Today started with picking my buddy up at the airport, picking up and prepping his bike, and heading out on our trip. Since he is an interesting guy, and I have been linguistically running amok lately, I figure I would have him take over today's entry.
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| Sacred Valley of the Incas |
I guess this is Ken's subtle way of putting the pressure on! After an easy flight down to Cusco (7.5 hours, New Jersey to Lima), with a an overnight connection in Lima, we picked up my Triumph Tiger 800XC, packed the panniers and headed out. The bike is fantastic! While Ken and I have done a good bit of adventure travel together, my nerves were on edge at the start of today. Put simply, I am a motorcycle noob, so this trip is diving right into the deep end for me. The road out of Cusco was a series of climbing and dropping switchbacks, which apparently had amazing views, but I certainly wasn't doing much looking! I did get into a groove pretty quickly, albeit at an admittedly slow speed, and the ride there to Olly was amazing. Some of today's highlights were passing a field where dozens of children were out with their families flying kites; seeing one of the jagged mountain peaks engulfed in smoke and flames; watching a mother teach her young child to double dutch jump rope by jumping while holding her; and trying to wrap my mind around the hundreds and hundreds of terraces climbing the sheer flanks of every mountain. For those traveling and staying in Olly, note that most of the accommodations are in a section of town that has narrow cobble stone streets (more of walk paths), think Venice. We did spend some quality time going down streets barely wide enough for the bikes only to come to dead ends, performing a 32 point K-turn and off along another street. First time on cobbles and whew, there were nerve racking.
Tomorrow is a day off the bike as we take the train to Macchu Picchu. But truthfully I will be missing the bike already.
Trip Summary
Today's Leg: 64 miles (103 km)
Total Distance Traveled: 8.862 miles (14,293 km)
Total Borders Crossed: 10
Total Countries Visited: 11
Total Times Stopped by the Police/Tickets Issued: 14/0
Shaken Down by the Police/Total Times Paid: 5/1
Visits to a Holding Cell: 1
Countries Following this Blog: 26
Mike's Trip Summary
Today's Leg: 64 miles (103 km)
Total Distance Traveled:
Total Borders Crossed: 1
Total Countries Visited: 1
Total Times Stopped by the Police/Tickets Issued: 0/0
Shaken Down by the Police/Total Times Paid: 0/0
Visits to a Holding Cell: 0
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