Link to PHOTOS and VIDEOS Album
Just copies of my facebook posts since my last update. If you see my FB posts, you have seen these.
Well, the rental bike developed a small fork leak. It was a small leak, because there was not much oil left in it. Fortunately, we're in the town where we are picking up my friend's bike. The mechanic there knows the owner of the bike, and he'll do the work. They didn't have a fork seal, but they are tightening up the spring on the seal that's there. If that doesn't work, we'll be back through this town and a few days, and can get the seal replaced then as they will have a fork seal by then.
Oh, I mentioned the train and the bus, but I never did say much about Machu Picchu. It's pretty amazing place to go to. The guide was fantastic, the scenery amazing.
While in town we witnessed a demonstration. What looked like maybe 100 motorcycles came in and rode around the square a few times, carrying signs, beeping horns flashing lights, police in riot gear. But all very peaceful.
So what was demonstration about? The fact that it is illegal to drive a motorcycle with a passenger. I don't know the details, since I do occasionally see whole families on bikes, but apparently people use bikes to rob people. They do this a few different ways, mostly in Lima, the big city. In some cases the passenger will have a gun and do the robbing, while the driver does the driving. Other times the motorcycle will stop, let the passenger off at a stoplight, and the passenger will rob whatever they can from cars, and then jump on the bike and take off. It is supposed to be a very hefty fine to be caught with a passenger.
Unfortunately, when I thought it was taking videos, I only got a few pics. Hopefully my friend will have some video.
What's for dinner tonight?
Pretty amazing ruins hidden in the Mountains. You start by walking across the town of Nuevo tingo, up the hill to take a bus up to a cable car, an enclosed ski lift basically. The cable car ride itself is pretty amazing. Goes down and then back up a valley. Beautiful views. From the end of the cable car, you walk up the hill to Kuelop. Kuelop is just under 10,000 ft. As in, 9,977 ft. Fun walking around up there. This place is much much older than Machu Picchu. It is not as touristic. It does help to have a guide, which we did. There's a lot of history here, and our guide was born in Kuelop the town, which starts right next to the ruins, and goes down the hill. Many of the people working at the site were family members of our guide. Our guides family's farm runs right up to the ruins. The government no longer allows them to farm it, because of the ruins. They still own it, but cannot farm it.
Beautiful Cable Car Ride
Beautiful Valley
I haven't exactly been writing long posts, so I am sharing my friends first blog post.
I went to another archaeological site here near Kuelop. The site is called Macro. I went with Sara, my guide for the day and now friend. It started with a 3 mile walk. All downhill. We were supposed to take a scary boat ride, but the boat was broken.
So instead, it was a scary cable car ride.
Sara talked with the guy across the river, and tried to follow his instructions to send the car over to him, but she did not put enough strength in it, and the car only made it halfway across. There is a solution to every problem.
Video 1
Video 2
We both enjoyed our ride. These videos of us were on the ride back, as we did not have a chance to video the ride over.
Video 3
Video 4
Cable looks secure.
A great table and chair set
Oh, and the ride back to the hotel was fun.
The Macro Archaeological site is a fairly new tourist site. The guide spoke through Sara, telling us all about the place. He said it can get fairly busy during peak season, at least before Covid. They would get as many as 20 people a day. He would run out of sugar cane to share.
We saw his hotel, the Eco Finca Macro Hotel. It was a two room, two floor building. They really did a great job building and decorating it.
We had bananas from his farm, and Cherimoya, also called the custard apple. Both delicious. Later we had coffee he grew and roasted. He grows avacado, corn, dragon fruit, grapes, chicken, and lots more. He hates cities.... I like him.
Since the boat was broken, we had to hike up the river. This was better I think because it gave our guide more time to talk. I learned all kinds of things I have already forgotten.
It was not a really tough hike through the jungle. But the path was narrow, and slippery. Did I mention it was raining? All of the photos here show the original structures. Nothing has been rebuilt. All of it built high on the cliff. Many mummies were found here, most have been stolen.
The climb to the top and to one of the mummy caves was tricky. Both 26 year old Sara and I had trouble getting up and down without falling down the cliff. Not so for our 68 year old guide. Well, he did have sandals custom built out of old tires.
When Sara said he offered to take us back to the hotel on his moto, I pictured the 3 of us on a 100 cc motorcycle. It is possible it only had 100 cc's, as it was pretty slow uphill, but it was much bigger.
All in all maybe my best experience at an Archaeological site. The personal guide experience from someone who grew up climbing these cliffs made it special. He would not take any money, but he let me pay for the coffee and the "taxi" ride, about $5.
We went through a bunch of water crossings today. Most were less than a foot deep, but one was a half calf,. That is, the water was halfway up my calf while standing on the pegs. Boots filled with muddy water.
Did I mention this was on the main route between cities?
Unfortunately, no pics or videos.
Llamas
Views and roads
CASONA LARA Lodge & Distillery
Caraz, Peru
Staying a couple of nights here. They make agave, I believe it is the only agave distiller in Peru. Agave is just tequila that is made outside of Mexico. I think I am going to like this place.
A little of the old with the new.
I smell breakfast.
I'm the mechanic, I never wash my bikes. Fortunately some people actually like washing bikes. They will be 10 pounds lighter after the mud is removed.
Every town, even the crappy little ones, generally have a main square. Quite often they have shrubbery trimmed to look like animals, people, and sometimes food.
Safe parking for the bike, check. Toilet seat, not here. Roll of toilet paper? No. How about 6 ft of paper? Over priced at $8.
There are not a lot of very nice hotels available In the places we are traveling. Once in a while you will find one, but not often. The key thing is safe parking for the motorcycles. Sometimes you will endure a real shit hole, just for safe parking for the bike. Sometimes that real shit hole is the best hotel in town. This one had very safe parking for the bike, although getting the bike in and out of the garage was challenging as there was a one and a half foot gap in the pavement. Definitely not a place you want your bike to stall.
And I don't mean to complain. It's nice that every town has at least some place to stay, usually with a place for the bike. These are places that the people coming through the town can afford, and need. Your adequate, and fill the need.
Don't touch the railing.
Here is an assortment of photos from the last few days. Understand that every photo of the road, is a major road. Mostly highway 3N, some of it is highway 100. Well, One of the highway 3N's, as there are multiple ones in the same area. Not sure why. These are the parts that we felt were good enough that we could stop and take a photo. The bad sections were just too much trouble. Had to keep moving to keep from getting run over by a truck.
Some of the roads were too narrow to stop, because they're barely one vehicle wide, and it's two way traffic.
You may notice there are not a lot of scenery photos. The scenery is stunning. Absolutely unbelievable. The problem is, that the photos almost never show the true scale. Rarely is the lighting good enough to really bring out the views.
Sweet Bread and and a nice little plate of Ribs.
One must be careful walking on the sidewalk. Some of the holes could swallow a person. On the road, you have to be careful of missing manhole covers.
