travellingbennetts

Or the interlude via planes, trains, boats and autobuses…..

The news that we would not be able to cross the Bolivia/Peru border due to civil unrest was at first disappointing but knowing that Compass had put hard work into making sure we still got to see the Peru highlights – albeit flying there and travelling via minibus – was great news. And according to our always glass half full riding buddy Paul we would actually only miss 4 riding days from the original plan.

The loading of the 9 bikes into a truck in Tacna, Southern Peru was rough and ready but practical as described in UnBoliviable, and we hoped fervently to be reunited with them 2 weeks later in Lima.

The following morning we flew out of Tacna for Peru’s capital and got a taste of minibus travel heading to our lovely hotel in the leafy Lima suburb of Miraflores, walking distance to the very interesting coastal cliffs which have a modern mall built into the side. Starbucks anyone?

A Lima city tour the following morning provided an insight to this mega city of 11 million people, a historic Incan fort and a charming Spanish colonial old city centre. A cathedral with catacombs underneath was a welcome reprieve from the increasing heat of the day.

The following day it was back to the airport for the flight to Maldonado for our Amazon excursion. On arrival the humidity was almost it’s own entity, and just the short trip to the local tour operator base had us purchasing ice creams and indulging in the fresh cold fruit juice. A bus ride followed by a boat trip up an Amazon River tributary included a delicious local lunch of banana leaf wrapped rice and meat, as well as spotting some turtles and parrots. Cayman (the local crocs) eluded us however.

Our accommodation for the next 3 nights at the rainforest resort was an open sided lodge directly to the rainforest and we were warned to lock food up as monkeys often raid the rooms if food is left out! There was a large communal social and eating area at which many pleasant hours were spent with other guests of the lodge. It is a rainforest though so rain was a constant, and small biting insects were in abundance, so our beds were fitted snugly with mozzie nets. So snugly that one had to slide up the small gap between the net and the side of the bed, hopefully dislodging any sneaky mozzies trying to get a full buffet to themselves. Jungle walks were on offer as well as a boat trip to a lake for piranha (catch and release) fishing!

Then it was time to depart, our time in the jungle over. The boat ride back again provided the chance to spot some interesting local wildlife including howler monkeys and colourful parrots in a clay feeding frenzy, sounds a bit basic but they need the mineral and salts content.

The flight to Cusco was short and uneventful with the arrival again bringing us to an altitude of about 3,000 m. Our hotel with the prize for the biggest bed of the trip was centrally located and after a stroll about the historic town square we stumbled upon Duncan’s holy grail of a craft brewery serving IPA style cervezas, and unlike the rest of South America they actually had the craft beers on the menu. They also did a mean Pisco Sour with passion fruit, known as a Maracuya Sour – just delicious.

The following day we piled into a minibus for the scenic drive to Ollantaytambo. The roads made us riders weep with regret that we weren’t on 2 wheels but the sad fact of civil unrest and uncertain borders had kept all foreign riders out as we saw none out enjoying these roads.

A visit to a wildlife rehab park to see condors, monkeys, puma and the unique spectacle bears was inspiring and also sad to hear the tales of monkeys and exotic birds being kept in awful conditions in restaurants and clubs for the entertainment of customers.

On arrival at Ollantaytambo it was overcast and a short walk around town was in order, with some of the group heading up to the Incan ruins with some associated altitude induced breathlessness. The following day was a big one, Machu Picchu.

The quaint train which travels to Machu Picchu was boarded early at the Ollantaytambo station to get a head start on the expected crowds and we were soon at the town of Agua Calientes, otherwise known as the town of Machu Picchu. The bus ride up the zig zaggy narrow road was a white knuckle one and the drivers are truly skilled, then the line up to enter the site. This was quite quick with tourist numbers being much lower than other years as the site had been only reopened a couple of months earlier with government protests closing the whole area. It is a regulated system with a 3 hour time limit and you can only go in one direction with no backtracking for that missed selfie opportunity.

Clouds gathered which made this sacred place seem quite other worldly and while we have all seen the iconic pics it did not disappoint and it is truly an epic 15th century wonder. After our allotted time it was back onto the bus of death (and sitting in the front suicide seat) for the trip down the mountain. A delicious lunch followed where Duncan tried the local “delicacy” of Guinea Pig or Cuy as they call it. We had seen roadside vendors with Cuy BBQ-ing outside, a somewhat pitiful sight for those who remember them as fun little pets, although these ones are bred for eating and are larger in size than what we are used to. They do look a bit like naked rats or dachshunds when mounted on the rotisserie.

The next day on the way back to Cusco we stopped to take photos of the unique (and terrifying) cliff-hugging pod accommodation that you have to abseil down to. It was then onto another swoon-worthy dirt riding road (deep regret being in the bus) viewing some pre-Incan terraces before a trip to a salt mine that was operated in the traditional way with families having their plot to work. The colours were just amazing.

Back into Cusco and of course a trip back to the craft brewery was planned, but first a Pisco Sour cocktail making class at the hotel bar. We passed with flying colours, the proof in the taste of the finished product! Fortunately for Duncan the teacher was distracted when he was putting in the Pisco measure of 3 shots, the last one may have overflowed about 2 additional shots worth into the blender.

The following day was our flight to Arequipa, known as the White City due to many buildings having been constructed with the local white volcanic stone. A visit to the town square to try and find somewhere to change USD to pesos, there was a distracting local ice cream delicacy which contains egg yolks so very rich and was the order of the afternoon. Arequipa is very picturesque and surrounded by 3 volcanos with one still active.  It is also a major commercial centre for the mining industry with one of the biggest copper mines in South America close by.

Up early and prodded back into the minibus we headed into the Andes, stopping for some photos with brightly decorated llama and also for a coco tea to acclimatise before ascending to breathless heights of nearly 5000 m.  A stop at the summit with snow lying by the side of the road brought some hijinks with snowball fights seeming like a fun idea – especially for us Queenslanders who live without snow.

Down the other side of the mountain and we were into the small town of Chivay where the weather was cool and the altitude was still quite high.  A lovely lunch ruined only by a panpipe playing band and then onto the hot springs for a refreshing soak to soothe away the minibus aches and pains.  The hot springs operator had left the 75 °C hose running close by to our hot pool of choice so of course the boys of the group had to reroute it to see how hot they could get the water – bloody hot was the verdict!

Dinner in Chivay at a rather touristy restaurant with a cultural “show” was an eye-opener with performing couples dance-fighting and flogging each other with rope.  When audience participation was called for, Paul and Allana were up and in no time Allana had Paul on his back on the floor and was giving him a sound flogging. Not saying that some knotted rope blows went a bit low, hang on, that’s exactly what I’m saying, but their relationship withstood the test admirably!

Up in the early and cool dark the following morning for the trek back to Arequipa, we retraced our minibus steps and stopped again for a refreshing coca tea and got back into the city in time for me to have a relaxing sauna treatment at the hotel, got to be ready to ride again! 

The following day was highly anticipated as we were flying back to Lima to be reunited with the bikes and continue our expedition north.  Two things of note for our second visit to Lima, we had the most expensive laundry service of the trip ($134 AUD equivalent), which will teach us for asking for express service without confirming the cost, and the all the lifts in the hotel playing the Culture Club “classic” Karma Chameleon on a loop – in fact waiting for the lift you could hear the song before the lift arrived.  Taking the stairs was considered but we were on the 8th floor and you could still hear the lift music going up and down anyway. The reunion with the bikes was emotional, and we were all super pumped for the next day to get back on them – little did we know that Lima traffic had plans for us – stay tuned for Duncan to return for the next part of the adventure….