Nazca to Puno

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Up with the sun to get going and then the breakfast guy was late.
Next stop was to be Nazca the place of the famous Nazca lines, loads of figures made on the ground, but that are only visible from the air.
Leaving Lima and going a bit inland made the temperatures climb up to a good 35 C or so, so back to sweating, but no sand storms at least. I had a lunch stop, quite tasty one for next to nothing in the middle of nowhere.
I caught up with two Canadian bikers that had passed me when I was having lunch and went with them to Nazca.
Brenda and Stewart two nice Canadians who talked me into flying over the Nazca lines.
The Nazca airport even had a security check for and half an hour flight around their back yard.
It was amazing to see the figures but taking pictures out a little Cessna is not really a good idea.
The was a bit of turbulence as well so I did feel a bit queasy, we did get down safely, obviously.
I also learned that today was New years eve so I had a bounus day, after a nice dinner back to bed in our luxury (not) hostel.
The next day was to be from Nazca to Cusco a nice little 640 km trip so it was a good idea to start early.
A quick mango and a couple of bananas for breakfast and we were off.
Beautiful ride but very tiring at more than 4800 m above sea level, in the end we chickened out and stopped in Abancay 200 km from Cusco.
Abancay is a dump and on the first day of 2014 was rather dead, maybe they were all hung over.
Walkabout dinner and bed, same procedure as all the other days.
Next morning we had a leisurely brewakfast, opnly 200 km to go, and that took forever, lots of stops to admire the views.
That must be one of the most spectacular mountain crossings in the world and the weather was good sunshine almost all the way..
I was in Cusco in 1976 and i must say it has grown since but the old center is still as lovely but it's chock a block with tourists, hotels, reataurants, tour operators and a gazillion places selling Alpaca wool garments.
They must have alot of Alpacas in Peru to make that much wool, they must cheat alot methinks anyway.
Indian women walking around with goats and lambs an even a guanaco so that people can take pics for a fee.
I've already seen the Inca ruins so i did not want to go again especially as in the old days you could go where ever you wanted and now it's: don't look to hard and definitely do not touch.
Cusco is quite high up and the altitude gets to you, soroche or mountain sickness is not so much fun.

Our bikes needed new oil and filters so we found this authorized KTM and BMW workshop in the backstreets
I spent the time in Cusco with the Canadians, aka Stewart and Brenda, walking around doing nothing.
A nice lunch and ditto dinner, alpaca steak or at least so they said but then again it's on a lot oif menues so the alpacas that don't give enough wool end up on the plate.
Two days later it was time to leave, it's a bit hard to keep track of what day it is, all the touristy places are open so whether it's thursday or sunday doesn't matter.
On the way to La Paz lies Puno, it's only, in my eyes, redeemikng quality is Lake Titicaca.
But when the wind is howling around your ears and it's 12 C the lake doesn't beckon to me.
But otherwise Puno is a dump, in my eyes any way.
What amazes me is the way the indian women sit around outside all day peddling their wares and don't die of hypothermia.
They sell everything from Toyota hub caps to boiled goat heads.
It's difficult and rude to take pics of them, but there are som good ones to be taken, with the small bowler hats perched on top of their heads and the carry all textile manta the all have.
My hotel let me have an electric heater in my room!

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