Since my last post I had to alter my initial plans quite a bit and I am now back in Peru counting my last hours of this trip.
Due to high prices and cold and bad weather in Chile I decided, after a lot of thinking, not to go all the way down to Patagonia as planned where there is lots of snowstorms and rain right now and turn back around to Bolivia to sell the bike and make my way to Lima to catch my flight back home.
My last update finished with me being in Peru on a beach enjoying the sun after cold temperatures and high altitudes in Colombia and Ecuador. I made my way down on the coast through Piura (where the recent floodings happened) Chiclayo and Trujuillo to then go up in the Andes again to see the beautiful town called Huaraz where I hiked in some of the most beautiul landscapes to lagoones on altitudes over 4000m again.
After the perfectly paved and straight Panamericana I also got my fair share of dirt roads on the way there on the PE-3N which I consider one of the most stunning drives in Peru and recommend to every other overlander.
I oftern get asked wether I am not scared of the crazy drivers here in South America and all the traffic in the cities and even though I have never really gotten into any too sticky situations entering Lima, a city more than 10 million people required a lot of energy and concentrations and definitely was a little scary at points.(I often heard that I can easily skip Lima and that there is nothing to see and just want to say how not true this is and how underrated it is in my opinion.)
Even though the long and never ending roads through the desert sometimes became a bit dull and tiring in Peru I was happy with the big difference in Ernesto’s (the motorcycle) speed and power once we got down to sea level where we spent a lot of time in Peru.
Obviously I cannot go to Peru and miss Macchu Picchu, so I again hit the mountains and followed the PE-30A and PE-3S with two stops inbetween to Cusco. The main city in the area where people embark on their trips to Machu Picchu and other natural sights.
As you cannot drive all the way to where the ascent up to the ruins starts and there are no secure parking options near I decided to leave my bike in Cusco and get a 7 hour minibus instead on an incredibly beautiful mountain road.
Took a 7 hour minibus at 7 in the morning – followed train tracks for 11km – got up at 3.30 am the next morning – started walking up to the ruins at 4 am – 4 h of walking around the ancient site – decended back to the pueblo – 11km walk along the train tracks – 7 h minibus – dead
After that I hit the road again for 400km to get to my final stop in Peru, Puno. I got my first sight of Lake Titicaca which I explored more later in Bolivia which I will include in another post.
Peru has been full of surprises and a large mix of different ladscapes which made it a perfect country for motorbike overlanding.
I got a new chain and new brakes for the bike and was ready for more adventure in Bolivia where I had to deal with even colder weather, higher altitudes, snow and more…
-Same sun- 
I so enjoy reading your blogs. I’m glad I wasn’t the only one who walked the train tracks to MP – what a great adventure and far better than the train journey. Next installment ….
LikeLike
Thanks for sharing your story, the photos look incredible, and you have had an amazing journey! It’s interesting that you mentioned Lima, because a friend of mine from university spent her Year Abroad there when she was learning Spanish, and she loved it!
LikeLike