A few more;
Aidan1150’s Andes & Altiplano tour
- Thread starter Aidan1150
- Start date
After our 2.5hr guided visit to the most sacred place in the Inca kingdom it was time to take the bus back down the dirt road to the town.
Where it was time to seek out a bite of lunch. Our hotel had supplied us with a small packed lunch kind of thing, but that was devoured on the train in lieu of breakfast.
A bit of a wander around the town and it was time to go back to the station for our return train to Ollantaytambo.
Again, we have some fine views from our carriage on the way back.
We arrive back just after 5pm after a long but hugely satisfying day in one of the most iconic places on earth.
After such a big lunch I just wanted a simple bite to eat this evening. At S27 (£5.90) with a bottle of coke it is good value and all I needed tonight.
Back on the bikes tomorrow morning for the two-day ride to our next big bucket list item of the tour. We will be crossing the Andes again from east to west.
Where it was time to seek out a bite of lunch. Our hotel had supplied us with a small packed lunch kind of thing, but that was devoured on the train in lieu of breakfast.
A bit of a wander around the town and it was time to go back to the station for our return train to Ollantaytambo.
Again, we have some fine views from our carriage on the way back.
We arrive back just after 5pm after a long but hugely satisfying day in one of the most iconic places on earth.
After such a big lunch I just wanted a simple bite to eat this evening. At S27 (£5.90) with a bottle of coke it is good value and all I needed tonight.
Back on the bikes tomorrow morning for the two-day ride to our next big bucket list item of the tour. We will be crossing the Andes again from east to west.
There is a lot of walking involved on the site @Udders most of it involving steps up and down which can be very uneven. It would be a good test of that new knee of yours.Absolutely stunning place.
Thanks for the pictures!
I’d always thought you had to walk for a few hours through the jungle up to the site.
Even I could manage a bus trip!
I’d certainly love to visit the place.There is a lot of walking involved on the site @Udders most of it involving steps up and down which can be very uneven. It would be a good test of that new knee of yours.
What I wouldn’t like is the hours and hours of sitting on planes with a load of mouth breathers.
I’d end up getting banned.
Great report, Aidan. Thank you.
One question, please. What made you chose this destination / trip, over say going to Japan or Africa?
One question, please. What made you chose this destination / trip, over say going to Japan or Africa?
South America has long been on my wish list Richard and when @PW Cymru suggested it last autumn I was immediately hooked on the idea.
I was bitterly disappointed when they (understandably) had to drop Bolivia from the itinerary but if you asked me now if I feel like I have missed out or feel short-changed I would have to say no, most certainly not.
I do hope to ride in Asia at some point, hopefully Vietnam. Africa however holds no interest for me whatsoever.
Ooops
The two ladies both came off at the same spot this morning ten minutes after we left our hotel. Because of temporary roadworks that have been going on for two years now there is a diversion of sorts around the town of Ollantaytambo. It is unpaved, heavily rutted and in the weather we are enjoying very dusty. So they water the "road" which in fairness does keep the dust down, but renders the surface a brown ice rink.
Katrina the English-Canadian approached one of two level crossings and tried to square off her approach but the rails sit about 4 inches proud of the mud which as I say, heavily rutted and down she went.
The Canadian woman Janice (who would make a feckin good American) was riding too close and target fixated on Katrina and she went down too. I arrived 30 seconds later after being full sideways myself to find the two of them and Janices' bike still running and her trapped under it.
First thing was to hit the kill switch on the still running F750GS and get it lifted up off her. Sven the German, a thoroughly good spud gave me a hand before we lifted Katrinas' NX500 Honda. Both ladies were thankfully unhurt but the front brake lever on the Honda was broken. The rear brake pedal was bent out of shape but straightened easily after a shifting wrench was applied.
Katrina is a very decent rider and wanted to continue, but after suffering the fall I didn't want her to ride with a severely shortened front brake lever. I reckoned that I would have more power in my fingers than her and that if I gave her my brake lever it would be one less thing for her to worry about. So that's what we did.
The shortened lever is now on my bike.
The SW Motech crash bars on Katrina's bike are a bit out of shape but they did their job.
You can see the difference when compared to mine.
Everything sorted and after a delay of forty minutes or more we restarted our day. We had about 190 miles to do so needed to shorten the distance a bit.
Just out of town you can find the Sky Lodge which are pods fixed to the side of the mountain. You climb up yourself and they bring your luggage up to you.
Can you see them up there?
We turn onto Route 110 which is in pretty rough shape in places. There are many defects caused by huge falling boulders and in some places they haven't shifted them yet.
I blame the rock licker @geotim
We have a lot of climbing and descending today and it's not long until we are treated to some beautiful views.
The two ladies both came off at the same spot this morning ten minutes after we left our hotel. Because of temporary roadworks that have been going on for two years now there is a diversion of sorts around the town of Ollantaytambo. It is unpaved, heavily rutted and in the weather we are enjoying very dusty. So they water the "road" which in fairness does keep the dust down, but renders the surface a brown ice rink.
Katrina the English-Canadian approached one of two level crossings and tried to square off her approach but the rails sit about 4 inches proud of the mud which as I say, heavily rutted and down she went.
The Canadian woman Janice (who would make a feckin good American) was riding too close and target fixated on Katrina and she went down too. I arrived 30 seconds later after being full sideways myself to find the two of them and Janices' bike still running and her trapped under it.
First thing was to hit the kill switch on the still running F750GS and get it lifted up off her. Sven the German, a thoroughly good spud gave me a hand before we lifted Katrinas' NX500 Honda. Both ladies were thankfully unhurt but the front brake lever on the Honda was broken. The rear brake pedal was bent out of shape but straightened easily after a shifting wrench was applied.
Katrina is a very decent rider and wanted to continue, but after suffering the fall I didn't want her to ride with a severely shortened front brake lever. I reckoned that I would have more power in my fingers than her and that if I gave her my brake lever it would be one less thing for her to worry about. So that's what we did.
The shortened lever is now on my bike.
The SW Motech crash bars on Katrina's bike are a bit out of shape but they did their job.
You can see the difference when compared to mine.
Everything sorted and after a delay of forty minutes or more we restarted our day. We had about 190 miles to do so needed to shorten the distance a bit.
Just out of town you can find the Sky Lodge which are pods fixed to the side of the mountain. You climb up yourself and they bring your luggage up to you.
Can you see them up there?
We turn onto Route 110 which is in pretty rough shape in places. There are many defects caused by huge falling boulders and in some places they haven't shifted them yet.
I blame the rock licker @geotim
We have a lot of climbing and descending today and it's not long until we are treated to some beautiful views.
Then we descend into a valley floor where we run alongside a river for a while.
Before climbing again for a better look at it.
A brief stop to look back at where I have just been.
A quick stop for lunch before pressing on towards the city of Abancay. A friend of mine wasn't in favour of lunch, but way out here you sometimes have to settle for what is available. A grilled chicken sandwich and a few fries was my choice today.
Can you see the city below?
It would take over 20 minutes or so to drop down into the city itself.
Our hotel for tonight is a rustic style of place but I am very much looking forward to the grilled trout I have ordered.
More tomorrow.....
Before climbing again for a better look at it.
A brief stop to look back at where I have just been.
A quick stop for lunch before pressing on towards the city of Abancay. A friend of mine wasn't in favour of lunch, but way out here you sometimes have to settle for what is available. A grilled chicken sandwich and a few fries was my choice today.
Can you see the city below?
It would take over 20 minutes or so to drop down into the city itself.
Our hotel for tonight is a rustic style of place but I am very much looking forward to the grilled trout I have ordered.
More tomorrow.....
The trout was absolutely delicious. With a 630ml bottle of beer my bill was S35 or £7.66 or €8.93. Incredible value.
Your food certainly trumps some of the shite we had in the Himalayas
Thank you, Aidan. That answers my question.
Safe travels; see you on the west coast.
That brings back memories of a school expedition, we kayaked around the lake, full circumnavigation of the main lake, we didn't go through the narrow strait into the smaller part. Apparently we were the first to do it. That was over 50 years ago now.
Loving your report, sorry to be late in, again!Edit - the trout. I know you are in Peru, but Chile has some of the best brown trout fishing in the world, on the Pacific side though.
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Wow, that was quite an undertaking fifty years ago KR. Thank you, it's great to have you along.That brings back memories of a school expedition, we kayaked around the lake, full circumnavigation of the main lake, we didn't go through the narrow strait into the smaller part. Apparently we were the first to do it. That was over 50 years ago now.
yer don't get many chips with yer fish .
With the rice and accompanying sauces there was more than I could finish.
Thursday was all about the necessity to knock out the 230 miles from our hotel near Chalhuanca to Nasca.
Again the bulk of our day would be spent riding on high ground, mostly above 4000m (13,000ft) in a very barren landscape.
Apart from the usual farm animals, llamas, alpacas there were no unusual creatures to be seen apart from a dead chinchilla.
Then Svens 1250GS informed him that it was losing air pressure in the rear tyre. The cause was easily identified.
We stopped in the nearby village of Huaraccoyoc where Dalton our support guy/mechanic attempted, unsuccessfully to plug it with a "rats tail". Luckily though there was a tyre fitter in the village and we hoped he'd be able to patch the tyre from the inside.
It was decided then that because we had a fairly busy day in terms of mileage, the main group would carry on and Sven and I would catch them up later in the day hopefully.
Peru, at least in rural areas is very poor so local people like in many places, are very resourceful and are well familiar with the need to make do and mend. After only twenty minutes Dalton returned with the repaired wheel and we set off in pursuit of the group.
105 spirited kilometres later we caught up with the rest of our companions in the little town of Puquio where they had stopped for lunch.
Arroz chaufa is a very popular mid-day meal in Peru. It is basically egg fried rice with some meat mixed through it. Today we had chicken. The photo doesn't make it look like much, but it is very tssty.
Again the bulk of our day would be spent riding on high ground, mostly above 4000m (13,000ft) in a very barren landscape.
Apart from the usual farm animals, llamas, alpacas there were no unusual creatures to be seen apart from a dead chinchilla.
Then Svens 1250GS informed him that it was losing air pressure in the rear tyre. The cause was easily identified.
We stopped in the nearby village of Huaraccoyoc where Dalton our support guy/mechanic attempted, unsuccessfully to plug it with a "rats tail". Luckily though there was a tyre fitter in the village and we hoped he'd be able to patch the tyre from the inside.
It was decided then that because we had a fairly busy day in terms of mileage, the main group would carry on and Sven and I would catch them up later in the day hopefully.
Peru, at least in rural areas is very poor so local people like in many places, are very resourceful and are well familiar with the need to make do and mend. After only twenty minutes Dalton returned with the repaired wheel and we set off in pursuit of the group.
105 spirited kilometres later we caught up with the rest of our companions in the little town of Puquio where they had stopped for lunch.
Arroz chaufa is a very popular mid-day meal in Peru. It is basically egg fried rice with some meat mixed through it. Today we had chicken. The photo doesn't make it look like much, but it is very tssty.
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