcycle.  There are few garages in this city.  This hotel was no exception.  However, they were more than happy to allow us to ride the bike up the stairs into their lobby and keep the bike there under a careful and watchful eye.  I refused to do so until I washed the bike.  Clara got off the bike and went into the room while I went to the closest gas station to get the bike washed.  Car washes are everywhere down here.  After the bike was clean I tried to pay the couple of guys who helped me but they wouldn’t let me.  I guess the car wash is just a part of the service they provide.

I returned to the hotel and found that the staff had moved several pieces of furniture so there would be more room off to one side where people would be less likely to look over the bike.  I took another look at the steps and didn’t like the varying distances between the steps and the height of the steps themselves.  I knew there was one in particular that the KLR would drag on.  So I walked over to the nearest dirt alley and grabbed a few rocks.  I strategically placed them so I could ride the bike up without too much difficulty.  The staff seemed impressed and excited.

We decided to walk into the center of town to see about Machu Picchu tours and to visit a friend of a friend who owns a tavern on the main square.  We stopped at the first tour agency we found.  Of course they were the most expensive and made us second guess whether we wanted to see the ruins afterall.  We learned that there are multiple train companies that run the route at different speeds, level of services, and cost.  We took some of the information with us and headed over to Norton Rat’s Tavern.

This is the number one biker stop in South America.  Given that it is a biker stop I wasn’t expecting much.  We arrived at the square and was overwhelmed by it’s size and beauty.  Then we found the Tavern in a very prominent location across the street from the huge cathedral and overlooking the square.  We went into the tavern and were surprised to find such a world class place.

Right away I asked if the owner, Jeff Powers, was in.  He was and we greeted each other and talked about our common friend, Greg Frazier.  Jeff invited us over to his corner of the bar where we talked for a couple of hours.  During that time two younger guys came over and introduced themselves.  It turns out that one of them had found our website and had emailed us from Guatemala while we were in the same country.  We had done a little correspondence back and forth but had no idea each other was in Peru.  It’s a small world.

Clara had a chance to talk with some people closer to her age while Jeff and I, close in age, had a chance to do the same.  Jeff is an interesting person.  He grew up in Ohio and went to school at UofA in Tucson.  He moved to Peru 16 years ago and opened the tavern in Cusco ten years ago.  He has some wonderful stories about riding his Norton as well as a BMW and other bikes throughout South America.  His first trip was in the 1980’s.  His latest pride and joy is a new Triumph Speed Triple he bought in the U.S.  He flew it to Bogotá and rode it to Cusco from there.  I enjoyed visiting with Jeff very much and sharing a bunch of motorcycle stories and discussing business ventures.  Jeff is also a savvy businessman.  He is starting some new development in a recently discovered area of Peru that will likely be a very hot tourist destination in a few years.  I wish him great success.

Meanwhile, we learned of several options for exploring Machu Picchu and will be looking into making some plans to get that done tomorrow.

Day 7 0 miles by bike, several by foot and taxi – Cusco to Owellantatambo

Today was a day off the bike.  After breakfast we walked to downtown where we checked with their version of a post office, dealt with the bank and went shopping.  I promised Clara we would do some shopping in Cusco so she didn’t have to worry about size and weight any longer of what we carry on the bike.

We spent some time looking over the fine hand-made crafts and finally made a few selections.  We went back to the hotel and carefully packed what we wanted to ship keeping it to a bare minimum because the price of shipping is directly related to weight.  We went back to the post office and they provided us with a free box and packing tape.  The box weighed in between 9-10 pounds.  It cost $42 to be sent home via second class mail.  I hope it beats us home but odds are 50/50.

With shopping and shipping complete we walked the town a bit and had lunch.  We had something that was advertised as pizza but we’re not sure exactly what it was.  However, it filled the void.  We went back to the hotel and repacked so we would take only what we needed to Machu Picchu.

Since it was off season we were led to believe it shouldn’t be a problem getting a train ticket to Machu Picchu at the last minute.  Well, guess again.  We missed our opportunity to get to the runis from Cusco so we opted to get a taxi and drive out two hours to Ollantatambo, the furthest point you can go with a vehicle.  We thought we would be able to catch a night train to Agua Calientes, the base of the mountain where Machu Picchu lies.  Guess again.  We arrived at the ticket booth only to find out they had one seat left.  No amount of talking, offering to sit in someone’s lap, stand, etc. was going to make a difference.  So instead of spending the night in Agua Calientes, we stayed in Ollantatambo and booked two seats on the earliest train the next morning.  So, we will spend Thanksgiving at Machu Picchu.  Not a bad way to spend a holiday if you can’t be home.

Ollantatambo is actually a very nice town.  On the map it looked like it wouldn’t be anything more than a small village.  It has become a tourist destination and it shows.  There has been a lot of recent development and the town is filled with nice hotels, restaurants and shops offering many other services than a town of this size typically provides.

We walked into town to find an Internet Café and found a couple sitting at an outside restaurant.  The gentleman had a KTM shirt on so I had to stop and say hello.  It turns out they are from Austria, duh – no wonder they are riding a KTM.  They flew their bike to Venezuela and have been following a route not too different from our own.  They are riding two up on a new KTM 990 Adventure.  An excellent choice.  Especially since there appear to be more KTM dealers in South America than any other brand of motorcycle.  Not to mention that KTM’s themselves happen to be very good motorcycles.

This couple will be riding south through Bolivia, Chile and Argentina as we will be.  We agreed that we will likely see each other again as we make our way to Tierra de Fuego.

After having no luck connecting our laptop to anyone’s Internet connection we went to eat at a restaurant across the street from our hotel.  It was an excellent choice.  We had some Italian food and excellent Peruvian beer on tables with linen, candles and fine china.  Fortunately, the tab came to only about $12.

Day 8 0 miles by bike, several by train, bus and foot – Owellantatambo to Machu Picchu and back to Cusco

We woke to a beautiful Thanksgiving Day.  Happy Thanksgiving to all our U.S. friends following along on our adventure.  Here the temperature was pleasantly cool.  Small amounts of clouds hovered over the surrounding mountain peaks and blue filled the rest of the sky.  The hotel we stayed in had very hot water (as opposed to what is usually called hot) and comfortable beds.  As usual, breakfast was included in the room rate.  This morning we also had pancakes.

My thoughts drift homeward.  I hope the family has a great Thanksgiving Day with extended family.  Clara and I are missing them even more on this holiday.  It was nice to call home from Machu Picchu.  Sometimes technology is a good thing.  The satellite phone worked great on the mountain with no buildings to get in the way.

We headed over to catch the “Backpacker” train to Agua Calientes.  This is a popular, middle class train.  By catching it in Ollantatambo we were able to get a few more hours of sleep.  Afterwards we got ready to leave and walked down the street to get a few snacks for the road/tracks ahead.  Walking to the train station we were bombarded by students racing to get there themselves.  They say that it is the off season, but with the amount of people and the large amount of school groups it is hard to tell the difference.  I wouldn’t want to see the busy season if this is the slow.  The guard at the gate walked right up to us and asked to see our tickets.  He told us to go ahead and get on the platform, so we had to swim our way through children and teenagers in order to get to the gate.  Once on the platform we waited for our train which was the second one.  We sat next to a nice couple from Dawson located in the Yukon Territory in Canada.  They were a very nice couple and fun to visit with for the hour and half that it took to get Agua Calientes.  The train can only go this far and then we had to take a bus up the side of a cliff to the ruins at Machu Picchu.  Wow.  That about says it.  I wasn’t expecting a place so large and of such magnitude.  The area itself is huge and takes up most of the mountain.  The surrounding mountains were straight up and down and slightly covered with fog that gave the area quite the affect.  There were a lot of people there, but it was impossible to tell at times due to the mass of the area. 

Dad commented on how much the area has changed since he was there 25 years ago.  There has been a lot of reconstruction and there was a lot of rebuilding going on while we were there as well. They clearly have ramped the place up to cater to tourists with nice trails, signs, etc.  It is very obvious to see where the old structures are and the new structures have been built on top.  Dad says this is somewhat intentional so as to not lose the original ruins.  It is a compromise to have the added dramatic affect and ease or access but you also lose the sense of what truly remained.  There were also a lot of llamas in and around the structures.  They were tame enough to pet, but preferred not to be around people and would usually walk away if too many people approached them. 

Machu Picchu was quite an experience and very much worth the money and hassle of many different modes of transportation to get there.  We took hundreds of pictures, many more than Copan and I can’t wait to look back through them and re-experience our journey through such an amazing and special place.  One thing that became clear to me is that photos do not do this place justice.  I have seen many photos of Machu Picchu but they did not prepare me for what I experienced.

After spending several hours walking through the ruins and taking time in quiet places to let it soak in, we got back on a bus and headed down the side of the cliff that the road follows.  We got back to town with just enough time to eat, check email and catch the train that would take us all the way back to Cusco.  For the return trip Dad upgraded us to the fastest and most comfortable train.  Still it was a 3 hour and 45 minute ride.  The train had large windows and skylights allowing for an excellent view of the mountains around us.  As we crested the last mountain and could see Cusco below we were left speechless.  This is a beautiful city by day but is beyond words at night.  The entire valley and all the hillsides are sprinkled with lights.  The main plaza and the two ancient churches are well lit and are the centerpiece of this grand show.  It is light the northern star on a star filled night.  We got to view the lights for a long time as the train had to make switchbacks down the side of the mountain into town.  There was no room to make turns so it would go one direction, stop, have a track change, and head down the next switchback in the opposite direction.  What a great way to cap off Thanksgiving.

One of the other things that stands our about Cusco is the number of English speaking tourists.  This is obviously a highly visited area.  And this is the off season!  However, we found it interesting that only a small minority of these English speaking tourists are from the United States.  Throughout this trip we have encountered many English speaking tourists from Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand but not very many from the United States.

Day 9 85 miles by bike, several by foot – Cusco to Sicuani
                                                                                           
This morning we woke up and slowly made our way to breakfast.  Dad wasn’t feeling to well so we had hot tea instead of our usual coffee.  After breakfast he was feeling better so we headed into town to get some things done before hitting the road again.  Yeah, we stopped by the internet café and were able to get three missed days caught up on the website.  When we came out of the café there was a parade going on.  It had something to do with celebrating the town of Cusco, but I’m not really sure what all the members and banners meant.  We walked along on the sidewalk following along with the parade as we headed back over to Norton Rat’s Tavern.  We stopped in and signed the motorcycle book, this time leaving our card.  Jeff wasn’t there, but we said our goodbyes to others and headed back to the hotel.  It was about noon and we weren’t pleased with the hotel that we were in so we opted to head down the road until we found something else we liked. 

We decided to stop for a snack and a break not long after we left Cusco.  We stopped at a restaurant and upon sitting down we were served what we think is called Chicharrones.  I asked what else they had and that was it, all we got with it was coke.  The contents of the above mentioned was boiled pig skin, fried corn (like corn nuts), boiled insides of a pig, and hair from both human and from the pig that was still stuck to the skin.  I hope that everyone is very proud of me because I actually tried each thing that was on the plate.  As seen in the picture that I provided, it was quite gross and I will never eat it again and yes I kept it down.  The corn nut things were ok so I ate a few of them and then asked for the check.  This is one time Dad was lucky to be sick.  He never planned on eating anything and he didn’t.

We rode for about two hours through a beautiful river valley that was filled with farmland.  Corn is in season right now so the valley was nothing but green and the corn was just tall enough in some places that all we could see were the roofs of the farm houses. Dad was feeling worse, and it was thundering and lightening all around us.  It was obvious that rain was coming and fast.  So we stopped at the next town.

We are now staying in Sicuani, one of the bigger towns between Cusco and Puno.  We asked many people where a hotel was, but everyone pointed in different directions.  We were fortunate enough to run across a young man on his mission from the states.  He helped us, but he warned us that there wasn’t anything very nice in town.  He was right.  We found a hostel that is part of someone’s house, which is about the time that it started to rain and hail hard.  It is not the nicest place, there isn’t a bathroom or hot water.  But the chickens like using the bike as cover from the rain.  The small room has two beds and lots of warm blankets for the sick one.  You can’t beat the price either; it was about $4 for the two of us. 

We left the hotel in Cusco because the building was just so cold, even with the amount of blankets that we had we were still cold.  There also wasn’t any hot water and that made showering difficult.  Our plans for something better haven’t happened yet.  By this point Dad was way out of it doing some kind of chanting in the corner waiting for our room to be prepared.  He thinks he got a bad chase of the flu from one of the many tourists we had contact with the last two days.  He was running a very high fever and I knew I would have to pick up the slack.

I did have quite the experience later in the evening of going to town and getting dinner and medicine.  I wrote out on the computer translator that I needed to go to a pharmacy and to get something to eat and that I would like one of them to go with me.  The daughter of the owner who is about high school age jumped on the opportunity and did most of the work for me.  We got a moto-taxi and went to the pharmacy where to my surprise in the middle of nowhere the pharmacist actually spoke a little English.  The girl took me to get some dinner to go and knowing that my dad is sick she ordered chicken and rice broth soup for him and chicken and French Fries for me.  The best part about having someone with me that spoke the language was not to do all the work, but that everything was so much cheaper.  As dad says, there are two price ranges everywhere you go.  The local and the tourist rates.  The taxi all the way across town was about $.10 and the price for two full sized meals was about $1 or $2.  Can’t beat that.  There was so much food left that I gave the rest to the family whom we are staying with and I also paid the girl for taking me to town.  They are now my best friends and if they see me coming out the door they are right there to help me. 

We went in search of hot water, but sitting here and listening to the cold wind howl outside I hope tomorrow we can just find a shower and it would be like finding gold if it were hot.

Day 10 160 miles – Sicuani to Puno

“The sickling is still quite ill, so you are all stuck with me again.  This morning we took our time, the people that we were staying with took such good care of us, but it was time to hit the road and find a shower.  It’s been four days now since I took a shower.  Yeah, I know, too much information.  The family fed me breakfast and they also went and got dad a doctor.  I found it amazing that not only a doctor that does house calls, but that it cost about $1.60.  You can’t beat that.  The lady of the house also made dad some Coca tea made with real coca leaves.  He was feeling better after that so I gave him a lot of trash about being strung up on coke.  The pills that I got last night at the pharmacy didn’t do anything for him and he was up a lot last night because his fever never broke.  Having to go out in the cold to go to the bathroom probably didn’t help.  The doctor prescribed two new medicines and so far they seem to be working, but we will know more tomorrow morning. 

The ride to Puno was gorgeous; we were surrounded by snow capped mountains all day.  Not long after we started it got cold and we ran into freezing rain.  I was concerned that this would make it worse on Dad.  Fortunately, it lasted about 10 minutes.  We are beginning to see all the elements that mother nature has to offer.  The weather that we had today was a mix of both snow and rain. 

Throughout the trip we have driven through numerous toll booths, but in Peru the tolls are free for motorcycles.  Today was the first day that I was able to get a picture of one of the signs that is at the beginning of the motorcycle lane. 

Dad has been concerned about our budget.  While we have been staying within it most days there have been days where we couldn’t help but exceed it.  Through a timely gift from someone who will remain anonymous we have an opportunity to spurge a little.  Dad said he would find us a nice hotel where we could rest and heal.

We stopped in the middle of no where after traveling an hour or so.  I asked what was wrong and Dad said he had to rest.  The new medicine he is taking is helping him feel better but it made him very drowsy.  He didn’t take off his helmet, gloves or anything.  He just lay on the ground and went to sleep.  Imagine how I felt.  However, I was glad he decided to stop rather than continue and fall a sleep while riding.  In about ten minutes he got up and said he was ready to go.
                                                                                                    
We thought about staying in Juliaca which is a larger city than Puno, but when we reached Juliaca dad was feeling good so we went ahead to Puno, which sits on the shore of Lake Titicaca.  We also figured that it would be easier to get a nice hotel room in a tourist town.  It turned out to be true.  As we created a hill we could see the city of Puno along the coast of the lake.  Dad pointed to a little peninsula with a great big white building on it all by itself.  He said it was probably a resort and zeroed in on it.  We arrived and found it was a hotel, part of an exclusive association of five star hotels.  This one was called the Libertador.  Dad said it was very expensive but he did some wheeling and dealing and because it was off season he negotiated an acceptable rate.  He said the manager likes motorcyclists and that groups from the Ron Ayers South America Motorcycle Tours stay here on their route.  Dad says his tours are reported to be first class and this would support that if someone wants to go that way.  However his prices are about a thousand dollars a day whereas our budget is a hundred dollars a day including lodging, fuel, tolls, maintenance and all meals.

The hotel was very nice, but for us the best part is that it has hot water and wireless internet.  It sits on a high peninsula that provides great views of the lake in both directions.  After we got settled in we went down to the spa hoping that sitting in the Jacuzzi would help make dad feel better.  It didn’t help.  Dad went to bed and I went to dinner where I ordered alpaca.  I wanted to try something new and it was actually really good and to top it off I had pumpkin cheesecake for dessert.  I wasn’t able to have pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving so I thought that I would spoil myself with pumpkin cheesecake instead.  The beds were super comfortable and the sheets clean and smooth.  It was nice to be spoiled for a night.

Day 11 100 miles – Puno to Border Crossing

We got a late start today.  Dad was up all night again so we slept in.  Since he had to run to the toilet about a dozen times he was very grateful there was a bathroom in our room and it had a toilet that actually flushed.  I wasn’t feeling too great myself.  We eventually went to breakfast but neither of us could eat much.  That was too bad because they had an excellent buffet.  I have been off and on most of the day and I have decided that it is the altitude.  I have a dry, scratchy throat and I feel nauseous off and on.  I don’t have what dad has and that is a great thing.

Dad figured it would take us four to five hours to get to La Paz plus the border crossing time.  So we felt alright about getting a late start.  We left the hotel and we asked the guy at the front desk and the guy at the gas station how long it would take to get to La Paz.  Even with the border crossing both of the guys said that it would take 2 hours.  Score!  Neither one of us thought that it would be so short of a ride.  Well, we were right.  It took more than twice as long as both those guys said.

We followed Lago Titicaca for a majority of the way, but there were times when we couldn’t see the lake and it was mostly farm land.  It wasn’t until we got into Bolivia and closer to La Paz that we started to see the mountains and they were so beautiful because they were snow capped and jagged.  The lake is at 12,000 feet.  I can’t imagine how tall the mountains peaks are.

We went through Indian country the entire way.  We have been in Indian country since Nasca and it has been very interesting.  It has been fun and a great learning experience. It is amazing how hard these people work and at such attitude!  We haven’t been below 11,000 feet for five days.  Today we were never below 12,000 feet.  Obviously, we have been much higher in places.

It was time to say goodbye to Peru after eleven days and about two thousand miles.  Neither of us expected to spend this much time here but it is a big country and has a lot to offer.  Peru has vast differences from huge deserts and sand dunes along the coast and high mountain country inland.  We met a lot of wonderful people, stayed in some nice hotels and some real dumps, and saw lots of tourists around Cusco and Puno.  We found fascinating terrain, mountain peaks, the Alto Plano and great roads throughout the entire country.

To read about our adventures in Bolivia click here.