World Tour - Europe, Asia, North and South America - Entries for: Peru
23° | sunny | km 1218
Unexpected roads in the Andes
on 2017-11-12 in Peru
After crossing the border we decided to stay as little as possible on the Pan-American Highway. So we decided to head on a smaller road into the mountains after just a couple of kilometers. Fabi had checked on google maps before and noticed that large parts would probably be offroad. As it turned out he was right. After the first small village the road turned into a rough dirt path. Through a nice valley we made our way slowly up the mountains. The road was riddled with large rocks and occasionally loose gravel so it took us a little longer than we had anticipated. We soon found ourselves in another small town late in the noon. So we decided to have lunch and decide on our game plan.
We were afraid that we would not be able to make the next 100 kilometers to the next town before nightfall and so we agreed that it would be best to stay the night in this little village. The hotel nearby was nice and we even had hot water, something we have come to appreciate in the colder mountain temperatures. We stayed the night and the next morning we headed back to the gravel road slowly beginning to long for a patch of tarmac. The road was not as bad as the day before so we started making good distance. As usual we took some pictures, flew the drone for some shots for our next video and ate lunch in a small village. Little did we know that later that day we would find ourselves in a big predicament. After having waited on a couple of construction sites we were finally stopped in our tracks. The only road leading further south was being worked on and so we had to wait for the construction workers to let us pass. At first they told us it would take about half an hour to an hour. After the first hour had passed we tried to convince them that we would easily squeeze by all the construction equipment and that it would be really important to let us pass so that we would not have to ride in the dark. Unimpressed of our efforts the construction worker continued to hold up his no passing sign and told us to stay back. When he finally let us pass after more than 3 hours we knew we would be riding into the dark once more and so we hurried to make as much distance as possible before being completely surrounded by darkness.
In the next town we took the first best hostel. Having only done few kilometers that day we realized that we might have to calculate our daily distances differently in these mountains. It was not so much for the bad roads but for the fact that there were a lot of construction sites and our maps seemed to have no clue how big the roads were going to be. Most of the routes we took were marked as major connections, no matter if they were gravel or tarmac. Therefor it was hard to plan how much distance we would be able to cover in a day. This repeated itself over the next couple of days and so we started to plan with no more than 200 kilometers a day. Leaving the fact aside that we never knew how big the road that we took would be, the sceneries and landscapes as well as some of the dirt roads more than made up for it. Crossing a couple of 13000 feet high mountains in a day never gets old and watching the vastness of this nearly untouched nature left us in awe. We have to repeat ourselves, but the Andean mountains are a unique place for adventure bikers and any outdoor person. The ride may be challenging in parts but it is surely worth the effort.
In the bigger town Cajamarca we once again experienced a soccer sensation. Peru made the qualification for the world cup! First time since 1982. The main square turned into a big party with cheering Peruvians in cars. Everybody including us was happy.
And from now on we would see the TV report of the essential goal with a "Goooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooool" screaming presenter on every TV screen for the rest of our days in Peru...
One night after another miscalculation from us we stayed in a tiny village in a small hotel with no warm water, no heat on some very basic beds. But it was all the same because we were more than exhausted from the days ride and so we slept as well as in any other place. Slowly but consistently we made our way towards a mountain range, that was pointed out by Gonzalo to us.
We were afraid that we would not be able to make the next 100 kilometers to the next town before nightfall and so we agreed that it would be best to stay the night in this little village. The hotel nearby was nice and we even had hot water, something we have come to appreciate in the colder mountain temperatures. We stayed the night and the next morning we headed back to the gravel road slowly beginning to long for a patch of tarmac. The road was not as bad as the day before so we started making good distance. As usual we took some pictures, flew the drone for some shots for our next video and ate lunch in a small village. Little did we know that later that day we would find ourselves in a big predicament. After having waited on a couple of construction sites we were finally stopped in our tracks. The only road leading further south was being worked on and so we had to wait for the construction workers to let us pass. At first they told us it would take about half an hour to an hour. After the first hour had passed we tried to convince them that we would easily squeeze by all the construction equipment and that it would be really important to let us pass so that we would not have to ride in the dark. Unimpressed of our efforts the construction worker continued to hold up his no passing sign and told us to stay back. When he finally let us pass after more than 3 hours we knew we would be riding into the dark once more and so we hurried to make as much distance as possible before being completely surrounded by darkness.
In the next town we took the first best hostel. Having only done few kilometers that day we realized that we might have to calculate our daily distances differently in these mountains. It was not so much for the bad roads but for the fact that there were a lot of construction sites and our maps seemed to have no clue how big the roads were going to be. Most of the routes we took were marked as major connections, no matter if they were gravel or tarmac. Therefor it was hard to plan how much distance we would be able to cover in a day. This repeated itself over the next couple of days and so we started to plan with no more than 200 kilometers a day. Leaving the fact aside that we never knew how big the road that we took would be, the sceneries and landscapes as well as some of the dirt roads more than made up for it. Crossing a couple of 13000 feet high mountains in a day never gets old and watching the vastness of this nearly untouched nature left us in awe. We have to repeat ourselves, but the Andean mountains are a unique place for adventure bikers and any outdoor person. The ride may be challenging in parts but it is surely worth the effort.
In the bigger town Cajamarca we once again experienced a soccer sensation. Peru made the qualification for the world cup! First time since 1982. The main square turned into a big party with cheering Peruvians in cars. Everybody including us was happy.
And from now on we would see the TV report of the essential goal with a "Goooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooool" screaming presenter on every TV screen for the rest of our days in Peru...
One night after another miscalculation from us we stayed in a tiny village in a small hotel with no warm water, no heat on some very basic beds. But it was all the same because we were more than exhausted from the days ride and so we slept as well as in any other place. Slowly but consistently we made our way towards a mountain range, that was pointed out by Gonzalo to us.
25° | sunny | km 905
Black and White Mountains and Dunes
on 2017-11-18 in Peru
Before we headed to the coast we wanted to enjoy once more the beauty of these high mountains. To reach the black and white mountain range we took a rode through a gorgeous canyon named del Pato. The name black and white mountains comes from the fact that the rocks of these mountains are very dark and the tops are always covered by snow.
We rode higher than 4700 meters above sea level and we really enjoyed the view. Whilst we were taking a couple of pictures at the top of the pass a camper stopped next to us and we were greeted by two very nice Brazilian travelers. Both of them were on a journey through South America and they soon invited us to a self made lunch. There may not be cabins with food like in the Alps but we could not say no to some food on wheels. We expected some small snacks but were soon proven wrong when we saw the plates with food. They even unpacked their camping chairs and in no time we all enjoyed a tasty lunch on what felt like the top of the world.
Even with this short delay we almost managed to arrive before complete darkness. The fun part was that even though we rode more than 200 kilometers that day our hotel of the night was not much further than 30 kilometers away from our last stop.
The next day we left the mountains and rode the Pan Americana alongside the Ocean towards the South. Even though it was not much further than 600 kilometers until we reached Ica it is still surprising how different one country can be. On the Pan Americana we basically just saw desert like landscapes and lots of chicken farms along the coast. The smell of these farms was sometimes just overwhelming. In complete contrast to this experience stood the first week that we spend in the mountains of Peru. After a day in Lima we kept going towards Huacachina near Ica. Its a small Oasis which Denis had looked up and was looking forward to since a long time, because around this Oasis were big gorgeous sand dunes as far as you can look.
Denis and Fabi took, immediately after finding a suited hostel in Huacachina, their luggage and cases off the bikes, drained the air to about 0.2 Bars and fired their bikes up. The ramp into the dunes was a huge washboard because of the dozens of buggys that took tourists into the dunes each day. But what we had learned by now that it is all about keeping that momentum. 3rd gear and go! A couple of hundred meters later we reached the top of the mountain and behind it stretched paradise for us. A beautiful sandy valley surrounded by large dunes and little to no traffic. We felt like little kids on a huge sandy playground. After about an hour we were forced to return due to the setting sun but we were ecstatic about the upcoming days.
The following two days we spent solely in the dunes, testing us and our bikes once more. We were once more surprised how well the bikes handled under these tough conditions. The most important rules were, never loose momentum and always park downhill. Of course we got stuck multiple times but with joint forces we were always able to dig the bikes back out and head on. It is once more remarkable how versatile these bikes are and how much fun they already brought to us on this journey. After these two days we were certainly very exhausted but the amount of fun we had was also unmeasurable.
The next morning we put our luggage back on, reinflated the tires and went on towards the Nazca lines.
We rode higher than 4700 meters above sea level and we really enjoyed the view. Whilst we were taking a couple of pictures at the top of the pass a camper stopped next to us and we were greeted by two very nice Brazilian travelers. Both of them were on a journey through South America and they soon invited us to a self made lunch. There may not be cabins with food like in the Alps but we could not say no to some food on wheels. We expected some small snacks but were soon proven wrong when we saw the plates with food. They even unpacked their camping chairs and in no time we all enjoyed a tasty lunch on what felt like the top of the world.
Even with this short delay we almost managed to arrive before complete darkness. The fun part was that even though we rode more than 200 kilometers that day our hotel of the night was not much further than 30 kilometers away from our last stop.
The next day we left the mountains and rode the Pan Americana alongside the Ocean towards the South. Even though it was not much further than 600 kilometers until we reached Ica it is still surprising how different one country can be. On the Pan Americana we basically just saw desert like landscapes and lots of chicken farms along the coast. The smell of these farms was sometimes just overwhelming. In complete contrast to this experience stood the first week that we spend in the mountains of Peru. After a day in Lima we kept going towards Huacachina near Ica. Its a small Oasis which Denis had looked up and was looking forward to since a long time, because around this Oasis were big gorgeous sand dunes as far as you can look.
Denis and Fabi took, immediately after finding a suited hostel in Huacachina, their luggage and cases off the bikes, drained the air to about 0.2 Bars and fired their bikes up. The ramp into the dunes was a huge washboard because of the dozens of buggys that took tourists into the dunes each day. But what we had learned by now that it is all about keeping that momentum. 3rd gear and go! A couple of hundred meters later we reached the top of the mountain and behind it stretched paradise for us. A beautiful sandy valley surrounded by large dunes and little to no traffic. We felt like little kids on a huge sandy playground. After about an hour we were forced to return due to the setting sun but we were ecstatic about the upcoming days.
The following two days we spent solely in the dunes, testing us and our bikes once more. We were once more surprised how well the bikes handled under these tough conditions. The most important rules were, never loose momentum and always park downhill. Of course we got stuck multiple times but with joint forces we were always able to dig the bikes back out and head on. It is once more remarkable how versatile these bikes are and how much fun they already brought to us on this journey. After these two days we were certainly very exhausted but the amount of fun we had was also unmeasurable.
The next morning we put our luggage back on, reinflated the tires and went on towards the Nazca lines.
18° | sunny / rainy | km 1595
THE mountain!
on 2017-11-24 in Peru
Basti started early from Huacachina to see the Nazca lines from an airplane. Within an hour he saw some of the most spectacular drawings this region has to offer. Some of the figures are more than one hundred meters long. There are also lines that are perfectly straight for up to 20 kilometers. For some figures one needs a lot of imagination for others it is clear what they are supposed to depict. For example an ape, a spider or the infamous humming bird. We met back up in the afternoon and after taking some shots with our drone we headed towards the main attraction of Peru, Machu Picchu.
The rode towards Cusco, which is near to Machu Picchu, took us over another extensive mountain range and we hit extreme altitudes once more. After two days we had managed to arrive save and sound in Olantaytambo, a town just one train stop away from Machu Picchu. Since it was not high season we managed to find a nice hotel in the center of the town for little money. This was very important for our bugdet because visiting Machu Picchu was everything but cheap. The train ticket alone costs 57 Dollars, !one way!. And this even though we took the cheapest time slot available. The train is next to hiking the only way to get to Machu Picchu, because there is no road leading up the mountain.
We headed on a small despite the bumpy track surprisingly comfortable train with only one wagon up towards Aguas Calientes, from which we would hike to the top of the mountain by ourselves following the old Inca route. But before heading up we had to buy tickets in Aguas Calientes to be allowed in. This was only possibly in cash and local currency. Entrance fee was about 35 Dollars. From Aguas Calientes there is also a bus heading up to Machu Picchu but since it costs another 12 Dollars, one way, we decided to save a little money. It took us roughly an hour to climb the stairs up to the entrance and at the end we were quite exhausted but very happy.
We were rewarded with a great view of the ruins and we were pleasantly surprised that the ruins were in pretty good conditions. The scenery is definitely one of a kind and the view of the city surrounded by this massive overgrown mountains left us in awe. It is hard to imagine what the Incas had achieved here so long ago. Luckily there were not too many tourists around so we could move around freely and choose the perfect picture spots. There were even some Llamas and Alpacas grassing the ruins on the one hand to keep the lawn nice and tidy and on the other to give the tourists the opportunity to get some stereotypical pictures of the local animals.
There was just one little problem with that, because of the animals there were also a lot of mosquitoes around. Each bite hurt immediately and left a small spot of blood behind. Stopping was soon no option anymore and so we kept on walking through the ruins. A lot of photos and a couple of inspiring views later we headed back down the mountain which luckily was a lot easier then going up. We stayed in Aguas Calientes for a couple more hours waiting for our train to take us back home. Overall we spent around 150$ each which was by far the most expensive sightseeing we have ever done. We can not really agree if it is worth it to spend so much money for this, but what we can agree on is that it is a unique and beautiful place. It is possible to get the price to a reasonable amount if you travel via Santa Teresa or hike the entire way.
With some sore muscles we headed onward the next day towards the Bolivian border. On the way Basti decided to visit Sacsayhuamán an old Inca outpost near Cusco.
After a small brake in a little town right before Lake Titicaca we headed two days later to the border. It was a small empty border and all the formalities were quickly resolved. Once again we leave a country that has given us many different and beautiful impressions.
The rode towards Cusco, which is near to Machu Picchu, took us over another extensive mountain range and we hit extreme altitudes once more. After two days we had managed to arrive save and sound in Olantaytambo, a town just one train stop away from Machu Picchu. Since it was not high season we managed to find a nice hotel in the center of the town for little money. This was very important for our bugdet because visiting Machu Picchu was everything but cheap. The train ticket alone costs 57 Dollars, !one way!. And this even though we took the cheapest time slot available. The train is next to hiking the only way to get to Machu Picchu, because there is no road leading up the mountain.
We headed on a small despite the bumpy track surprisingly comfortable train with only one wagon up towards Aguas Calientes, from which we would hike to the top of the mountain by ourselves following the old Inca route. But before heading up we had to buy tickets in Aguas Calientes to be allowed in. This was only possibly in cash and local currency. Entrance fee was about 35 Dollars. From Aguas Calientes there is also a bus heading up to Machu Picchu but since it costs another 12 Dollars, one way, we decided to save a little money. It took us roughly an hour to climb the stairs up to the entrance and at the end we were quite exhausted but very happy.
We were rewarded with a great view of the ruins and we were pleasantly surprised that the ruins were in pretty good conditions. The scenery is definitely one of a kind and the view of the city surrounded by this massive overgrown mountains left us in awe. It is hard to imagine what the Incas had achieved here so long ago. Luckily there were not too many tourists around so we could move around freely and choose the perfect picture spots. There were even some Llamas and Alpacas grassing the ruins on the one hand to keep the lawn nice and tidy and on the other to give the tourists the opportunity to get some stereotypical pictures of the local animals.
There was just one little problem with that, because of the animals there were also a lot of mosquitoes around. Each bite hurt immediately and left a small spot of blood behind. Stopping was soon no option anymore and so we kept on walking through the ruins. A lot of photos and a couple of inspiring views later we headed back down the mountain which luckily was a lot easier then going up. We stayed in Aguas Calientes for a couple more hours waiting for our train to take us back home. Overall we spent around 150$ each which was by far the most expensive sightseeing we have ever done. We can not really agree if it is worth it to spend so much money for this, but what we can agree on is that it is a unique and beautiful place. It is possible to get the price to a reasonable amount if you travel via Santa Teresa or hike the entire way.
With some sore muscles we headed onward the next day towards the Bolivian border. On the way Basti decided to visit Sacsayhuamán an old Inca outpost near Cusco.
After a small brake in a little town right before Lake Titicaca we headed two days later to the border. It was a small empty border and all the formalities were quickly resolved. Once again we leave a country that has given us many different and beautiful impressions.