Images from the Peruvian Andes

November 18, 2010

We left Lima Tuesday morning and rode to Nazca to view the Nazca lines. The Nazca lines date from the 800-1000 BC as a best guess. They were sketched on the desert and cover hundreds of miles. The more interesting lines depict animals or birds although some are just straight lines which run for miles. As is normal for many pre-historic artifacts, someone forgot to continue to tell the story of why and how the lines were sketched. So we are left with only conjecture to their real meaning and what technology the Indians used to lay out the very exact patterns over the desert. The lines in the photo are called the hand.
Thought some of the kids following our travels would be interested in my breakfast of champions and later in the same day the lunch of champions.

This is bleak territory and the driving/riding in the mountains can be harzardous. Some places there are guard rails, but most of the mountain roads do not have guard rails. You only get to run wide in the curves one time as witnessed by the photos of the truck. You do see lots of crosses or mini-memorials posted along the mountain curves. It is not unusual to meet one trailer truck passing another allowing us only about two feet of road along the outside stripe.

Yesterday (Wednesday), we rode from Nazca to Abancay on our trip to Cusco. We transitioned through high Andes desert and pampas. In the pampas we saw herds of wild vicuna, multiple herds of llamas and alpacas (which are very similiar to the llamas only smaller.)

We crossed a couple of passes at registered 14,960 feet in altitude. So we were at a point that was over half way to the highest point on earth - Mount Everest at 29,029 feet. Can't speak for Roger, but I caught myself and my motorcycle gasping for breath in the thin air.

We stopped in a small village for lunch. The owner of the store fried us some trout and potatoes.

Today we rode from Abancay to Cusco. We started at a base of about 8500 feet and began a steep climb to over 13,000 feet. The scenery changed from mountain deserts to mountain forests. Along the way we passed through a plateau at about 11,000 feet that was a thriving farming regions with various crops being grown. We also passed several sheperds tending their flocks of sheep and herds cattle. A couple of times we had to stop in the road to allow the herds to pass by us. We stopped in a small town to buy a bottle of water. I noticed a baby sitting in her stroller and commented how pretty she was and asked if I could take her photo. After taking a couple of photos of the baby and her mother, I left the store. As I was getting on my bike, the mother came running across the street towards me with the baby and a camera. She wanted me to hold the baby by my motorcycle so she could take our picture. I also had her to take photo with my camera. It was a special moment for me.

Arriving in the larger towns is always interesting. Number one on our list is finding a hotel, and we generally have no ideal of where to look nor what prices we will find. We just mix it up with the traffic and believe me that is saying a mouth full. It really is to busy taking photos but I did get one of this car being loaded with lumber as we were floundering around in Cusco. Then three individuals rode off in the car.

Cusco is the capital of the Peruvian Inca region and was founded around 1100 A.D. It is a thriving metropolitian city. It really is a tourist mecca for those wanting to visit the Inca ruins at Machu Picchu. We will do that tomorrow. The downtown square is quite beautiful and has the two cathedrals sitting around the fountained square.