Abancay

Nazca - Abancay : 290 miles

When I hit the curves on the way out of Nazca I wondered how it could be possible to reach Cuzco in one day. The road surface was poor and twisties continuous. The landscape changed to a different kind of barren, with crumbling rocks growing into mountains. I had done my time. The torture of straight rides on emptiness was over. And guess what: I had no regrets. Would I do it again? Of course not.


A new chapter in barren.

The road kept folding for a reason. We were going up and up, each up making it colder. Eventually, the scenery grew breathtaking; not in a shockingly beautiful way, but rather in a sense of vastness. We were in the land of gods, tiny, insignificant, weak. I should've taken coco leaves with me.

Breathtaking led to short of breath, and vast drained any energy I had. I could barely keep my eyelids open, and getting off Katirga meant risking falling off my feet. I could hardly stand! Was this the altitude sickness people had been talking about? I thought it merely caused upset stomach and stuff. Maybe I had something else.

For the next hour and a half I was in no shape to drive a motorcycle. So I let Katirga do the job while I merely hung on. Stopping up there at 5000+ meters wouldn't make me better, it would make me freeze. The road showed mercy and wound down. Kat did an incredible job and got us all the way to a tiny village, and I was fine. Some junk food from the micro-market, I was shiny as new.


Alpacas and llamas can be quite dangerous. They are fast, stupid, and camouflage well.





Take a photo of vast to end up with waste.




Down to mortal friendly altitudes.

As we neared Abancay the road became really inspiring. Riding parallel to a deep cyan river as it turned and twisted, I wished I weren't so tired. When we entered town it was 4pm, and I had been riding for seven and a half hours. Cuzco was still within reach, but I had to call it a day. I checked in to the first hotel with parking I came across, for $14 with breakfast. (Hotel Imperial, Av. Diaz Barcenas 517, imperialhotel1@hotmail.com) The hotel had wireless internet but the town didn't have cold beer. What is with people???


Next : Cuzco