Nazca to Lima

Nazca ended up being a great little place just to chill out in for a couple of days and recover from the last few days of very hard riding. It was a bit of a shame to have to leave the next day but a beautiful desert sunrise and the chance to see the Nazca Lines got me out of bed and on the road. The Nazca Lines were a bit of a let down but good to see all the same. Always, they were right next to the Panamericana Highway which I was riding on anyways. This is the same highway which I started my trip on coming out of Santiago as it runs the length of all the Americas from Alaska down to the bottom of South America. The day ended up being a long hot one through mostly desert until I reached the town of Ica. I wanted to spend a couple of days here as there were some nearby vineyards but the place was a dump and I didn't feel that safe so the next day I decided to cycle out of there and down to the beach town of Pisco. I was a little apprehensive about getting into Pisco though as on 15th August 2007 a 8.0 earthquake stuck the place and destroyed 70-80% of the town. There was also a large death toll and I didn't know what the place would be like only 7 months later. But as I wanted to check out the nearby islands which are famous for their abundant marine and bird life I decided to give it a try. The town was still in bad shape with a large number of the buildings either still in piles of rubble or just not there anymore but the people seemed hopefully and the place was starting to rebuild. I found a great hostel as well which had a pool and a relaxed atmosphere. I also booked a boat tour of the local islands which ended up being will worthwhile. After a couple of days I decided I better get back on the bike before I got to used to the pool and free flowing beer!! Another three days of coastal riding and I was on the manic highway coming into Lima. After getting terribly lost I ended up at my planned destination, the Lima Sheraton 5 star hotel. My leaving gift from Fonterra was being cashed in and it was fantastic. One night of luxury in the heart of Lima. It did take some convincing of the hotel security before they would let me in as they didn't believe I had a reservation but once checked in they were all good and just interested in my travels. The next day it was pretty hard to leave the hotel but I cycled out of there and back into the crazy traffic to find another hostel more in my price range. Got one in the trendy suburb of Miraflores but I'm sharing a 6 bed dorm with other travels so a bit of a comedown from the Sheraton!! Another few days to check Lima out before again I head north, this time some more coastal riding before again I have to climb into the Andes. I'm looking at going to the Cordillera Blanca which is a region with more than 50 mountains of 5700m or higher!! Also a great place for hiking and mountain biking so I bet I'll be looking forward to the change of scene after a few days in Lima.

Riding Stats
> 21st Mar - 149km
> 22nd Mar - 77km
> 24th Mar - 143km
> 25th Mar - 54km
> 26th Mar - 83km
Total 4837km

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

The Inca Trail to Machu Picchu

After a few days relaxing in the pretty town of Cusco it was time to start my Inca Trail hike to the ancient ruins of Machu Picchu. I was still recovering from getting very sick but was starting to feel better and was looking forward to the change of riding all day to hiking all day! Starting out early on the first day it was a bus trip to the beginning of the trail via a small Inca village where I was talked into buying an Inca walking stick and a drink bottle holder. I was so excited with my new purchases I totally forgot to buy the most important item, a wet weather poncho!! My group consisted of 16 people from a range of different nations and ages plus a bunch of porters, cooks and a couple of guides. Getting the obligatory group photo under the 'Inca Inca' signpost marked the start of the trail and where the walking began. The first day was easy going but the weather decided to make it a bit harder and we had driving rain for the next few hours before hitting our first camp. The fantastic thing about these organised tours is the porters get to the destination first and set up all the tents and start preparing the meals. It was a welcome change from how I travel on the bike as when camping it's all up to me to get everything sorted. The only problem was the rented backpack I had wasn't waterproof so all of my gear was soaking wet including my sleeping bag!! Never mind as being on the trail and heading towards Machu Picchu was all the motivation I needed and a bit of rain wasn't going to spoil that. It was two people to a tent and the only other solo guy was this huge Scottish bloke so him and I ended up sharing a tent for the duration of the trek. He was a great laugh and it made the experience all the funnier. The next day was the hardest of the trek and we climbed from 3200m to over 4200m before dropping steeply to our second camp at 3400m. The hiking was amazing with surreal high mountain and deep valley scenery which at some points totally took my breath away. Thankfully the weather held out and I got into camp early and managed to dry out all my gear. After this an older German/American couple gave me a poncho for the wet weather trekking which certainly helped in the coming days. After a early, quiet night it was up early again where we were greeted to a beautiful morning with absolutely stunning views of the surrounding mountains. Each morning consisted of being served hot coca tea in our tents before getting up to a breakfast served in the main tent where all 16 of us would sit around eating and joking. Day 3 started with a very hard climb but was broken up by stopping and exploring old Inca ruins along the way. After another great lunch it was time to pick up the pace and get to the third camp site as the weather was coming in and there was a promise of a hot shower in our future!! Myself, the big Scottish guy and an English couple broke away and over the next 3 hours walked hard to try and be the first to get the hot showers and a cold beer! Again the walking was breathtaking and we descended 1000m into camp three with sore knees from the uneven Inca steps. Showers, dinner and a couple of beers before climbing into a soaking wet tent concluded the final night on the trail. It felt like I had just got to sleep when the porters knocked on the tent door at 4am so we could prepare for the final trek to the ruins. After a couple of hours walking we came over a ridge and through a place called the Sun Gate and looked direct down on the Machu Picchu ruins with the mountain Huayna Picchu in the background. It was certainly a moment I will remember for a very long time as it was just an amazing site. We walked the final stretch to the ruins and spent the remainder of the morning exploring them and soaking up all the history of the Inca empire. Hopefully the photos give an idea of how amazing the place was but I'm not sure any photo of this place would do it justice as it was truly an awesome site.
Getting back into Cusco at about 6pm after a train and bus ride it was a long hot shower before heading out on the town to celebrate with my new trekking mates!! The plan is to have another day or so in Cusco before I head northwest towards Lima. The road ahead is supposed to be extremely hard with a couple of high passes to cross before descending into one of South America's biggest cities. All things going well I should make it there within a week or two where the treat of staying in a 5 star hotel will be my motivation! One of my leaving gifts from Fonterra will be a welcome change from the campsites and hostels that I've been staying in!! Stay tuned....

Copacabana, Bolivia to Cusco, Peru

After a few relaxing days spent in Copacabana it was time again to head north this time across the border and into Peru. With no problems being stamped out of Bolivia and stamped into Peru I was off on my way to Puno. My biggest concern was the weather and sure enough within a hour or so I was riding in some heavy rain and thunder and lightning storms. I weighed up the options but decided to carry on riding and about an hour later the rain stopped...thank god as by this stage I was very cold and wet! The rest of the ride went well and I arrived in Puno at a decent hour as Peru is one hour behind Bolivia. The next day I was feeling like crap due to the wet weather riding the day before so I decided to have another day in Puno just chilling out and trying to recover as the next few days were going to be hard ones. I also booked a Inca Trail hiking tour to see the famous Machu Picchu ruins just outside of my destination city of Cusco. The next two days were spent riding in some amazing high altitude valley landscapes dotted with tiny villages and friendly locals. At the end of the first day I rolled into a smallish town called Ayaviri with about a 2km ride into the main plaza. All of the locals were just steering, laughing, waving and yelling out to me! I guess they don't see many gringos on bicycles rolling into town but it felt great and I was waving and yelling stuff back all the way to the central plaza, I guess that was my 15 minutes of fame!!! That night though must have been one of the coldest nights I've spent and going out for dinner I had nearly all the clothes I owed on. The half a chicken I ate for dinner certainly helped me get over the hunger and some of the cold as well! The following day was a hard one as I still wasn't feeling 100% and it involved mostly climbing for the first half of the day over the Aban La Raya pass at 4335m above sea level. Luckily the riding was stunning and the second half of the day involved a lot of downhill!! That afternoon I stopped in a town called Sicuani just as the thunder and lightning was rolling back in. After another uneventful night it was back in the saddle and heading directly for Cusco. With about 140km ahead of me I was ready to get it over with and relax for a few days in the touristy town before doing the Inca trail. The riding was again superb with deep valleys dotted with more small rural villages and the odd Inca ruin thrown in for good measure. I got within about 20kms of Cusco when these local kids on bikes decided to join me for a race!! I was knacked but gave them a run for their money. After about 5kms I let them catch up and I rode the remainder of the way into town with one of them. By this stage I was really tired and had to have a few stops which the kid thought was hilarious. After some cokes and cookies we finished the final few kms into town. The next few days will be spent relaxing in town before I head out on the Inca Trail which I'm certainly looking forward to. 4 days/3 nights of hiking on the Inca Trail to the Machu Picchu ruins should be a great way to rest and recover from the last few days riding. I think I'm going to need all the rest I can get as I hear the road to Lima is a little up and down!!!

Riding Stats
> 27th Feb - 145km
> 29th Feb - 141km
> 1st March - 112km
> 2nd March - 143km