Machu Picchu, not yet.

Was going to write here a few days ago but I have been in bed, more or less, but now feel pretty fine. However right now I am off to Nasca, down from the Andes towards the coast so I will to update this page later...
I promise.
Thankyou to all the people who have shown a continued interest in my journeys (and to all those lurkers). It is great being able to share even in this little way.
Right now I am a bit over halfway through my motorcycle journey, some 2 and a half months left. I am in a bit of a dilemma. In a way 2.5 months seems like a long time but the problem is the destination I have chosen way back last year when I had to book my plane tickets. I have a return ticket from Canada... Sooo I really need to make a decision to ´speed up´ my trip a bit, maybe see a bit less or forget the return ticket and spend more time in South America..
Hmmm.
I´m hoping to do a week of big riding days through Peru and see how I like it. Would like to go back up into the Peruvian Andes but think I will just burn up the coast on the PanAmerican Highway.


Update:
You know how I said I was going to leave Cusco ´right now´ , well I didn´t. Ended up staying an extra day. Right now I am in the middle of nowhere between Cusco and Nasca and it is pretty pretty. Really was planning to get to the coast by the weekend... oh well.

El Camino de la Muerte

Literally that means "The Road of Death" . Or, as it is also known, ¨The World´s Most Dangerous Road¨.

With names like that I couldn´t resist .

It was a facinating ride.

The road is some 50kms long and drops some 3500m. At the top there were patches of snow and ice and at the bottom nice tropical heat. It was interesting to see the changes in vegetation, the waterfalls lower down and the impossibly steep valleys that someone decided to put a road through.

The road, or track, is basically a gravel road about 4m wide. In itself it is actually quite easy to ride. However the consequences of if something goes wrong can and is fatal. Often there are steep drops right at the edge, sometimes for hundreds of metres.

On average 100 people a year loose their lives on this road. However a new road (which is equally spectacular) has been built, diverting most of the traffic so I expect that figure to be less now. That said, only last month a couple cyclists died out here. - This road has now become quite a tourist attraction and you are more likely be needing to overtake a cyclist than to get out of the way of a speeding taxi.

Rurrenabaque, Bolivia

I recently took a little detour by Plane to Rurrenebaque.

Rurrenebaque is north of La Paz in Bolivia and down in the Amazonian basin. I went there to experience a bit a jungle and warm weather. Although I am above the tropic of Capricorn it isn´t that warm yet because for the last month I have been above 3500m all the time.

Well I got my warm weather and saw an amazing variety of animals. It was a very chilled out place, feeling like a different country. I joined a tour group to go check out the ´Pampas´ for a few days. I didn´t go to the jungle because I heard that you are more likely to see animals out in the Pampas (sort of wet grasslands).

Definitely a successful trip and I enjoyed the social side which you tend to miss on a solo motorcycle trip.

We saw crocs and alligators.

Turtles

Some huge guineapig thing (sorry forgot the name). -as big as a pig.

Monkeys

Caught anacondas (see, I wasn´t lying..)

They stink too. While playing cards later that night we smelt the same smell coming from under the floor boards..

Caught (and ate) Piranhas.

And, as I wrote before, swam with dolphins. They´re pretty ugly as dolphin´s go.

Back in La Paz now. There was this big fiesta on last night. Lots of parades, dancing and drinking..

I´m off to Peru by the end of the week. I have been reading more reports of crooked cops in Peru which I am not looking forward to.

LaPaz 1

Well, over the last couple nights I really have experienced a wide variety of hotels. Starting with the most basic of basic to the flashest of falshest. Ranging from just over a dollar a night to one where the prices were only given in US dollars (and I payed by credit card so I wouldn´t know..). The only reason I stayed at the last one was because I arrived in La Paz in the dark. It is a big city with fairly chaotic traffic and I decided that I´d stop at the first decent hotel I could find, which I did. That is after being befriended by a few drunks and offered some ´substance´by another. I decieded it would be better to get off the streets until I had worked out the place. Needless to say the hotel was quite luxurious. I enjoyed it. Though talking with the local truckies at the cheap one was a great experience too.

Anyway, the reason I was so late getting into LaPaz was because I took a little detour. Recommended by the local HotelierI took this road to the local hot springs resort. The scenery was absolutely breathtaking. Snowy 6000m mountains and valleys plunging down below. The road down to the bottom was unbelievable.

The resort was quite alright and I spent many hours relaxing in the warm water, hoping it would help get rid of my aches and pains. Maybe, but the rough road out didn´t help.

Tried to find this Presbyterian Church today. Met the pastor in the foyer of the hotel so I thought, why not? , and went. Problem was I had an address and only a rough idea where to go - my map only showed the central part of Lapaz. But off I went. I found it. But that was after talking to over ten people (who said males never ask for directions??) and driving past it 4 or 5 times. The church was located in a house.. Yes, I was very late. Actually the service was pretty over but I got to meet a lot of friendly people.
The view from the back of the building.

GRRR fotos not uploading again.. later

STILL NOT WORKING!!!

Sucre - Repairs

Well I have now been in Sucre for over a week since my accident and I am ready to leave. I´m starting to grow roots here but I must move on.

It has definitely been an interesting week. Sucre is a nice city to hang around.

The main focus has been getting my bike back on the road. As I mentioned earlier I found (or was given) an excellent mechanic and friend to help me out - Niki Stumvol. He helped me find the right people, drove me around town and straightened out the bent bits (including the front wheel) and gave the bike a bit of a service, which it needed. So now I am in possession of a nice shiny, almost new bike - just with a few more character building scars on it.

I´m feeling alright. Still sore. The ribs aren´t giving me near as much hassel and I think I can walk and ride quite fine. The arm is actually feeling worse but only in bed at night. Seems more a muscular thing I think. So probably it needs more rest but I think it is time to leave..

The lieutenant at the local Military outpost was a great help. I learnt later that he was the one who made sure all my gear that was scattered over the road was picked up. He organised a lift to the hospital for me and also got my bike to the Military School where he stored it. All because he is a nice guy and, well, yes, he rides a bike too. He rides a nice Suzuki GS850 from 1982. He also gave me a lift around town - not everyday you get a ride on a bike with a Lieutenant from Bolivia.. Great guy.

One of the biggest blessings was meeting Len and Laura Tan from Australia. They have been posted in Sucre for a year by SIM (from memory, Serving in Mission..). They are helping to run a Cafe/Centre which is aimed at helping the University students here. The aim is help with both their physical and their spiritual needs in many different ways. It has been running for quite a while and has been blessed with a lot of success. Len showed me around and I was quite impressed with the setup. It definitely has a lot of potential. Sorry, this doesn´t give you heaps of detail. I will try find an internet link later..

It was fantastic meeting up with Len and Laura and their family. They had Bible Study at their house which I went along to (after a great meal) and really enjoyed - first Biblestudy since Aus. I met a few other couples who are also working here. I borrowed a couple books from them which I feverishly read (due to lack of time) , enjoying the thought provoking book, Prodigal World by P. Jensen. It was a philosophical book (a selection of essays) about how the world, after rejecting God, has adopted a Utilitarian philosophy (whatever makes the most people happy..) which has failed miserably. It would have been interesting to read this while I was still a university student though I probably wouldn´t have appreciated it.

Thanks Len and Laura for the excellent hospitality and christian fellowship you shared with me. I wish you God´s blessings on your work here in Sucre and in the future. Hopefully we meet again sometime..

So now I am back on the bike and back onto the same road as before. Hope to reach LaPaz by Saturday...