Cusco to Nazca

I'd spent a number of days relaxing and hanging out in Cusco now so I thought it was time to move on. All the comforts of a touristy town were turning me soft and making me into a lazy backpacker so the next day I was up early and out the door back on the road. The riding started out great but after about 100km I hit the biggest hill and it nearly finished me! I embarrassingly pushed the bike the last 2km into town after nearly passing out and puking with all the effort. I was feeling better within an hour or so and had another half chicken and chips for dinner. The next day started as the last finished with the road going straight up. I made it to the top of the pass (4000m) then it was all downhill to the next town where I stopped for the night. The downhills are great but I knew it would be more uphill the next day so it kind of took the edge off it. Starting out the next day I came to a river running over the road and there was no way I could ride through it. Standing there with a bunch of locals laughing at me three little boys came running out to offer a hand. As I watched in horror they rolled their trousers up and ran my bike through the river coming so close to losing it half way through I nearly had a heart attack!! I walked around over a little bridge and paid them 1 Sol each and they were stoked. My plan was to cycle the next few days through the Peru central highlands via a number of small high altitude towns. I turned off the main road and started out on the dirt road which was to be the norm for the next few days. About 10 minutes into it I got a bad feeling about the way ahead and pulled out my maps and guide book to see what my options were. After a bit of indecision over the which way to go I decided to back track and take the road over the Cordillera de Los Andes to Nazca. The only problem was I didn't have a map for this section so was flying blind so to speak. Not sure if it was the right choice as for the next 4 days I was either going straight up or straight down! The scenery was spectacular and I had everything from deep lush tropical valleys through high altitude plains, snow capped mountains and searing hot desert at the end. I also met some great local people who tried helping me with directions and explanations of the terrain ahead which was always a laugh. Typical of my trip so far I thought the last day's ride from Puquio to Nazca would be an easy down hill stretch with no hassles but true to form it was a little of this and a lot of the South American unexpected! It started ok with a beautiful sunrise and an easy route out of town but that is where it turned sour! The road went from sealed to total mud and within a couple of minutes my bike was so caked in thick mud that I was unable to ride it. I cleared it out with a stick and carried on.....for about another 100m before again it was caked in mud. This went on for awhile before the road got a little better and I'd made some adjustment to the mud guards for better clearance. Just as I got over that I came around a corner and saw the road went straight up hill.....what happened to my downhill!! The next 4 hours were spent climbing over this high pass from 3000m to over 4500m. Then finally I got my downhill where over the next 80-90km it was straight down through some surreal scenery into the desert surrounding the town of Nazca. Tomorrow I go and check out the famous Nazca Lines which are huge animal forms etched into the desert by the ancient Nazca cultures before heading north along the coastal plains on my way to Lima.

Riding Stats
> 14th Mar - 122km
> 15th Mar - 70km
> 16th Mar - 129km
> 17th Mar - 82km
> 18th Mar - 105km
> 19th Mar - 159km
Total - 4329km