Lima to Urubamba

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Lima to Ayacucho

We rolled out just after 8 this morning and made fairly short work of getting out of the huge metropolis that is Lima.

The first part of the day was spent riding alongside of the coast with the Pacific Ocean on our right and sand dunes or desert on our left. There were lots of huts made of some type of woven thatching or brick dotted in the sand dunes. It seemed a strange place to put a home, miles from anything.

Moving towards the mountains we came across several herds of goats and a herd of cows being mustered old school style along the highway.

We rode from sea level to 4,746 masl by 2.50pm. I could certainly feel the effects of the altitude but didn't feel too bad really considering. Around the highest point there were herds of El Pacas grazing and small villages consisting of a few basic huts. It started to gently snow on us and when we stopped to photograph the highest point we could hear thunder rolling loudly and see lightning in the distance, it was pretty impressive. The temperature ranged from around 22 at sea level, 33 climbing up the rock mountains to just 1 degree at the top. There was evidence of geothermal activity on the mountain evidenced by the colourful landscape that just blew us all away.

As we drew nearer to our accomodation in Ayacucho we saw a lot of villagers herding a cow or some El Paca I assume either back to their homes or to new grazing. The woman often wear a traditional, bright full A-line skirt and top, bright multi coloured sling bag, thick coloured tights and a black, wide brimmed hat.

We arrived around 5 to settle in for the night.

Ayacucho to Urubamba

Pretty much no photos today as it lightly rained until about 2pm so I squirrelled the phone safely away in the box.

We only had about 578 kms to ride today but we new it would be a long day. Lots of riding at altitude again today and in the wet weather it made things pretty slow.

Deane's bike had an issue with the coil getting damp and consequently it was running on one cylinder. Trev was able to sort it out temporarily and we carried on a little way before Trev and Jeff came up with a more permanent fix.

I layered up quite a bit today but at 3pm decided enough was enough and went for the heated vest.

We stopped for a break around 5pm and between us discussed the hours of riding left which varied as the navigators on each bike gave wildly different distances. Opinions from the locals varied from 5 to 10 hours. There was nothing for it but to carry on anyway.

We lost the sunlight around 6 but enjoyed beautiful mountaintop vistas as the last of the twilight conceded to darkness.

Now in darkness, we snaked up and down the mountain passes; Trev leading with five headlights following. We were getting along nicely overtaking trucks, cars and buses. It was then that we realised only two headlights were with us and I gotta say I felt quite sick. We rode back a few kms with Jeff and Deane until we saw the other three bikes parked on the side of the road.

Apparently, four of us had overtaken a truck and the fifth could see he wasn't going to make it so he had the good sense and great reflexes to swerve off the other side to avoid the oncoming bus. He and his bike landed in a steep drain, thankfully the rider was virtually unhurt, the bike was a bit knocked about but still rideable. This could have been much worse but thankfully it wasn't.

We cautiously continued to our destination, arriving around 9.45pm. I fell into bed exhausted anticipating the 4.30am wake up for Machu Picchu!

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Photos

Stopping briefly for a photo
Felt a bit woozy due to the altitude but pretty good really