Terradrifting

So here I go. Off to Machu Picchu. The jewel of Peru. The most popular tourist attraction in Peru. Maybe in South America? Probably. As much as I don’t like super popular tourist attractions, this is one of them that you must do when in country. So there are several way to see Machu Picchu from Cusco. One, is to go by train. Another is to trek 4-5 days. And there is also driving / riding. The closest town to Machu Picchu is Aguas Calientes. The only way to get to this town is by rail or walking. Since I am awesome, and have a motorcycle, I rode to the closest point you can get to before needing to take the train or walk. A place called Hydroelectrica. It is the end of the road just past a small town called Santa Teresa. From Cusco, the road took me over an incredible mountain pass. The road from Cusco to starts by taking you along a valley before you ascend to over 14,000 feet. On the other side is the valley leading to Machu Picchu. Peak of the pass Val

Before I write about Cusco I want to mention the road from Nazca to Cusco. This road takes you over 4500 meters and across the great plains of Peru. So far on this journey, I have not encountered very many roads that make you feel small and lonely. This was one of them. When reaching the peak altitude you can see as far as the horizon. With ominous black clouds rolling across the plains, I was fortunate enough not to get wet. Although I put my rain gear on just in case, and to cut the chilling wind. As i climbed higher, I could feel the engine of my 250 giving it’s best to maintain a reasonable speed. And although I was passing most vehicles. I felt my moto had reached its potential for the altitude. Later I would find that with the elevation and the 98 octane gasoline I was using, I was getting close to 100mpg! Not bad WR, not bad! The high plains of Peru It would take me two days to reach Cusco. Searching on Ioverlander for a mid point, I settled in to a small hostel for