| Jeff Poulter & Graham Tillotson: 27th September 2004 |
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Chalhuanca to Cuzco
On the road by 9.00 with 320km to go to Cuzco. The first 120km were easy,
following a river valley while getting very hot inside our extra-cold weather
clothes. We were looking forward to reaching Albancay because we could
only get 84 octane fuel at the previous night's stop so we only put in
the minimum to get us to the next biggest town. It's always nervous riding
when you're expecting the engine to cough at any moment. But we made it,
and found some 95 octane fuel. It had started to rain, so after filling
the bikes, we stood under an umbrella and made tea. Well, English, after
all. Within minutes a couple of hikers strolled up to us and one asked
Graham if he was Jeff. Would you believe that a bloke I has contacted through
the Horizon Unlimited website was staying in Abancay, saw the two Dominators
parked up and reasoned that there were only likely to be two such in this
part of Peru. Extraordinary. After a quick chat we hastened off in the
rain agreeing to meet Peter and Jess in Cuzco in a couple of days.
Riding out of Albancay
The first 35km out of Albancay was a long climb up to 12,000ft, through
the clouds. It pissed down and our visibility was hampered enough by misting
visors and rain without the heavy fog we encountered for much of the ascent.
In some places we were only making 10 to 15mph, barely enough to keep the
bikes upright. But, if you can't see, you can't go. It was pretty miserable
and very cold, although our gear kept the warmth within and the wet without.
We descended for another 30km into a river valley with high overhanging
rock cliffs on either side several hundreds of feet high. The rock faces
were sheer and exposed some wondrous mineral deposits. To the iron reds,
the copper greens and the sodium yellows we had seen so far on this trip
were added blues, mauves and bright whites. Quite lovely. The upper reaches
of the rock cliffs were overgrown with trees and, in the distance we could
see the greens of arable land on high hills. We climbed again to 11,000ft
onto an obviously fertile plain which was busy with people working the
land and a string of small pueblos. We passed through at school closing
time and the road was crowded in places with kids of all ages, all wearing
uniform. In fact throughout Latin America we have noticed that all pupils
wear schools uniforms, mostly white shirts, ties and grey skirts or trousers.
I must say I approve of school uniforms – they take the snobbery and class
out of a kids' lives when they have more important things to think about.
Sacred Valley to Ollantaytambo
We've travelled 100km along the Sacred Valley to Ollantaytambo, the end
of the road from Cuzco to Machu Picchu. Tomorrow we catch a train to Machu
Picchu Pueblo and book a hotel there for the night. Then, at the crack
of dawn we catch the first bus up to the ruins, spend a few hours there
and return by train to Ollantay, pick up the bikes and head off for Puno
the following morning. This elaborate arrangement is because we want to
avoid the crowds at Machu Picchu. The way it works is that normally, tourists
take a train from Cuzco to Machu Picchu (there is no road so it's the only
way to get here) for the princely sum of $60 US each. Trouble is the train
arrives and 2000 crockles disgorge and bus up to crowd the ruins. This
way, we'll be there and away before the first tourist train arrives from
Cuzco.
The drive from Cuzco to Ollantay is along the Sacred Valley, the wonderfully fertile valley of the river Urubamba which flows between of a couple of mountain ranges (and eventually ends up in the Amazon). It's very pretty but, as it only leads to Machu Picchu, it's tourist alley.
The ride on Tuesday to Puno is 350km-odd along the Alto Plano, the highest road in the world. It may be a little chilly but the scenery should be stunning with snow-capped mountain accompanying for the length of the journey. So far, we've only seen the snowy peaks in the distance so it should be beautiful to be amongst them. Touch wood the bikes are still running OK at this altitude, albeit down on power. But, once we get up on the Alto Plano, it's pretty flat, so we should be OK. It may be a bit of a wheeze getting up there though.
Tomorrow first thing we going to climb several hundred feet up a series of Inca terraces which are what Ollantay is famous for. At this altitude, we'll have to take it easy - just running up the stairs leaves you breathless. Good training, though!
Jeff 27.09.04 |
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