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A fabulous week has passed in Cusco.  We haven’t done much in terms of sight seeing; the cathedral yet to be explored, the museums stand unentered, yet a fabulous week it has been.  We started out in the Pirwa Hostel, a nice yet overpriced hostel off Plaza San Fransisco.  After two nights there, we moved to the Medics Away House.  Seeing as we aren’t medics this may seem odd, but they allow friends of medics, and that we are.  Our friend Elizabeth is a med student and she took some time off to volunteer down here in Peru.  So, here we are in Cusco enjoying a great time with a friend.

We have managed to have some awesome times.  Let’s start with the super awesome motorcycle tour we took.  We have been trying to plan a riding adventure since we started this trip back in April.  But things never seemed to work out…until now that is.  We rented two 250’s, not sure the make, for $40/pc and off we went to explore the Sacred Valley.  The Sacred Valley is located between Cusco and Machu Picchu and is scattered with ancient Inca ruins and quaint little towns.  Perfect for a little motorcycle adventure.

It was a tad touch and go at the beginning.  I haven’t ridden a bike since we were in South Africa, last December. The basics came back to me; clutch, starter, brakes, lights, etc.  But, I hit a little glitch at the beginning. That glitch being I couldn’t start the bike.  Call it nerves, definitely, or was it the heavy two way traffic, definitely, or had I forgotten how to ride, no.  Don’t worry, I got it going.  And damn it felt good!

A quick stop at the gas station and we were off to Saqsaywaman,an immense Inca ruin that was used for military and religious purposes.  It is conveniently located a quick 7km outside Cusco.  Yeah!  my first Inca ruins.  They were awesome.  Huge rocks carved perfectly to fit together like a 3D jigsaw puzzle.  How did the Incas carve boulders with precisely straight lines?  Remarkable.  I gawked at the structures as we walked around the sight.  First Inca ruin, not even Machu Picchu yet, and this is what there was, let the ride begin!

After Saqsaywaman, we curved our way up and down the mountains.  It was rough.  Todd sped away, hugging the curves at the right speed.  He was lovin’ it.  And so was I, but the bike and I weren’t meshing so well.  We had a rough start; what speed to take the curves and feel comfortable, front brake/back brake ratios, oh my!  After a frustrating ride we stopped in Pisac, another Inca ruin.  This one with an amazing agricultural terrace system up on a huge mountain, cliffs dropping down on both sides.  We hiked up to the dwellings, awed at the terraces and rode back down the mountain to the market.  At this point, I was fried and Todd was a wee bit frustrated with me.  We took a breather, had a power chat about riding and we were off again.  Only after paying some little kids a sol for a picture.  Entrepreneurs in action.

Round 2 went much better.  I remembered how to ride!  And ride we did.  God it was fun.  Around the curves, besides the mountains, and through the towns.  Ollaytatumba, has one rode that cuts through town from the highway.  The cobblestone street led us to a remarkable fortress of a terraced mountainside.  Structures could be seen high up the cliffs.  How did the Inca’s get to these houses?  The culture continues to leave my mind full of questions and wonder.  The cobblestones, although uneven and bum bashing, proved no problem.

One more sight to see before we headed back to Cusco, Moray.  We rode back along the highway, cutting down to Maras where we ran into a little problem. Where was the sight?  We followed the signs, riding down narrow streets past the old women in the doorways, and then the rode ended.    We wrapped back around, asking some kids along the way, finally one dirt rode later, we were off.  Scenery including all the classics: sheep, cows, herders, mountains, prairie, and one long, winding dirt road cutting through the whole thing.  Finally, we rounded the corner and there it was, a parking lot?  A slow painful dismount, by body was starting to feel the effects of riding again.  As I peered over the cliff, I saw what looked like a massive terraced crop circle.  It was Moray, the Inca agricultural laboratory and grainery.  They thought each circle represented a different climate zone and therefor used the sight to determine the perfect growing conditions for each crop.  As an ag nerd, I was totally lovin’ it.  Unfortunately, rain was on the horizon and so was the sun.  Time to roll.

30km to go to reach Cusco.  We made it just in time to for rush hour.  I don’t like heavy traffic, especially after dark in city’s with combis and taxis and poor traffic control.  Nope, no me gusta!  But we didn’t have a choice, so we crawled through town trying to figure out where the hell to go.  One dead end later which happened to be conveniently located on a super steep hill with a honking taxi driver and legs too short to turn the bike, I almost lost it.  Todd turned the bike for me, turned into a moving google map, and we finally made it back to the motorcycle place. I was ready.  We went to a British bar, ordered some scotch, and proceeded to recant stories of our wonderful day on the rode!