Cusco to Puno, Lake Titicaca. 3 days of the Altiplano.

Saturday 20^th September 2014.

Stage 39, Cusco to bush camp Raqchi Ruins, 122 kms, paved 100%, 1068 metres climbing, summit 3540 metres. Time to leave Cusco and the madness of city life.

It's always nice to leave a hectic city behind and get back on the bike and out in the heartland of a country. Riding along with people always saying hello or waving to us whilst they're tending to their crops in the distance, makes the whole trip so much more enjoyable.

Today took some time to leave the Cusco, we had a photo session in the plaza de armas and in front of the cathedral. The local newspaper wanted plenty of photographs and as tourists, we should oblige. After the photos we then did a loop of the plaza/square before heading off. The police stopped the traffic at the intersections and even the other tourists were taking photos of us. I felt like a celebrity and accepted my 15 seconds of fame.

 The photo above is of the main Cathedral in Cusco. Time for the publicity photos.

 The photo above is of 2 very important people, Wilbert the boss and his partner Susanna. Both incredibly competent people in running Bike Dreams.

 I took the above photo as I was leaving Cusco. I hope to see the mighty Condor later in the holiday, in the flesh of course.

The photo above is of the amazing church outside of Cusco. Unfortunately no photo allowed inside.

We all rolled out of Cusco together as a group and made our way following the main train line to Puno. We should be in Puno in 2 more days of riding. On a side issue, we got another 5 cyclists to add to our numbers and one of them had a crash on the first day and had to be taken to hospital for examination. Not sure of his injuries at this stage.

As we rolled along at a leisurely pace for about 35 kms and then came across this huge Inca Wall from the 12^th century. Sitting in my tent in the middle of a football field I don't have access to WiFi so I can't tell you anything about the wall, other than it's big.

The next attraction was at the town of Anduhuaylinas at the 40 km mark. Robert the boss had told us about this amazing church and the paintings that it holds. A group of us turned off the highway and went in search of this illusive church.

The main attraction is the baroque church dedicated to Saint Peter the Apostle. The church is nicknamed the Sixtine Chapel of America because of the magnificent frescoes that adorn its walls. We entered the church for a fee of 15 Sols and then found out we couldn't take any photos. Now that's one thing I find very irritating about churches, you pay to enter and then can't photograph to keep the memory and show others. Anyway, the paintings and gold work inside the church was pretty spectacular. You'll have to take my word on that one.

Back to the highway and continue on in search of the fire engine at the 62 km mark for lunch. I was riding with Buck, Michelle, Kristin and Hilde for the majority of the morning and up till lunch. It was a nice pace with a gentle tailwind and not much climbing. We found the fire engine sitting close to the river that we will follow all the way to Puno. I took my time eating lunch sitting down in taking in the sun's rays. It was such a beautiful day today.

By 12 noon I was back on the bike and now riding with Rien, Joost and Patrick. The pace picked up straight away as these guys are the strong ones in the tour. I did a turn or 2 during the next 60 kms but mainly the big strong Joost carried us along. The tailwind was getting stronger and the kms were ticking over quickly.

We found Barry sitting down having a coke in the small town before the finish so we took a break and enjoyed the rest before hitting camp. Camp was on the local football field with nice grass to pitch the tent. I wasn't going to check out the Raqchi Ruins that was about 100 metres away from the campsite as I had just visited Machu Picchu and couldn't real see the purpose. After sitting around the campsite for an hour and still an hour to dinner I decided to check it out. It was worth the money and now I'm glad I made the effort.

Raqchi Ruins is an Inca archaeological site in the Cusco region also known as the Temple of Wiracocha, one of its constituents. A town nearby has the same name. Both lie along the Vilcanota (Urubamba) river. The site has experienced a recent increase in tourism in recent years, with 83,335 visitors to site in 2006, up from 8,183 in 2000, and 452 in 1996. The most prominent structure is the Temple of Wiracocha, an enormous rectangular two story roofed structure that measures 92 metres by 25.5 metres. The structure consists of a central adobe wall some 18 to 20 metres in height with an andesite base. Windows and doors allow passage. It is flanked on each side by a row of eleven columns. The foundations measure 4 metres for both the wall and the columns are classic high Inca stonework with the remaining height built of adobe.

 Part of the remaining walls inside Raqchi Ruins.

The photo above is of the rooms used for storage.

Prior to its destruction by the Spaniards, the temple had what is believed to be the largest single roof in the Incan Empire, having its peak at the central wall, then stretching over the columns and some 25 metres beyond on each side. Adjoining the temple to the north are twelve living quarters, which would have housed both priests and local administrators. “to the east of the temple are some 100 round qolqas (stone houses) in parallel lines, each measuring 10 metres in diameter. These houses were used to store grain and other agricultural products.

After walking around the complex and taking plenty of photographs, it was time to head back to Tent Hilton and see how far dinner was off. I just chilled out with Barry and Buck until the fire engine sounded the siren indicating dinner was ready. We had a nice dish like usual and headed for my home by 7 pm.

Tomorrow is a long ride so I need my sleep.

Until tomorrow, safe riding.

Sunday 21^st September 2014.

Stage 40, 159 kms, 100% paved, 1,228 metres of climbing, summit 4345 metres. Riding the Altiplano.

Because we had a long day today we had to be up and ready for breakfast at 6.15 am. This meant I had to get up at 5.30 am to pack up my house and get ready. During the night temperature dropped below zero.

We were on the road by 7.30 am today and greeted with a nice light tailwind and beautiful sunny day. I took it easy in the morning climbing the hills at a steady pace. As we got over the 4000 metres mark the mountains didn't look at big anymore. We were now riding along the 'Altiplano' a stretch of the Andean Mountains that we will follow for the next 4 weeks. With another 4 weeks of riding around the 4000 metres mark I should be in good condition to hurt Mark and Tony when I get home.

The lunch stop was at the 53 km mark which was early but it was at the top of the summit 4346 metres. Lunch was excellent and I'm eating a lot better than I did a month ago. You have to eat and drink during the ride and eat plenty at lunch. It's the only way you'll make it to the finish and manage the following day.

Just before lunch there was a Aqua Calientes (hot springs) with a couple of people laying about wasting their lives away. I took a photo and kept riding.

Once we finished with dinner we hit the road and flew down the road for about 15 kms with Barry and Joost. We had a nice smooth road and a strong tailwind. I dropped off the guys for a break and rejoined Rien and Diderick. I had ridden about 50 kms on my own whilst waiting for the next group to catch me. It wasn't until we all stopped for a drink that I found out that both Patrick and Diderick had crashed at the railway crossing. There's an art to crossing railway lines and after many years of doing it back home, I wasn't going to come crashing down in the middle of the Andean mountains. They both suffered minor injuries and are both very lucky to escape without broken bones.

After the mandatory COKE stop there was only 30 kms to go to bush camp. We all took turns at the front and were sitting on 40-45 kph with the tailwind. It didn't take long before the flag came into view. The day was complete, 159 kms done, now time to have a pommie wash, put up Tent Hilton and have some soup.

As the afternoon went on the rain started to fall on our campsite. I'm on kitchen duty tonight which requires me to help serve the cyclists dinner, clean the tables and wash up all the plates etc. I hope the rain eases up in the next 30 minutes or I might have to call in a sickie.

Tomorrow is another long ride to the city of Puno and a hotel awaits us. I would also like to pass on my best 50^th birthday wishes to a great friend and cycling partner, Peter Felvus. Peter is the chap who rides tandems for the vision impaired back home and also joined me on the Eastern European bike ride last year.

Until tomorrow, safe riding.

Monday 22nd September 2014.

Stage 41, bush camp Pucara to Puno, 111 kms, paved 100%, climbing 480 metres, summit 4000 metres.  Heading to Lake Titicaca.

It rained a lot last night and the temperature dropped dramatically. The tent withstood the downpour and the howling winds, leaving me nice and warm and a good sleep was had by all. The only negative aspect of the rain is packing up a wet tent. That means I'm going to unpack a wet tent in a couple of days time.

It was another early morning breakfast at 6.15 am and we were on the road by 7.15 am. All the cyclists had their leg warmers, jackets, head gear, arm warmers to try and keep warm. It was perhaps the coldest morning thus far on tour, reaching a high of 3 degrees C when we hit the road.

The road we were now riding on is called the 'Altiplano' as I mentioned in yesterday's story. It's pretty flat with only slight rises all the way to Lake Titicaca. We all rode in a group to the lunch stop at 60 kms. I sat on the front with Joost all morning chatting away and enjoying the nice scenery around us. 

We were told that after lunch we would have to pass the town that was not that safe. We were stopped outside the town by the police and we all regrouped and had a police escort straight through the city. The police took us through back roads full of holes and mud, through the market area with police stopping traffic at intersections to let us pass through. It's pretty cool when you receive this type of treatment. Back home if you wanted this service from the Police you would have to pay a small fortune.

Back on the main highway we had a group of 20 cyclists taking our time to finish the day. The town we will be stopping in tonight (Puno) is a city in the south eastern part of Peru, located on the shore of Lake Titicaca. It's also the capital city of the Puno Region and the Puno Province. The city was established in 1668 by viceroy Pedro Antonio Fernandez de Castro as capital of the province of Paucarcolla with the name of San Juan Bautista de Puno, in honour of King Charles II of Spain. The city has several churches dating back from the colonial period, they were built to service the Spanish population and evangelise the natives.

As we continued our ride to the Puno we had a small climb that took us to just on 4000 metres and a nice view of the city below us. Barry and I roared down into town, made our way through the congested city and found our hotel. It's so nice to have a hot shower and shave and smell half decent for a change.

This afternoon we are going out to the floating island, where the Uros (pre Incan people) live on forty two self fashioned floating man made islets in Lake Titicaca. They form 3 main groups, Uru-Chipayas, Uru-Muratos and the Uru-Iruitos. The Uros islands are at 3810 metres above sea level and 5 kms from the Puno port where we will depart from at 3 pm today. I'll talk more about the trip tomorrow.

Tomorrow we leave Peru after 6 long weeks of tough riding. We enter Bolivia and the the famous city of Copacabana. Now it's time time to get ready for our boat trip out to see the Uros people.

Until tomorrow, safe riding.