Detailed Description ATB 2010 part 'A'

You've been dreaming of this for a long time!  Video has been playing in your head about what this might be like...

Let me give you a more vivid picture:  try this video! (This is another moto rental company, not ours... but the feel is the same!)

Coming from all parts of the US, you arrive in Miami and meet your team members around 2pm on Saturday, June 26th.  Your flight to Lima doesn't leave 'til 5pm, so you have a chance to catch up with these long-time friends of your childhood...

On the plane you try to catch some winks as you know this may be your only chance to get some sleep tonight.  Your flight arrives after midnight, and by the time you get thru immigrations, get your luggage and go thru customs, it is almost midnight.

Humberto meets you as you come out of customs.  You are fumbling to remember your Spanish, but he makes you feel very much at home as he guides you to the taxi to take us to our Hotel.  You crash.

In the morning, you have a leisurely breakfast, but soon you have to head out to the airport for your noon flight to Cuzco...

Your LIM-CUZ flight brings you to the reality and the excitement of this whole trip.  You may have been to Cuzco before, but not with these friends,... and not for a long time!  As the plane "drops" into Cuzco you get an idea of the majesty of the Andes that you will be conquering on moto and support vehicle!

Upon arriving in Cuzco, you DO remember that it is VERY IMPORTANT to GO SLOW!  It is a long walk to the baggage area, but you finally are there, greeted by the rest of the team who have gone on ahead to also see Machu Picchu.  "Let's get you to the hostel, get some hot coca tea in you, and put you to bed".  There are no Supermen/Superwomen at 11,800 ft above sea level!  Rest while your body gets acclimatized to the altitude.....

You wake up refreshed and ready to take on the world... SLOWLY!  Stepping out the front archway of our hostel "El Peregrino", you realize you are only steps away from the Plaza de Armas!  You needn't go far, you are in the very 'navel' of the Tawantisuyu (center of the world for the 16th century Incas).  Explore away, but don't eat yet, just drink and snack a little.

We will meet for an early supper at the Norton Rat's Tavern (a 'Round-the-World Motorcycle Travelers bar and grill with balconies overlooking the plaza), and review our trip. 

After supper we will walk over to "Peru Moto Tours" for last-minute prep of our motos.  Tomorrow will be a full day with some high altitude passes, so we head to bed early.

Monday morning, June 28th, you are up for a 6am breakfast, then it's "load up" time.  Southeast along the highway to San Jeronimo until we turn right towards Paruro and find ourselves on dirt roads, climbing, climbing, climbing  (map).

A short stop at Alfalfa Lookout to re-adjust gear and admire the fertile valley we have just climbed.  Then it is up to the first pass.  Stopping on the ridge, we can see the steep valleys on both sides at the same time, not to mention snow-capped mountains in three directions!  Then down, down, down, we make our way to Rondocan.  It is hard to believe that this is the route that the "Caminos del Inca" Auto Rally takes... at 3 times the speed we are going!

In the plaza of Acomayo, we stop and break out some lunch.  There is no flat spot in Acomayo, even the plaza is on an incline!  Continuing on we are soon down on a lake-covered pampa.  Past Laguna Azul, we drop off the pampa and quickly wind down to the Vilcanota River (that becomes the Urubamba River which flows eventually past Machu Picchu) beside the highway.  The backroads were nice, but we can make real time on the highway to Sicuani!

We need to gas up in Sicuani before we turn right; back onto dirt again and into the highlands.  The highlight of this part will be Lago Langui, a huge lake nestled between two mountain ranges.  An afternoon break there to enjoy the view, before we head over the ridge to El Descanso.  There we meet pavement, again, but this asphalt twists and turns across the pampa.  18 kms before we enter Yauri (Espinar), the road turns to dirt again.  Across the bridge into Yauri and up, up, up to the plaza on top of the city where our hacienda-like hostel 'El Jaguar' sits...

The inside courtyard makes a fine parking and maintenance area for our motos...

Today is June 29th, Dia de San Pedro.   On our ride today, we will drop into the Paruru Canyons and follow the far reaches of the upper Apurimac River. (map).. all the way to the source of the Amazon...  Well, not quite.  We will get within sight of it (the Mismi Volcano), as we ride along the foot of the mountain, only 10.6 km from the white-covered peak where the first rivulet of melted snow begins the mightiest river in the world.

The scenery is bleak, but beautiful.  This is when you realize how immense is this 'world on top of the world' !  We keep climbing out of canyons and dropping back into them.  At last we begin to parallel the beginning of the Colca Canyon as Chivay comes into view to our left on the far side.  Crossing the bridge, we pull up to the Hotel Colca Inn as the sun sets behind the Cordillera Negra.

Colca Day, June 30th!  Have you ever seen a condor soar on the updrafts of a valley?  Today you will!  In order to shorten our ride to the coast tomorrow (and not backtrack today), we will work our way west along the canyon (map), sight-seeing as we go.  Our goal today is just Cabanaconde, the "Home of the Condor".

As you travel along the rim of the Colca, the canyon gets deeper and deeper.  In 1981, the Colca River was navigated for the first time by Polish kayakers, and found to be twice the depth of the Grand Canyon!

We will stay the night at this great hostel called "Pachamama Home", run by European ex-pats who really know how to make you feel at home.  It is also a pizzeria where a wild time is had by all, whether backpacker, motorcyclist, or tourist! 

Enough of these mountains!  Let's go to the beach!  Skirting the rim of the Colca as it turns southwest, we ride towards Camana on the coast (map).  More and more green comes into view as we descend this valley.  We find a perfect spot under some Molle (black pepper) trees beside the river for our picnic lunch.  It's great to have the pickup truck along for these "niceties".

We climb back up onto a barren area and wind down to the dry, dry coast.  Sea level seems strange after the high passes we've been over.  We skirt a large sand dune and find ourselves in a green delta by the ocean that is Camana.  It's a little too late in the day for a swim, but we have all day tomorrow on the beach!

We will be staying just outside of town within sight of the beach in bungalos at Club Hotel Campestre Las Cabanas.

We will have the whole day to kick back, go to the beach (remember, the water is a little cold and the air will only be about 75 degrees), play some pool, but most of all eat some GREAT coastal Peruvian food!  Especially some Ceviche!  On the Las Cabanas website there are descriptions and pix of these scrumptious dishes....

July 3rd.  We head up the coast (map).  This is the most kms we will cover in a day, but it's all highway.  Even enough time to explore a little up the side of a sand dune or try to get down to a little hidden cove on the coast.  The road alternately stays beside the coast, then wanders away for a time.  Just enough to keep the boredom of the constant asphalt at bay.  Keep an eye out because this is where the sand dunes shift with the wind and cover the road.  You will come around a corner and there will be a front end loader clearing the road....

We arrive in Nazca, a desert town up on a plain beside the mysterious Nazca Lines.  Our hostel, just off the main plaza, is called the WalkOn Inn.  An ample colonial style home with interior patios and gardens, just behind the Cathedral.

July 4th at the Nazca Lines!  Sort of ironic that we would celebrate the anniversary of one of the world's youngest countries at one of the oldest monuments known.  Historians still don't know who made these incredible lines, miles long, delineating the shapes of monkeys, spiders, birds.

There is a tower from which you can see many of the lines, but the best option is to catch one of the small planes and fly over the lines.

July 5th finds us on our way continuing up the coast (map).  There is time to stop in Pisco and see the grape presses and perhaps savor some of the merchandise (video).  Cerro Azul today is our goal.  It is a quiet fishing village that became known to the surfing world in the '70's because of it's great waves.  Now it is a haven for surfers and travelers alike.

Our hostel is actually called "Hostal Cerro Azul".  From the terrace you can see the waves breaking.  The pier is right outside our front door!  Even the Beach Boys checked this place out!

What is there to do all 'rest' day in this little paradise?  Well, check out the video!

July 7th, while team 'B' is headed from their homes to Miami International Airport, we are headed back up into the Andes (map).  10 minutes back south, we turn up the Canete Valley shooting for Yauyos by lunch time. On this part of the trip you won't be going by the Boqueron... but we will check out these waterfalls!

This is like Cabanaconde to Camana... but backwards.  We climb, climb, climb.  The beginning is bad asphalt, but soon we are on crushed rock, criss-crossing the valley that climbs to Huancayo.  Our destination is over the cordillera negra and down onto the fertile green pampas.

At the end on this long incredible day, it will be good to kick back at 'La Casa del Abuelita", a place full of warmth and good fun.  And tonight we are going to "Caramba", a steak place with the feel of a friendly hacienda.

Today, July 8th, will be light, all asphalt, and mostly downhill.  But be careful!  This is an area with alot of dogs in each little town!

We find our way out of Huancayo and cruise through the lush basin, then follow the river in a slight climb (map).  We will bear off to the right and take the lower route thru Tarma, avoiding La Oroya.  Back up, and it is across the pampa we go!  Have you ever seen flamingos at 14,000 ft above sea level?

The sun is shining, but at this altitude it is still brisk as you drive along.  We have a favorite place to lunch at Carhuamayo, beside the lake.  Don't eat too much!

We soon are passing Cerro de Pasco and dropping down into the valley and the river that will lead us to Huanuco.  Our friends (from team 'B') will ride this tonight on the bus from Lima, and we will meet them early in the morning.  The wind picks up in the afternoon and traffic increases too.  This is where teamwork and our hand signals really come into play!

As we finish the last kms of our long 11 day ride and pull into the hotel, we are greeted by the group of riders from Pucallpa.  The 'Motociclistas para Cristo' from the Pucallpa 'Mil Palmeras' church are here as well as Yarina High School friends of old....

Today, July 9th, you will leave on the bus for Lima,... but not until 10pm.  There are alot of friendships to make and to renew after these many years.  But let's do it exploring on motos!  We double-up with team 'B' as passengers on the motos or in the pickups.

After a Pachamanca supper together, everyone says their goodbyes as you board the bus.  Team 'B' needs to get some sleep as their tomorrow will be long and high.  You (hopefully) will sleep on the bus.  Have you ever crossed Ticlio?  Maybe, but not quite in this comfort!

You get to Lima around 6am and you will have the whole day here in Lima.  I know you are tired,... but enjoy Lima!  You will be staying at David Wroughton's Hotel Antigua de Miraflores; a wonderful Spanish 'casona' on a quiet street only blocks from the ocean, but just until your early morning flight.  Check out the cool Lima video that features the hotel!

Late in the evening you find yourself back at Jorge Chavez International Airport.  Seems like yesterday you were just arriving here; but thinking about all that you have seen and experienced in 14 short days, it has seemed like a lifetime!