Peru

Peru is where I spent the most time during my entire year of travelling in South America. There are a huge number of tourist spots in the country. There is so much archaeology alone that they don't have time to dig it up before ‘new’ ancient cities are found. Prices for accommodation and food are much lower than in southern countries, but petrol in Peru costs the same $1.5 per litre of 92. Prices at petrol stations are indicated per gallon. As in Argentina and Chile, you need motorbike insurance. If you don't have international insurance, you can get a local policy, but due to the rare applications of foreigners, you may face difficulties: overpricing and several days of waiting (maybe something has changed now). I have travelled around Peru without insurance and got into unpleasant proceedings with the police on this occasion several times. It is better to get international insurance in advance. In our neighbours in Chile it costs $100 - $150.

Going to Peru, you should immediately forget about the large number of kilometres travelled per unit of time. You can drive predictably and quickly only on the Pan-American Highway. In the cities there is dense traffic from taxis and small motorbikes, and in the countryside there are very narrow and winding mountain roads, often without asphalt.

Peru has three main routes that stretch across the country: the coastal road, also known as the Pan-American Highway, the mountain road through the Andes and the jungle branch. These three directions are connected by local roads. I advise you to get a local paper map in addition to your navigator. But even it does not always objectively reflect the state of the roads. Even if the direction looks good on the map, during the rainy season a bridge could be washed away or a mudflow could come down along with a section of the road. The condition of local roads should be learnt from the locals. Peru has good information centres. For up-to-date information and free maps of the area with tourist spots, look for IPeru offices.

Peru, like the rest of the continent, has two seasons: summer and winter. The main priority when choosing an itinerary is to avoid the rainy season. The dry winter season is from May to October, warm and sunny during the day but cold at night. The summer wet season is from November to April. In the rainy season, there is no need to ride a motorbike in mountainous areas. It washes out the roads and, where higher up, the rain turns to snow. So I travelled through the country in two directions: in summer along the coast and in winter I travelled in the mountains.

Entering Peru via Chile, travelling 450 km from the Chilean border town of Arica to the Peruvian city of Arequipa with its beautiful colonial architecture. Customs didn't turn out very fast with the motorbike. That's how it seemed to me after the simplified Argentine-Chilean crossings. And only after a year of travelling, when I returned to Chile to sell the motorbike, I understood why that first customs from Chile to Peru was long for me. Turns out when I bought the motorbike in Chile I had to wait for the original registration papers. But I didn't know that and travelled with a temporary document in the form of a black and white copy. Peruvians didn't want to let me in with this piece of paper. But I was so sure that I had a full set of documents that I was able to convince the Peruvian customs officials with my foolish confidence. Travelling for a year with these temporary documents I had no more problems, and I crossed the borders between different countries of South America many times. And only after a year in Chile during the sale of the motorbike at the registration centre they were very surprised how I was able to travel without original documents for so long.

Arequipa is the second largest city in Peru, located in the southern part of the country at an altitude of 2300 metres. The city is located at the foot of the dormant El Misti volcano, between the coastal desert and the Andes mountain range. Currently, Arequipa is the largest financial, industrial and commercial centre in southern Peru and the second industrial region in the country after Lima.

In Peru, the land is riddled with wrinkles of mountain gorges. The Arequipa region is home to two of the deepest canyons on the planet: Colca (3,400 metres) and Cotahuasi (3,530 metres). I am more interested in Cotahuasi as it is the deepest canyon in the world.

I'm getting used to the high altitude. On the way to the canyon I will see the Valley of Volcanoes on the Andagua River 380 km north of Arequipa and the petroglyphs of Toro Muerto. The roads will not be easy, without asphalt and with altitudes up to 5000 m. And after returning to Arequipa in a week, I will be looking for a group to climb the Chachani volcano. Now it is low season and there are not many people willing to climb. And it is expensive for me to pay for an individual climbing package.

In the evening I decided to celebrate the arrival in Peru and the beginning of a new stage of the trip. Tried cuy for the first time. I also took some potatoes, vegetables and a couple of pisco sour. After expensive Chile here such a set of food was not expensive at all. The cuy itself was not to my liking. Neither fish nor meat was about it. Later I learned that cuy is the cheapest food in the villages, but for tourists it became exotic and cuy began to be cooked in expensive city restaurants. Сuy smelled of fish because animals are fed with flour from fish waste to save money.

I'm in the village of Chukibamba. Tomorrow I plan to drive to Cotahuasi Canyon. Here the asphalt ends and the highlands begin. Now around 3000m the bike starts to choke after 2500 on steep climbs.

Reporting on the petroglyphs of Toro Muerto. Tired of riding my motorcycle in the sand there. The drawings on the stones are almost all erased by time, there is little left legible. It was possible not to waste effort and time on this site.

Drove out of Chuquibamba this morning, I'm above the clouds. Going to the deepest canyon on the Earth. The road serpentines immediately raised over 4000 meters. At such altitude there is quite ordinary life - alpacas grazing, birds flying. To Cotahuasi the road wanders between two snowy peaks Solimana - 6090 meters and Coropuna - 6425 meters.

Black volcanic earth and colorful valleys. The bike rides well, I got a headache. After 5 hours and 200 km, I arrived at the edge of the canyon. Went down to the village at the bottom, checked into a hostel. I ate, slept a little, my headache went away. I'll be in the canyon for a few days. From all the many trails on the map I singled out hikes to the waterfall, stone forest, the deepest place in the canyon, thermal pools and one site with archaeology.

The village of Pampamarca. Here the map draws a site called Bosque de piedras (Stone Forest). The 30 km along the Mungi River is traveled leisurely in 2 hours. The motorcycle with belongings cannot be left outside. I ask the locals to look after my stuff, I took the equipment to their yard, left the bike on the street. I had a backpack with valuables and water. It took about two hours to get up there. It was good that the group for climbing Chachani volcano was not gathered when I was in Arequipa. Going to 6000 without acclimatization would have been hell. Even here the altitude is felt and I found it very difficult to walk. Technically it's not difficult, just walk, but it's hard, my heart is jumping out of my chest. After climbing to the top I was rewarded with a view of the whole canyon and the stone forest - an unusual creation of nature.

The descent was much easier, and after about 30 minutes I was already in the village. The hostess of the only restaurant had gone downstairs and my hopes for a full meal were not realized. Funny how there are two positioning of people's whereabouts here, downstairs and upstairs. When the locals want to find one of the people, they ask where the person went, up or down.

Good thing I took some food with me. Ate my supplies not without the help of the local kids. Going down to the thermal pools to relax. The Luicho pools are 20 kilometers from Cotahuasi Village. Three pools with different temperatures: 40, 35 and 41 degrees. I took the third one - hotter, it is the most expensive and cozy. The first one was cheaper and no worse, but there were a lot of people there because it was Sunday.

On the way to the observation point, from where you can watch condors flying, I fell on my bike in the sand and pulled my ankle. I lay down for five minutes next to the bike and hobbled to the observation point, but during this time the sky had darkened and the condors had stopped flying. They need the warm air currents heated by the sun's rays. Their wings are so huge that they can only plan in these currents at high altitude, searching out prey below. If my injuries from the fall on my motorcycle had been more serious, these huge birds of prey probably would have carried me off as well. I had seen pictures in the local papers of condors taking down large pets with their huge talons and strong paws.

There are 11 villages in the canyon, scattered at different altitudes and in different parts of the canyon. The capital and the canyon itself have the same name, Cotahuasi, after the river that flows through the bottom of the canyon. From here the roads to the rest of the villages go.

Going to the village of Puyca. The village is located 40 km from Cotahuasi. From here there is a trail to the largest Inca ruins in the canyon and probably in this village is the most remote soccer field. It took about 2 hours to get up there by motorcycle. Got a ride from a local guy on the way. The road is hard, rocks and uphill all the time. From the village to the ruins is another 40 minutes to climb on foot. The ruins didn't impress me much, but the views are beautiful. There were condors circling overhead, one of the biggest birds in the world. I returned to Сotahuasi in the dark. I will sit down in the village for a few days, waiting for my ankle to heal. And as soon as I can walk without pain I will go to the deepest place in the canyon.

Behind the village of Quechualla is the deepest place in the canyon. To get there you first have to drive to the village of Velinga, about 30 km. It takes 2 hours. The road in one lane goes along the abyss, there are almost no passing places for cars, and cows walk around, interfering with the traffic. Beautiful and extreme road. At the end of the road there is a guarded parking lot for donkeys, where you can leave your motorcycle. Next people walk on foot, moving loads to the village of Quechualla on donkeys. On the way back up the canyon people carry huge bags on donkeys to the arriving bus to go up to the canyon capital Cotahuasi and sell the fruit and wine. While people take the bus to the village, the donkeys wait for days for their owners in a special parking lot.

Walking along the beautiful path down the gorge takes about 3 more hours. I find a camera on the trail. I look at the photos and see locals on donkeys who came by bus and went ahead of me on their donkeys. I soon caught up with them and got the camera back, which they were very happy about. By lunchtime was in Quechualla, only 12 people live there. It's a beautiful place with its own unique climate. There are oranges, mangoes, grapes, sweet cacti and watermelons.

I checked in with a local resident Rafael, who wants to develop tourism in this deepest place on the planet. After lunch we went fishing with him. We catch river trout and shrimps, which look more like crayfish. Passing along the river with a seine we gathered a couple of kilograms of fish for dinner in an hour. We had a snack of sweet cactus and went back to the village. The next day at 5 am we got up and went back. Tomorrow will be a fiesta with a bullfight in another canyon village. I want to watch the local fiesta and will be getting out of the canyon.

The audience took their seats. The music began to play. The stands froze. The first bull came out! But he did not catch up with people, and to the amusement of the spectators broke through the fence with his mighty forehead and went quietly to nibble grass. And so it went on several times. The spectators whistled and were disappointed by the lack of a show. And when no one expected intrigue, the weakest and skinniest bull came out. From him nobody expected desire and strength to fight with the bullfighters. But to the astonishment of the tribunes this bull had claims to people and started to throw them left and right and did not want to stop. To drive the bull back into the pen they had to use a proven method. They brought a white female cow, led her into the pen in front of the bull, he immediately fell in love and followed her. It seems that not a single bull was hurt in this bullfight. People are almost all unharmed, except for one drunken cowboy, who made a fool of himself in front of the audience and was punished by the bull. But even he left on his own feet, he was lured into the corral by free beer.

After leaving the canyon, I went to look for the Valley of Volcanoes, but without success. It started snowing at 4800 m, I reached 5000 m and gave up this idea. Soon all this snow will start to melt and I'll be stuck in mud somewhere. Three zones changed during this day: snow, green gorge valleys and desert. With the rain, drove into Arequipa.

Tomorrow I'm going to Chachani volcano. I left my contacts at the mountain tourism agency. From there they called me to the hostel and told me that there were a few people willing to climb. Our group of 4 people: Germans Naomi and David, Slovak Danica, me and guide Ivan (has nothing to do with Russia, but the name is Russian). We met at 8 am to try on the rented equipment. The Germans and Slovak came with all their equipment. Two backpacks each. I was wearing flip-flops, shorts and only my boots under my arm, everything else had to be rented.

Volcano Chachani 6075 meters. From the Quechua language translates - beautiful. It took us 2 hours to get to the mountains. The season of mass climbing hasn't started yet. Because of difficult weather conditions we put the camp where the car could reach. Usually on the first day we have to go to the assault camp, but it was snowing and we decided to spend the night at the car. This means that the whole trek to the summit and back will have to be completed tomorrow in one day.

We had dinner at 16:00 and went to bed. Up at 00:00, out at 01:00. It is bad to sleep at 5000 m altitude without acclimatization. Half an hour later my head started to ache. I tossed and turned, slept for 2 hours only. At midnight everyone crawled out of tents. I couldn't eat my breakfast, I felt nauseous. I drank sweet tea and brewed a mug of coke. Packed backpacks, only the essentials: water, some food, crampons. All the clothes are on, it's cold.

As soon as we went, I felt better. My head hurts, but not too much. After the first ascent a Slovakian woman wanted to go back to the camp. The guide went with her, but they both came back, he persuaded her to continue. Break. On the faces we can read the bad condition of the whole group. The German woman vomits on the trail, but continues to walk. We go slowly. The guide is first, I'm behind. It's good that I rented trekking poles, it's much easier to walk with them.

It's night, you can't see anything, only stars, a huge number of stars.
After a couple hours the girls refuse to go. The guide shows David and I the trail and he leads the girls back to camp. The trail is poorly visible, David lags behind. Before that the guide warned us that if any of us feel bad, we all go back. I give David the sticks, just so he doesn't stop. It's cold. While waiting for David, I'm getting cold and freezing. The main ascent has started, here I give up, I often have a rest. We are waiting for dawn, Ivan is still not here. Further only snow, no trail. David is feeling better and is rushing forward. I have to slow him down, it is dangerous to go further without a trail without a guide.

Finally Ivan catches up with us. There are about 4 of the hardest hours left to the summit. I say I'll go, and David agrees. I keep up with the guide, it's easier when you know that there is someone who knows the mountain. We reach dense snow and put on crampons. David keeps lagging behind and finally decides not to go further. According to the rules there should be 2 guides for 4 people, so that one could help with the descent of refuseniks, but they save on it. The prices are so low for climbing that nobody thinks about long acclimatization and additional guides. In the end I am left alone from the group and Ivan has the right to finish the ascent. I ask Ivan to assess David's condition and let him go down alone so we can continue. Thanks to David for supporting me then and saying that he would reach the camp by himself. Ivan and I went further up. It seems that the summit is near, but it's deceptive. I was running out of strength, so I told Ivan that I couldn't go any further. He answers that there is nothing left, three sections of 40 minutes each. That's a lot for me. Several times I wanted to finish the ascent, but Ivan motivated me to keep going, for which I thank him very much. We will be friends with him and will climb Aconcagua (6960m) together a year later.

Finally we reach the summit, I take a photo at the cross. This is my first trek to the height of 6075m. But the ascent is considered successful only after the descent. And I have to suffer a few more hours on the way down.

I spend another week in Arequipa, resting from climbing and taking Spanish lessons. 3 hours a day for a week. The lessons are near the market where I go every day to drink fruit juices.

About food and where it's served.
Restaurante
Cheap, fast, hearty. Simple monotonous lunches and dinners. Lots of rice and Caldo - a traditional soup with potatoes, rice and a piece of meat.

Chifa
Chinese food made by Peruvians. My favorite thing about Peruvian chifas is the vantan soup. I avoid chifas with Chinese staff, several times they served rotten food.

Polleria
(pollo - chicken) The traditional Peruvian dinner on the street - fries and spit-roasted chicken - you will see Pollo a la brasa signs everywhere you go.

Picanteria
Local traditional food restaurants. More expensive than street restaurants by 2-3 times. The food is more refined.

Cevicheria
Ceviche - raw fish, shrimp, oysters in lemon sauce with onions
Ceviche de pescado (fish)
Ceviche de camaron.
Mixto (fish, shrimp, oysters).

Mercado
Market. There are always food stalls in every market. Same as street restaurants, only even cheaper. Food is varied and despite the appearance of unsightly products are fresh, because they do not have time to spoil. In the markets you can buy delicious natural juices.

Tomorrow is my last Spanish class. Once you get settled in one place, it's hard to get back on the road. I packed my things, said goodbye to everyone and went. I missed Arequipa for a long time, but then it became easier, new impressions, people, new interesting places wiped away the longing for the White city (Arequipa) and its inhabitants

I like Peru because you don't have to travel far to get to the next interesting place. The country is packed with sights, both natural and archaeological.

From Arequipa, I drive to Nazca, 600 kilometers. I entered the city in the evening. Drove closer to the center. I thought that Nazca will be boring, but the city is alive, the center is very nice, cozy - green, everywhere there are portraits of Reiche, who devoted her whole life to studying the mysterious lines of Nazca.

The Nazca Lines are a group of giant geometric and figural geoglyphs on the Nazca Plateau in southern Peru. On the plateau, which stretches more than
50 km from north to south and 7 km from west to east, today about 30 drawings are known (bird, monkey, spider, flowers, etc.), as well as about 13 thousand lines and stripes and about 700 geometric figures (triangles and trapezoids, as well as about a hundred spirals). Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994. The lines raise many questions for historians - who created them, when, why and how. Indeed, it is impossible to see many geoglyphs from the ground, so it remains to assume that with the help of such patterns the ancient inhabitants of the valley communicated with the deity or aliens. In addition to ritual, the astronomical meaning of these lines is not excluded. Regarding the time of creation of the lines, most studies attribute their creation to the Nazca civilization, which inhabited the plateau before the II century AD.

The drawings did not impress much, but the lines are steep, they stretch for tens of kilometers and say that the deviation is quite minimal from the trajectory. The flight itself also impressed on the airplane. I ate ice cream to let go from the height of the flight, it was hot at the top by the way, we flew with an open window.

At noon that same day I was on my way to Ica, the capital of the province of the same name. There I was interested in the Cabrera Stone Museum in the Plaza de Armas. I stop at a tourist policeman, there are such in Peru, to ask how to get to the square, he escorted me on the same motorcycle as my Honda Tornado.

The woman, the heiress of the museum's creator, told me a long story about how Dr. Cabrera interpreted the drawings on the stones. It was mostly about aliens. It is believed that the stones were and are found from the mummy graves of pre-Inca civilizations. According to an alternative version, enterprising Indians carved drawings on the stones and sold them to Cabrera under the guise of ancient finds. The museum is private and officially in Peru is not recognized, they do not want to believe that people lived together with dinosaurs, as drawn on the stones.

If you literally look at the drawings, ancient people fought with dinosaurs, then operated on each other and then fucked in various sophisticated ways. There are stones with insects, a map of the continents, animals, and many stones related to medicine. Some stones are really impressive in that the pattern on them is higher than the main surface of the stone.

I decided not to stop for the night in Ica and went to spend the night to the ocean in Paracasa, having traveled another 100 km. The closer to the equator, the earlier it gets dark, if in Argentina and Chile it got dark by 20:00, here it is 18-19.

Constant traveling and several tourist spots a day eats up a lot of money. You need to hang around periodically at some cheap place to keep a balance between money and time. I have more time than money, I'm in South America for a whole year, so I have to save money to last that long. The average cost per month is between 1000 and 2000 dollars. It's quite a budget trip, but in general I have enough for everything.

Bought a boat ticket to the Ballestas Islands at the hostel for tomorrow. Liked Paracas at night - ocean, quiet, peaceful. About 600 residents, almost all working with tourists. The boats only run until lunchtime so as not to disturb the animals on the islands all day. At 8 am all the tourist rabble on the shore in the order of the queue is loaded into the boats. Stood in line for over an hour. The new wider pier was still under construction at the time. But the wait was worth it. The islands and sailing to them are pleasantly impressive, boats with powerful motors, go very well. There are sea lions, penguins, many birds and the islands themselves are cool with arches and beautiful bays.

From Paracas I drive to Pisco, only 20 km down the Panamericana. There I see the ruins of Tombo Colorado, which is another 50 km off the highway. The ruins are considered the most natural on the entire coast. Besides me there were 2 Peruvians at the ruins and a guide, an old Swiss guy who lives here. When he first came here in the early 80's, there were still people living in the ruins. The mud-brick complex was built in the late 15th century and was used by the Incas as an administrative center and control post on the main road from the coast to the mountains.

And here I am in Lima, the capital of Peru. While driving in traffic, it got dark. Checked into a hostel in the Miraflores neighborhood. My hostel is the most beautiful in almost 5 months of traveling. It looks like it used to be a non low category hotel - stone bathroom, big sofas, courtyard with a fountain. Went for a walk and dinner. The neighborhood is considered upscale, no yellow Tico cabs here, but no cheap Menu Del Dia for dining out. We need to either change neighborhoods or get out of the capital. Tomorrow I'll change the oil in the motor and go downtown and look around.

The next day I went for a walk. The neighborhood turned out to be more interesting than it seemed to me last night. The area is far from the center, I walked about 25 kilometers. Went to the San Francisco monastery with catacombs. Tomorrow I'll visit the museums of gold and national history.

Went to the gold museum. The tradition of trepanning skulls with inserts of gold plates for decoration is characteristic of the Paracas culture. How they did it to keep people alive is unclear.

More than a century ago, archaeologists discovered several fragments of household utensils made of pottery, which turned out to be at least 4 thousand years old. Despite such a solid age, the finds were primitive enough to be forgotten. But in 1994 in these places passed a powerful Pacific hurricane, washed away a layer of sand from the area near the village of Karal. Under it, as it turned out, many centuries were buried ruins of the oldest city in the Americas. In 2009, Caral was inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List as an exceptionally well-preserved example of the architecture and urban planning of the ancient Peruvian civilization. Archaeologists believe the city is about 5,000 years old. Only one petroglyph on stone has been found here - a spiral, which has become the symbol of the modern country. The ancient city is located 200 km north of Lima.

I went 100 km north, to Сasma, to spend the night. Driving at night is difficult, no one turns off the high beam. In Casma, I checked in near the square. Private room with parking, shower and internet. Ate the traditional chicken for dinner and went to bed.

Sechin is an archaeological site 5 km from the town of Casma. A very interesting site with clear drawings engraved on the stones. The artistic characters can be divided into two groups: warriors (priests) and victims, as well as their remains (heads, limbs, eyes, viscera and bones). All in all, not very kind art was a few thousand years ago in these parts.

Temple of the Sun and Moon 5 km from the town of Trujillo. Chimu culture. The pyramids were built of mud bricks about 1800 years ago. For me, they are the most impressive ruins on the Peruvian coast because of the perfectly preserved drawings.

Chan Chan is another site near Trujillo. The clay city was established in the fourteenth century. It was probably the largest city of its time on the continent. At its greatest heyday, it was home to about 60,000 people. At the end of the XV century, the Incas came here, but could not take Chan Chan by military means. The attackers built a dam to turn the river on which the city stood. The lack of water forced the besieged to surrender to the Incas. After the Inca conquest, the city began to lose its importance. However, it was not the Incas, who were more intent on expanding their empire than wealth, who destroyed and looted it. The destruction came when the Inca Empire was taken over by the Spanish.

I bought an Inca cola and went to the beach. No people on the beach. Walked along the ocean, took a nap and drove back. The next day the motorcycle was covered with oxides from salt, the wind from the ocean blew. Got pulled over by the cops, and insurance problems again. The first time I pretended I didn't understand what they wanted me to do. The second time, they wanted to take me to the station, but they let me go when I told them I'd been driving for five months and I'd be out of the country tomorrow. This time I got something that didn't work before. Gave the Chilean policy saying it was international insurance.

When I arrived in Huanchaco, I ate two menus del dia and a bottle of beer I've had since Lima. I won't be here long either. Too many gringos. It's a party place with a surfing bias. Tomorrow, Chiclayo to the Ecuadorian border.

I got a flat tire on the way to Chiclayo. While I was getting the tire fixed, a woman from the private sector was haranguing me about how dangerous it was to be here and that I should leave the place as soon as possible. I had to ask her to leave, which was pretty rude. And it seems La bruja had jinxed me. Fifteen minutes later I had an accident.

The navigator's charger broke. I turned down the brightness of the screen so that the batteries would last longer. As I entered Chiclayo, I started looking for the turnoff to the museum. I was distracted from the road, looking at the dim screen of the navigator, and did not notice that a Toyota HiLux pickup truck stopped in front of me. The impact came on the right side of the steering wheel, it was good that the protection of hands is good, thanks to this hand remained intact, although the whole steering wheel bent. My right leg was pinned by the motorcycle, and with my left leg I struggled to lift it and got out. The motorcycle was lifted and rolled to the side of the road with the help of a passing cab driver and the owner of a pickup truck.

I have to go to the hospital, I can't step on my foot. But you can't leave your motorcycle and your stuff behind. We rolled the bike to the airport commissary next door. In a pickup truck, accompanied by a policeman's girlfriend, went to the hospital. There's some kind of equipment problem at the first one. We went to another one. They took him in right away. I took off my shoe, my foot was swollen, they sent me for a scan.

The radiologist, having taken a picture, said that the bones were intact, but sent me back to the doctor. The doctor confirmed it, prescribed painkillers, anti-inflammatory drugs, a bandage and let me go, saying that it was a severe sprain and it should get better in a couple of weeks. I paid only $20 for the consultation and x-ray.

All this time the pickup driver and the policeman were waiting for me. When I got to the car, they wheeled me to the hospital on a chair and drove me back to the police station. There everything was formalized and they sent me to be tested for alcohol.

They took fingerprints, then blew into tubes with pink liquid through cocktail tubes, the color didn't change - so I didn't drink. After the tubes, they also took blood from my vein.

Back to the station, on the way I'm thinking about what to do next. We have to somehow find a hotel and get the bike there. The owner of the pickup truck refused to make any claims, even money for the broken flashlight he didn't want to take. The cops let me go without any fines either. I roll the bike out of the station to try to ride with a bent handlebar and a sore leg. Slowly, I got it. Rode down the streets, all the hotels are located on the second floor of the buildings, which I can't go up with a sore leg.

I see a sign for a hospedaje with a garage service. I check in under any conditions, as long as there's a garage. Any conditions turned out to be $12 for a room with a TV and a bathroom. Having bargained, discounted to 10 $, but it turned out that they do not have a garage, and there is a paid parking lot two blocks away, for which I was offered to pay an additional 2 $ per day. I had no more strength to look for something else, so I stayed here. I checked in, washed up and went to bed. I tossed and turned all night, waking up with pain.

Can't step on my foot in the morning. But I have to go looking for breakfast somehow. I ask the hotel owners for a stick, bandage my leg and go to the restaurant around the corner. But how far it turns out to be!

After two weeks, the swelling has gone down, there is still a bruise, but I can walk, I can step on my foot. I managed to repair the bike during this time and in a couple of days I'm going to Ecuador.

After waiting out the rainy season in Ecuador and Colombia, I return to the mountainous part of Peru to cross the country once more, through the White Cordillera, where in the heart of this mountain range I want to make a ring route called Ruta del Gran Chavin near Huascarán, the highest mountain in the country. Drive through one of the highest road passes Punto Olimpico. See high-altitude dinosaur footprints among the many picturesque lagoons and colorful lakes. And, of course, archaeology with its many ancient cities and endless mysteries.

Arrived in Chachapoyas. The Chachapoya were a pre-Columbian culture located in what is now the Department of Amazonas. The inhabitants of this culture created many stone monuments and a large number of sarcophagi and mausoleums in inaccessible places. On the way I went to Gocta waterfall, one of the highest in the world (771 m). In the village of Cocachimba they charge a few for the entrance to the trail. The trail to the waterfall is 6 km, walking about 2 hours one way through the mountains. Descended, ate lunch and drove. At three o'clock I was already in Chachapoyas (the administrative center of the Amazonas region). Chachapoyas has everything: hostels, travel agencies, ATMs. I settled near the square. What interests me in the neighborhood: Kuepal archaeological complex, Quiocta cave, Karajia sarcophagi, Revash tomb, mummy museum in Leymebamba.

Kuelyap is a town in the form of a fortress on top of a 3000 m high mountain. It was built in the 10th century. It consists of several hundred small round-shaped dwellings. The town is protected on one side by a cliff, on the other by a stone wall with a very narrow entrance.

Karahia is an archaeological site 50 km from Chachapoyas. About 250 sarcophagi made of soil and stones and resembling human beings were discovered in the cave in 1983. Inside are mummies. These are the soldiers standing high up in a niche in the sheer cliff face. That's why they remained intact and not smashed up in search of gold like the others.

Kiokta is a cave with signs of ancient civilizations in the form of rock paintings and human remains. A cool place to diversify your adventures with numerous archaeological sites.

The Revash burial complex is located on the road between Chachapoyas and Leymebamba. The burial vaults are built in the rocks. They belong to the Chachapoyas culture of the pre-Inca period, dated to about the 14th century A.D. In the Chachapoya culture, burials were based on hierarchy. The elite were buried in individual sarcophagi, the mass mausoleums were for the less fortunate. The joints were broken to make them sit more compact with their knees and elbows to their chests.

The site is on the road to Leimebamba. There are two ways to get there from the road. From below in 1.5 hours or from above from the village of San Bortolo in 30 minutes. I didn't go from below, there is nowhere to leave the bike except on the road. I went up. But I didn't make it. One could guess at once why tourists are taken from the lower road. The road turned out to be clay, and after the rain it turned into slippery oil. I left the bike in the vegetable garden of the locals and went on foot. I asked the locals for directions a couple of times, I was surprised that people confuse left and right, one woman even asked me where her left hand was and where her right hand was in Spanish. This is because they live so traditionally here that they always speak Quechua, Spanish is secondary here. To the crypts there is a stone path of 2 km.

Reached Leimebamba. Here is a museum of mummies, with about 200 occupants of the sarcophagi that I had toured earlier. Strange museum, looks like a crypt inside.

In Leimebamba checked into the plaza for $8, bike inside the hotel. There was a twitch in the chain area. The chain did not stretch evenly, apparently because I over tightened it. Now I will have to replace the chain. I'll have it done in Cajamarca.

It's going to be a rough ride. The first section is Leymebamba to Balsas. At the pass in the morning it is cold, the road is unpaved but trampled. Behind the pass for about 40 minutes stood up because of repairs. Girls almost always control the traffic on the repair sites. Behind the pass begins asphalt, narrow and very beautiful one-lane. I entered Balsas at the beginning of the tenth. I had lunch for breakfast.

Balsas is located at the bottom of a canyon, hot. The road is a high-speed dirt road with a precipice, dangerous. Before every closed corner, I signal so that I can be heard on the other side. That's how they all signal, and the signs before the turns - honk the horn on them.

I entered Selendin at noon. It's a big city, the capital of the province. Got gas. The road to Cajamarca is closed due to repairs until 18:00, but there is a detour to the repair section. Scary word in the mountains - detour. In an hour I drove out on the main new road along the stone road. Happiness of the new road lasted about 5 kilometers, then again dirt and repairs. I got to Cajamarca at three o'clock. Had lunch. Near the central square I checked into a hotel. 250 kilometers in 8 hours. That's just the Peruvian-mountain average speed of 30 km/h. I went to Honda. There are two stores in Cajamarca. I bought a chain. Before we go further through the mountains we need to change the chain and rubber and the clutch cable started to tear. Tomorrow I'm going down to the ocean in Trujillo, there I'll service the bike and then I'll go back to the mountains through Chimbote.

On the way back I stopped at a car wash to wash my bike. I went back to the hotel and the lights were out. I gave my camera battery to a neighboring store to charge and went to lunch. In the afternoon I look at the city sights. In Cajamarca the last Inca ruler Atahualpa was captured by Spaniards and subsequently killed.

The events at Cajamarca were the culmination of months of confrontation using diplomacy, espionage and subterfuge between Francisco Pizarro and the Inca ruler Atahualpa. Pizarro had no more than 200 men, so they were struck with fear when they saw the Inca army of many thousands assembled by Atahualpa, but it was too late to retreat. Pizarro believed that the weakness shown would lead to ruin even more quickly. The Spanish and the Incas tried to make an intimidating impression on each other.

Thanks to his spies, Atahualpa knew that the people before him were men, not gods. At the same time, he was amazed at the Spaniards' possession of firearms that were incomprehensible to the Incas, as well as horses that the Incas had never seen before. Pizarro's envoy tried to convince Atahualpa that the Spaniards wanted to serve Atahualpa, and offered to visit the halted Pizarro with a detachment at Cajamarca, to which Atahualpa rashly agreed. Atahualpa sent his commander-in-chief Ruminyawi to cut off the Spanish retreat, and himself at the head of nearly eighty thousand procession went to Cajamarca.

It is not known for certain why he took about 7,000 men from the immediate neighborhood into the city itself, leaving the guns and the rest of the army outside the city. Atahualpa may have decided to demonstrate that he had arrived in peace. It is also believed that he probably assumed that the Spaniards were afraid of him, since only the priest came out to meet him and the rest of the force was in the houses. The Spaniards were essentially in ambush and had decided in advance to attack and capture Atahualpa. To justify their actions, they sent a priest to offer Atahualpa and his people to convert to Christianity, realizing that he would refuse.

Atahualpa, unfamiliar with either books or letters, threw the Bible held out to him to the ground, whereupon, on Pizarro's orders, a volley of artillery was fired at the Indians. Out of the ambush sprang knights on horseback, literally cutting their way through to the Inca ruler. Then the rest of the Spanish force joined the attack. The Incas tried to save their ruler, but, unfamiliar with the cold and firearms of the Spaniards, were defeated. Atahualpa was taken prisoner. The Incas after the capture of the ruler were actually completely disorganized, the survivors of this brutal massacre scattered.

Near the Plaza de armas there is a museum - the only Inca building preserved in Cajamarca - it is believed that Atahualpa was held captive here. The museum was under restoration, you can see it only from the outside

Cajamarca to Trujillo. About 300 kilometers. Asphalt. Half of the way - down the canyon to the coast. The other half is desert. The Peruvian part of Panamericana is wind, garbage, sand, traffic. On the way into town I stopped at a big Honda store. No hostels in the navigator, but there are 10 in Huanchaco nearby. I need to go to the city itself, I've been to the gringo in Huanchaco, but I haven't seen Trujillo itself. I went to the square, there are always hostels and hotels in the neighborhood. The city is big, on the square itself only expensive hotels, but a few blocks from the square, what I need. On the third try I found a hostel with parking inside, internet and even hot water. On motorcycle street - Av. Peru bought rear tires Pirelli Scorpion, clutch cable, hub bearings, oil, chain lube. Tomorrow I'll do the repairs.

There were 2 cannabis bushes growing in the hostel where I live. On Monday, the hostess decided to remove them, and instead of feeding the weed to the gringos, she called the police like an honest person and asked where do I turn in the cannabis plants? In the city today the newspapers came out with headlines “Marijuana being grown in hotels”. For two days, TV comes to the hostel.

Cordillera Blanca (White Mountain Range). The range runs parallel to the Pacific coast and is 180 km long. The highest point is Mount Huascarán (6768 m), with a total of 14 peaks surpassing 6000 m in elevation. Cordillera Blanca is the largest glaciated area in the tropical Andes.

The road Trukhiyo - Uaras, through Kasma, is 350 km. The road is good, asphalt. Rolling on serpentines, you think where is this Cordillera Blanca? Then a small plateau at the top and a number of six-thousanders with white caps above the town of Huaraz opens up at once.

The day after tomorrow I will leave on the route: Huaraz - Chavin - San Marcos - Huari - San Luis - Chacas - Punta Olimpica - Huaraz. Called Ruta del Gran Chavin. The route of averageb tourists is little known, I saw it in one of the photo albums in Arequipa and wanted to pass it. Mountain passes, beautiful roads, archeology.

Day one. Huaraz - Chavin. 110 km. After leaving the main road, there are views of the white peaks. The road goes up to the Sawish tunnel at an altitude of 4500 meters.

In an hour I enter Chavin. Immediately went to the ruins, they are right in the city. To walk lightly around the ruins, I leave my equipment in the security room. I take my camera and go ahead.
Everything started as usual, stones, ruins, mounds not yet dug up. Nothing new. I already wanted to finish the inspection, but I saw a group of children going down somewhere, and then the signs to the underground galleries. And it was the first time I had seen such underground stone labyrinths. Very atmospheric place.

Culture Chavin - pre-Columbian civilization that existed in the northern highlands of the Andes from 900 BC to 200 BC. It is believed that the city was the religious center of the Chavin civilization. Chavin is on the UNESCO list of cultural heritage.

The temple is built of white granite and black limestone, both rocks not found in the vicinity of Chavin. Chavin culture has had a major influence on other civilizations, the local distinctive style of stone carving and pottery is present on the coast and in the jungle. The quality of the stone work, workmanship and patterns is amazing.

On the way out I bought a t-shirt as a memento of this favorite place.

Finished the sightseeing at noon, decided to stay overnight in Chavin. Cut a few circles, there are many hotels. Prices are high, more expensive than in Huaraz. The hotels are run for some reason by grandmothers who don't want to bargain at all. Checked in at the square for 10$. Toilet on the floor, no internet and good. I'll take a break from it.

Day two. Departing Chavin at 6am. The road to the largest quarry in South America called Antamina. It takes about 2 hours to get to Antamina on a mountain road with no asphalt. A loaded motorcycle at an altitude after 4000 meters goes downhill very reluctantly, only in first gear.

Antamina (Anta - copper in Quechua, mina - open pit in Spanish). The Antamina complex is one of the world's largest mining and processing plants for copper and zinc ores. The ore body is located at an altitude of 4300 meters. At such an altitude it is difficult for both people and machines to work. To access the deposit, 210 kilometers of roads had to be built. The complex includes an open pit, a concentrator, and a 302 km long underground pipeline to transport concentrate to the port. Most of the pipeline runs under the road. When laying the roads, the tops of some ridges had to be cut off by 292 meters. The open pit is 2 km long and 1 km wide. The weather poses additional challenges as it is the rainy season from September to May. Roads had to be built to suit these conditions. Most of the 1400 employees of the plant come to the enterprise from different cities.

Next I'm going to look for dinosaur tracks. We have to cross the quarry. Beyond the workers' town, the asphalt starts to get good. Beautiful lagoons one after the other, one after the other. High and cold.

In 2005, during the construction of a road for the needs of the quarry, more than a hundred dinosaur footprints were discovered. The approximate age is 120 million years old. The footprints are located at an altitude of 4600 meters.

Day 3. Huari - San Luis, 90 km and 2.5 hours on smooth highlands without asphalt. In San Luis I fill up from a watering can for 2$ per liter. Beyond Chacas the Huascaran National Park begins. I barely crawl to the pass with stops for photos and to cool down the motorcycle. Very beautiful, the road goes up to the glaciers. The motorcycle is getting heavier with every hundred meters vertically. At the top there is a tunnel, the longest in Peru and one of the highest in the world. I crawl up the muddy slope to get over the ridge. I climbed up with great difficulty, I thought to take off my bags, but we crawled up.
Pass Punta Olimpica 5015 m. After the pass a new asphalt begins, I return to Huaraz, behind there is a huge Huascaran 6768 m, the summit of Peru.

After resting for a while in Huaraz, I head to Santa Cruz trekking. The most popular trekking route in the White Cordelera. The distance of 50 km is hiked in 3 or 4 days. Altitude: 3500 - 4700 meters. I take the necessary equipment for rent: a large backpack, a normal tent, a warm sleeping bag, a burner with utensils. It remains to buy gas and food.

The route is for 3-4 days. There are no settlements or restaurants along the way. You need to take food with you. There is always water, the trail goes along the river, numerous streams and waterfalls are present. The end of May is an excellent time for this trek - it is not hot during the day and there is no rain.

The route was not without problems, on the last day I slipped on the sand and cut my knee on a rock. At the exit from the national park I went to a medical station in the village. They washed the cut, bandaged it and let me go, I came back with ice-cream, treated the girl at the medical center for her help and took a cab to Karas, there I took a shuttle bus to Huaraz. Trekking was good. I saw the mountains, walked around. Now I have to wait a couple of days for my knee to heal, rest and then I can go further.

I made it to Cusco through the mountains! 1500 km in 6 days. Huaraz - Huanuco - Huancayo - Ayacucho - Chincheros - Abancay - Cusco. Every day passes above 4000 m where it is very cold, especially in the morning. A lot of road repairs.

I liked Cusco at first sight. Got there and got sick. I've been in bed for two days. Yesterday I went to lunch and dinner, but today I only made it through lunch. Three blocks up to the hotel, I can barely make it, I'm very weak. Temperature, cold all the time, even with clothes on and under two blankets. My body is weakened from cold and tension, I was freezing at the top all week while I was coming here.

Sat in the hotel for a few days and when I felt better, I set off to explore the ruins around Cusco and get in shape for the long trek to Machu Picchu. Cusco is the capital of the ancient peoples who inhabited the region before the arrival of the Spanish. Here are concentrated the most impressive ruins of ancient cities, temples and corn and potato farms, full of mysteries about their origins.

Спустившись с горы, сел на автобус до города Ollantaytambo (Ойантайтамбо), где находится один из передовых инкских колхозов и, на мой взгляд, самый крутой сайт с руинами в окрестностях Куско. Пообедал и сразу на грядки. Огромный город расположен был на нескольких горах. Очень много туристов. Здесь есть массовые проявления высоких технологий строительства, секреты, которых гиды трактуют совершенно по-разному: инопланетяне, утерянные технологии, рабский труд. Камни действительно крутые!

The route to Machu Picchu via Choquequirao is one of the most challenging treks in the area of Peru's famous ancient cities. The complexity of the route is in its length and difficult terrain with a daily altitude difference of more than 1000 meters. Every day you have to climb up steep slopes to go back down again, overcoming mountain gorges one after another.

I find out information in IPeru and travel agencies. I rented equipment: a sleeping bag for low temperatures, a backpack for 60 liters, a burner with utensils, a mat. I bought food, two cylinders of gas and trekking poles.

Day one. The trek starts from the village of Cachora. It takes 4 hours to get there from Cusco by bus to Abancay. The buses leave from the Terestre terminal. I get off the bus at the turnoff to Cachora. Ate chicharon (oil fried pork with boiled potatoes, fresh onions and mint leaves). Kachora is a small village. There are stores and restaurants. Checked into a hostel on the main street. In the evening I look at the huge mountains along the way of my journey. The mountains beckon and frighten at the same time with their beauty and scale.

Day two. Went out at 7:30. Behind the village there is a smooth ascent from 2300 to 2850 meters on the mountain road. These 10 km can be reached by hitchhiking, but I didn't meet any cars. I reach the Capuliyoc pass (2850). Beyond the pass a sharp descent into Apurimac Canyon begins. It is necessary to drop from 2850 to 1500 meters. Heavy and uncomfortable rented backpack makes you stop periodically for rest. The last part of the descent is difficult, with rocks and dust. But I'm just not used to it, such ascents and descents will be every day.

It is still 300 meters to the river. Harmful biting midges appear. At the bottom of the canyon it is hot, the sun quickly takes away your energy. There is a hostel on the river. I rest, feed the midges, eat a chocolate bar, wash my face with cold water and go to the river crossing. The bridge was washed away last year, and temporarily there is a manual crossing in a basket, which is pulled by a cable over the mountain river.

On the other side of the canyon the trail goes straight up, no flat sections. Now I have to climb from 1500 to 3000 meters. The plan for today is to climb 700 meters to the Santa Rosa campsite. This section of the trail is busy, with tourists returning from the ruins of Choquequirao. But beyond Choquequirao there will be no more tourists, few people go to such a long and difficult trekking. I stop for a rest, a tourist with a sprained knee, leaning on a stick, comes down. I gave him some ointment and bandage from my first aid kit so that he could somehow fix his knee and get to Kachora. He says that today two people came from Choquequirao on my route to Machu Picchu: an Argentinean and a Brazilian. This is good, so there is a trail further and I will follow their footsteps, and maybe I will catch up with them. By lunchtime I arrive at the Santa Rosa campground. Walked 25 kilometers through the canyons today.

I took a breath, set up a tent, cooked some food. It costs a few dollars to pitch a tent, there are showers and toilets. There is beer, sodas, cooked simple food - rice, fried potatoes, eggs. In the evening, the full moon comes out, illuminating the mountains with a bright white light, like a big lantern. After chatting and having dinner with the campground hosts, I go to bed.

Day three. I leave at 7:30. I have to climb 700 meters to Marampata village. I take too fast a pace and immediately run out of steam. The backpack is tight, the plastic seal on the back is sagging under the load and rubbing my back. I had to cut the lining of the backpack and pull out the plastic, my back was rubbed to the point of swelling. I reached Marampata (2900 meters). There are campsites, stores. The village, by mountain standards, is big. From Marampata to the ruins of Choquequirao walk another hour and a half. Entrance to the park is paid, there is a camping site. There are not many people at the ruin, a couple of tour groups and local tourism students, come to study archaeology. Choquequirao translates from the Quechua language as “Cradle of Gold.” The city resembles Machu Picchu in architecture and layout. It is located at an altitude of 3085 meters on the mountain range Salkantay. At present, about 40% of the buildings have been excavated.

Day four. I woke up at 5:30. I leave at 6:30. Need to climb to the top of the canyon for 400 meters and then there will be a drop in elevation again. The trail is wet forest, not very typical of the dry mountains that were on the other side of the canyon yesterday. After the pass there is a 1200 meter drop to the bottom of the canyon with the Rio Blanca (White River).

The going is good, it's not hot, it's early morning. Without stopping I reach Pincha Unuyoc (2500). Here are ruins and a place for camping.
I hear a crackling sound off the trail. I look closely and don't believe my eyes. A real spectacled bear. I had heard that these rare animals are found here, but never expected to encounter one. The bear eats branches and pays no attention to me. After watching for a few minutes, I clap my hands to let him see me. After thinking for a couple seconds, the bear ran off up the slope, giving way to me.

Spectacled bear - its body length is 150 -180 cm, height 75 - 80 cm. It weighs from 70 (females) to 140 (males) kg. The fur is black or black-brown. Around the eyes are white rings (hence the name). The only representative of the bear family living in South America. It lives mainly in mountain forests on the slopes of the Andes. The biology of the spectacled bear is poorly understood. It is nocturnal and crepuscular animals that do not hibernate. It is believed to be the most herbivorous bear. The number of spectacled bears is low and they are listed in the Red Book as an endangered species.

Descending to the bottom of the canyon. I met an Argentinean and a Brazilian who had left Choquequirao yesterday. Yesterday they were very tired on the descent and stayed overnight on the river. We start climbing together. We need to climb 1000 meters to the next camp Maizal. I go ahead. It starts to rain and tedious long traverses of the path to the top. How nice it is to sit down for 5 minutes on a rock, eat a chocolate bar, looking at the beautiful canyon. I remember myself as a little kid, I was born in Tajikistan, and this is a mountainous country. As a child, my grandfather used to take me to the mountains to pick apricots. Perhaps that's when my first passion for hiking and nature was born.

There are occasional pink markings on the rocks that tell me that the path is the right one. A family lives in Maizal campsite. They sell and cook food for the tourists. Senor Valentin says that his senora is downstairs, will come only tomorrow. She cooks the food, so we can't expect anything exquisite. There's soda, beer, canned goods, pasta, cookies. Showers, toilets, water. It costs a couple of dollars to pitch a tent. Valentin boiled potatoes, we ate with him. An hour later an Argentinean comes up, and another hour later a Brazilian without a backpack. He said he saw the finish line and became exhausted, couldn't carry his backpack and left it there. He will rest, drink a sweet soda and go to get his backpack.

Day five. Day five. We got up at 5:30. We got together with the Argentinean and waited for the Brazilian. He finally got ready and he is looking for his sticks, we found them near the toilet. Then he wants to buy cookies with the Argentinean Maxi's money, as he has none of his own. Suddenly there was no ATM in the mountain village and he didn't take cash. Laughing, at the top of the next pass there will be an office of the national bank of Peru and there he can use an ATM.

First we have to climb from 3000 to 4200 meters. The trail has been washed out by the rain. There is little sun on this slope, the trail does not dry out. It is dangerous to walk, you can slip and fall down the cliff.

I pass an illegal mine, a small hole in the rock, where several people work at their own risk. Asked what they were mining. Silver-gold. It's Sunday, the guys are going to the village to rest. We go together to Yanama. Above we pick up another miner. There are only four men working here. The money is good by local standards, but it's very dangerous. No safety in the mine. They drill a hole, plant explosives and take out steam by hand. Then they take it for analysis of precious metal content and exchange the steam for money, carrying it out of the mountains with the help of donkeys.

We reach the San Juan pass, 4200 meters. And after the pass we immediately descend to 3300 meters, to the village of Yanama. On the descent there is a big rockslide, the trail is blocked. The miners are happy that the mountain has opened up on its own, and tomorrow they will come here to examine the rock for silver. In Yanama we split up with the miners. I order food at the campground - the standard rice, potatoes, eggs. I ask locals about the next section to Totora. There will be a pass of 4600 meters. Two hours have passed, the lagging companions have not come. I'm going further, to Totora. There are 5 hours till sunset. It is necessary to have time to climb from 3300 to 4600 and again to drop to 3500 meters. I'm following the old Inca trail. In a couple of hours I come to the pass. It starts to hail with rain. I can't see the trail well. The rain turns to snow as I ascend.

Beyond the pass the snow turns to rain. I descend to Totora before sunset, at 17:30. Today I have walked two passes above 4000 m and 30 km, my legs feel like wood. At the end of the village I ask the locals if I can pitch a tent in front of their house on a flat ground. They allowed it. I cook food in their kitchen. A woman gave me sneakers, mine were soaking wet. Surprisingly kind, hospitable and generous people, despite the fact that their life does not look rich. The kitchen has an earthen floor, cooking over a fire. We had cauliflower fried in batter. Very tasty. At night again rain drumming on the tent. I heard how people woke up in the house and are already going somewhere, I look at the clock - 03:00. Someone got into the tent vestibule, took the sneakers that I forgot to give yesterday, because it is someone's only shoes. Got up at 5:00 a.m. There was no one in the house, people had gone to work in the fields. I didn't have time to thank people for their simple but valuable help.

Day 6. We need to walk 25 km on a good road, gently dropping 1000 meters. Here there are few tourists, tempted by the opportunity to use the services of cars and finish trekking to Machu Picchu by car. I still want to walk the whole trek along the Inca trails, parallel to the road to the end. From Totora to the village of Colpapampa 5 km. The time is the beginning of the seventh morning. A shuttle bus passes by, they invite me to go. I refuse to go, saying that I will walk. There's still a lot more to come.

I reach the village of Playa. Straight ahead is the road to Santa Teresa, to the right goes the trail I need. There is a campground just before the turnoff to the trail. It costs a few dollars to pitch a tent. I'm running low on money. Soon I'll be like the Brazilian we laughed at in the mountains. I don't think I brought enough cash for this camping trip.

Today's big holiday is Inti Raymi. The Inca festival of the sun. Fredi, the campground owner, calls me to join his family for dinner. This is a big perk of solo travel. People sympathize with you and respect you for not being afraid to venture out alone in an unfamiliar environment. And are always willing to help you and show you their lives from the inside, more openly than if I were in the company of other travelers.

Cooking the festive dish Pachamanca, which is prepared on particularly festive occasions. In Quechua, it means hole in the ground. A hole is dug in the ground, partially filled with stones. A fire is lit on top. When the stones get hot, the wood is removed, potatoes and meat are put inside. We have from meat: сuy, duck and chicken. Vegetables on top. Everything is covered with wide banana leaves, hot stones on top and all this is covered with earth. After 40 minutes Pachamanka is ready.

Day seven. Again ascents and descents. First we have to climb 500 meters. From the top I see Machu Picchu for the first time! It's an incredible feeling, like discovering a lost city.
Now we need to drop 1000 meters down to the river and reach the village of Gidroelektrika. There are only 12 km left along the railroad to the town of Aguascalientes at the foot of the mountain, on top of which is Machu Picchu.

Aguascalientes turns out to be a town filled with tourists from all over the world. A town with hotels, tourists and expensive prices by the standards of the country. This is especially true when you have almost no money left, as I do. After finding out information and buying a ticket to enter Machu Picchu, I head back to the railroad, there was a tramp campground in front of the town for $2. The owner of the campground is an alcoholic Mendoza, and living in this campground are real hippies who don't want to pay $50 to enter Machu Picchu.

After pitching the tent, I went to Mount Putukushi. This beautiful mountain, at first glance, seems completely unapproachable. Climbing the steep sections is organized by wooden ladders. From the top I can see the town of Machu Picchu, where I will go tomorrow

Day eight. Machu Picchu Located on the mountain 500 meters higher than the town of Agvacalientos. There are buses to the top, but I go to MaPi on foot along Inca trails in front of the road. It's 7 a.m. and the buses are already streaming up. How many people visit the famous ruins every day?! The ticket to Machu Picchu is personalized and date stamped. I'm going through security. Tourists from all over the world are already on the mountain, it is one of the most sought after tourist sites on planet Earth. And to get to Machu Picchu you don't have to, like me, walk for so many days. You can get here from Cusco by tourist train, or you can take the road from Cusco to Hidroelectrica.

First, I climb the mountain next to the ancient town to see everything from above. There are beautiful green mountains and endless canyons cut by mountain rivers all around. And in the midst of this beauty stands the town of Machu Picchu. It is quite justified why the whole world strives to come here. Beautiful nature and unique architecture of the ancient town with many mysteries.

After a look from above, descend to the ruins. Found a quiet corner without many people between large rocks. Nearby gray chinchillas are running on the rocks, looking like hares. Visiting is very regulated, lots of prohibitions and controls. I was whistled at twice by numerous controllers. The first time allegedly for leaving the trail, and the second time for taking off my shirt while secluded in the rocks for lunch.

I walk around the ruins for three hours. There's really a lot to see here. These are the most ennobled ruins I've visited so far, and probably the most impressive. Unless in terms of mystery and scale Ollantaytambo can compete. But the location itself and the surrounding mountains make Machu Picchu that lost city in the clouds, to which tourists all over the world aspire.

I went downstairs, had lunch at the market and bought food for the evening with the last of my money, leaving cash only to get back to Cusco. The night was restless, the guys in the campsite started to celebrate the birthday of one of the girls in advance. In honor of this, the Mendoza host shared sugar cane moonshine. The three Colombians couldn't stand the fun and left for another campsite. I would have left too, but I had no cash left. At night, new vagrants came in and pitched tents. Those without tents, they'd sleep in other people's tents.

Day nine. I am glad to escape from this tourist den called Aguascalientas. I walk along the railroad 12 km to Hydroelectrica. Then I take the shuttle buses to Cusco. Hydroelectrica - Santa Teresa - Santa Marta - Cusco.

Apparently for this ten-day route I was so exhausted that I became like a hobo myself. When I first arrived in Cusco, as an obvious gringo, I was drawn to all the stores and massage parlors in the central square. When I walked through the central square on my way back from a hike, no one would call me, because I looked so dirty, wild and unpretentious.

The bike wasn't feeling its best either. Found a motorcycle street, bought a previously broken mirror, turn signal, a lost bolt from the engine mount and a new battery. Put it in, spins fine, but the bike won't start. Changed the spark plug, didn't help. I take off the air filter cover, which I changed only 3000 km ago. The filter is full of dust. Without the filter the bike started. I went to buy a new filter. Good thing I have a locally made Honda Tornado. There are spare parts for it and they are not expensive.

This is where the Peruvian part of the trip ends. It is time to say goodbye to this wonderful country full of mysteries and a huge number of attractions.