Peru Motor tour 2023

An early start (07.00) to ride into the Canyon. Hopefully the Condor is flying today. They roost down in the Canyon and need termal winds they get themselves up. They prey on the coast. So they have to get very high over the range. Eventually they come up and we count up to 15 at the time. Some take a rest at a ledge. There wingspan is about 3 m and the have to use he thermals to fly.

We are heading west first on the plateau out of Puno. Then we rise into the ranges. Spectacular views again. Into the Colca's . The pass is at 4910m We stay at the small town of Chivay. We have dropped to 3600m. The town is at the entrance of the Colca Canyon which is were we would like to see the Condors of the Andes early tomorrow.

Today a boat ride on the Lake to the floating islands. People have build houses on the reet that grows in the lake. They cut large section of the reet which packs are about one meter thick. The bind them together and fill it up with reet cuttings on top , which needs to be replenished every couple of weeks. Houses are build on stilts , away from the moisture. We go on the island to meet a family and see how they live. They live normally of fishing , but this is tourism. So we pay a fee and buy some nice hand made cloth. The houses are very primitive without facilities. the government provided solar powered washblock but pumps do no not work etc.

The ride out of the Amazon is wet until we have climmed back to over 1500m. We continue climbing until we reach the highland at about 3500m. Some road tunnels and a Silver mine are being build by the Chinese. Yes, they are here aswell. All done by chinese workers who live in camps along the road. Lake Tititaka is the highest navigable lake in the world at 3700m. Ships were brought in about 1870's by road and rail. There was a railway line between the coast to here along Cusco etc. Houses are primitive with no facilities. The government provided a wash and shower blocks , run on solar, but they do not work !

 From the start of the day it is a bit more riding on the highland going inland. We then decend from 3500m to eventually end up at 600 m in the rainforest. The roads are good . Perfect for the motorrider enthusiast with lots of turns.  The difference in scenery is stark. There are banana trees growing ,tropical fruit hanging everywhere and monkeys playing around in the tree tops and Hummings birds gathering honey from flowers.  There are monkeys in this tree , but you can probably not see them.  There are no windows in the cabins. The temperature is warm and humid. Everything is damp. The resort is run by a journalist who was looking for a change. He prepared a lovely barbeque dinner in the Cabana . A much enjoyable experience.

 On the evening of the 27th a 3 day festival started in the main square of the town. These festivals start by 10.00 AM and continue until 6 in the morning the next day. A lot of music and dancing goes on. It is colourful but the songs a ritmes very similar. After a while you know it all. Groups are brought in from various surrounding towns. Enthusiasm is great for these festivals.

 An early start of the day for the train ride to Machu Pichu and the on the bus to the entrance of the Inca ruins. Due to the strikes and rioters earlier in the year tourist bookings are down a lot and the people are suffering as a result of the lesser spending. Then of in the bus to the ruins.    Heading for the entrance footpath to the settlement.  You need to climb over a little hill to view the village. Just under 500 lived her at its peak. They grew crop and held animals.  Standing on the hill , it was covered with clouds, which gradually lifted. We are heading on,  to eventually walk among the ruins.   The settlement was abandoned when the Spanish invaded South America and the Inca’ fought the Spanish. Machu Pichu was never occupied again . Only some fields were used by local farmers. It was rediscovered in 1911 by a Hiram Bingham explorer who was actually looking for a different settlement but was directed by a farmer and a local boy to this pla...

 Our starting point for Machu Pichu will be Ollantaytambo . Which is a distance of 80km fro Cusco. This is on the Inca trail. Along here we visit a salt mine. In the salt pans the highly mineralised water evaporates and the salt is left to be scraped and scooped out in bags. It is not a very large area but important for the provision of essential salt to the region From here it is a short ride to Ollantaytambo to our hotel.

 Cusco is the ancient capital of the Inca’s. The Inca empire did not last very long. But in only about 150 years they build some impressive structures. In Cusco the Inca’s  build large palaces which after the conquest by the Spanish were used as the foundations for their palaces. The centre of Cusco is ofcourse the The Plaza de Armas. The central square. Very much a typical Spanish town. We did a walking tour around the centre and later visited the Cathedral and the Inca museum. Not much of the famous gold and silver artefacts are left. as the Spanish took most of it. Cusco is an impressive place. The centre of the Inca empire and the starting point of the Incan trail to Machu Pichu .     

 The Andes have a series of ranges which have to be crossed. Very long ascends and decends  of each about 20 - 30 km hairpin roads.  The scenery starts with a barren range. Very little water falls here. But that  changes and we soon see some vegetation. The valleys become green even at higher altitude people survive in Small villages. Growing crops and keeping Lama’s for wool and meat. A young mother carrying her child the traditional way. Women sitting on the side of the road spinning Lama wool. Socialising in the meantime. Times have stood still here for a long time. But they seem happy. We stop at some to meet some local woman and we buy a few small souvenir items.

We had internet issues and I could not upload new blogs for five daysuntil today Friday 26th of May  Not a long ride today . We stopped along the way to see some whale fossils. Several millions year old. Quite unique to see them where they are found. Then it was onwards towards Nasca.  It is famous for it large carving in the ground of various figures. The only way to see them properly is by plane. The tour had organised these and we boarded a small plane to see these world famous pictures. These predate the Inca time. It remains a mystery what the meaning was.  There are some famous carvings , such as the Astronaut and a mystic animal image. The images are hundreds of meters long. Obvious erosion is minimal in this place they would otherwise not have survived thousands of years.

 Early start in Arequipa heading towards the coast. Today is a long stretch of about 350km. Approx 100km from Arequipa to the coast we meet up with the Pan American Highway. This Highway runs along the coast form the southern point of South America up to Alaska. It was a challenging first 100km over the mountain range . Partly in the fog. So I stayed behind a big truck which was doing good speed and I could follow his rear lights. The coastal stretch to Puerto Inca is also very curvy . A lot of Bolivian truck use this road from Bolivia to Lima. Bolivia is land locked and all export has to use either Chilean or Peruvian ports for their export. All along the Pacific coast here it is bone dry and barren. Apparently the very cold water (8 degrees C) does not evaporate enough water for it to rain. It was 16.30 arriving finally in Puerto Inca for the night. There are very limited facilities along the coast here and on has to do what is available. For instance the shower had almost no war...

 After our arrival in Arequipa we were taken to our hotel about a 20 minute walk from the old centre. Arequipa is an old Spanish city with a main square like all major towns in Peru. It has the typical colonnades around it. We went back here on Saturday and found that the local districts put on a show. Very colourful and lively with music and dance. After this spectacle we went to the Santa Catalina Monastry. It is actually a town in itself.  Three city blocks in length and two city block wide.  The nuns who lived here were all from wealthy families and lived in their private quarters which had a bedroom , kitchen and small garden. A maximum of about 150 nuns lived here at the peak of its use. Today there are only 15 living here. The  kitchens looked this. So each nun made their own meals , with the help of servants and ate in their own living quarters.  Only recently the nuns are eating together . After the monastry we went to the museum Santuarios Andinos. Thi...