Peru...Part Six....Amazing Machu Picchu..

And amazing it is.....but before we get to that we have a three day ride ahead through several Regions of Peru, one of them being the Region of Apurimac .....'Where The Gods Speak'....it may get a little cold after being in Nazca where it's dry and sunny.

The journey started off hot and slow with lots of wagons climbing the winding road.....going up. All tarmac/paved for those who want to know. Once we'd cleared the wagons we really enjoyed the ride. Don't forget to fill up in Nazca before you leave.

We arrived in Chalhuanca a little colder and checked into the Samay Wasi hotel for the night. Just outside our window guinea pigs were grazing freely on a small patch of farmland, unaware of their impending doom...can't we just open the gate ??!! 😜🐹

Chalhuanca is a busy little town, lots of local shops. There's a garage if you need to refuel but there's really not many places to stay.

We continued our ride the next day with nothing pre- booked, though I had checked ahead to see where there were places to stay. We were heading for Abancay but had decided if we made good time we might ride a little further. Not much to report from todays ride, in fact we actually didn't take any photos....whattttt.......and arrived in Abancay...we could have gone a little further but were having one of those....we don't really need to moments...my ankle was playing up a little so we parked up and I waited with the bikes whilst Chris did a quick run round for a hotel.

Abancay, named after a local yellow flower, amankay is a thriving large town,warm and very historical with old Incan roads joining it. In fact if you can allow spending more time here, if you're a hiker you could do the 2 day hike to Choquequirao, an old Inca City from the 15th Century, very similar to Machu Picchu. Unfortunately for us, it's out of the question for the moment.....just another reason to return to Peru in the future.

Chris had found a little hotel.The Ozi Wasi. There wasn't any parking but the owner Victoria had opened the doors to the restaurant and told us to put the bikes in there...nobody was dining that night so it was all ok. There was also a young girl here from Venezuela. She'd had to leave her family and leave the country to find work to send money home. She had nothing to her name, so I gave her a pair of boots that I couldn't wear because of my ankle still swelling. When you can't do anything to help a situation, just be kind.Victoria our host was great and had employed Vanessa and I even got a quick Spanish lesson the next morning.....Gracias Victoria 😊

The roads all change in Abancay as it's situated where main routes intertwine. Tomorrow we'd initially change over to the 3S which will take you to Cusco but we'll split off and ride the rest of the way to Ollantaytambo and stay there for a few days. Lots of squiggly bits to look forwards to,

And the road didn't disappoint. If you ride/drive this one, look out for the Red Bridge over the red river with red flowers growing by the side of it.

Officially it's called Puente Cunyac and it crosses the Rio Apurimac....I've no idea what the red flowers are but they're very pretty. The bridge is also at the point where you cross from the Apurimac Region of Peru to the Cusco Region.....don't just ride over it, pull over and take it in, good place for a drinks stop.

Several hours later we arrived at the entrance road to Ollantaytambo. It's been paved all the way from Nazca out of interest. Now then.....when you get to Ollantaytambo....there's cobbles.....I'd looked at them online and thought ..yep no worries....but when I got to them...I started and then freaked....they were sooo bumpy and my bike was heavy and I just thought I was going to loose balance and fall over....the traffic didn't help, stop, start, stop, start.....we just caught the local buses and taxis on there run for the tourists on the tea time train from Mach Picchu. Anyways disappointed and confidence obviously still in doubt after the accident, I reluctantly dismounted....I really didn't want to fall...I wanted to go to Machu Picchu and nothing was going to get in the way. Chris ran the bike up and flagged a local down to give me a lift.....sorted. For other bikers reading....the cobbles aren't drastic but they are very uneven and this really doesn't come up when you look at pictures....ideally a straight run up with no traffic would be best. Chris managed to get a photo after the traffic had passed.

The little square was heaving as we passed through to the hotel.....The Munay Tika.....just down the road that leads to the train station. We'd picked this as it was a nice short walk to the station but just enough away not to hear the trains. The road was a little busy when the tourist collections started but not too much of a pain.Also at this hotel there was safe parking for motorbikes around the back and a restaurant across the narrow road with discount for guests. Have to say the food was excellent and we did eat there on several occassions.

Date wise it's now the 29th December 2018. We have a days grace before we visit Machu Picchu which for the remainder of the blog I 'm going to refer to as MP. Whilst we're here we're hoping to catch up with our friend Melissa, that we met in Chachapoyas just after my accident.

On our spare day Chris managed to get up to the local ruins here in Ollantaytambo...which I could see but after we'd done a trial walk to the station...which is about 5 mins by the way from the hotel.....it took me 30 mins.....one way!!!.....so you can see the extent of my dilemmas....I just went for a little look in the square before our early start tomorrow.

Machu Picchu

So first things first. Many people always want to know how to book to do MP, where to stay, what train do you catch etc, etc....so here's what I did before we arrived in Ollantaytambo.

1. I reserved tickets for MP for two people on the 28th December 2019 to visit MP on the 31st December 2019. You get a confirmation and then the tickets sent through. I used this site to book the tickets, just click on the link - Ministeria de Cultura Peru

This was 158.13 Peruvian Sols each or the equivalent of approx £38 each.

2. I reserved tickets for the train on the 28th Dec for the 31st Dec using the Inca Rail Website.

I booked the Voyager 0640 train outbound from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes and the 1900 train return from Aguas Calientes to Ollantayambo. This gives you plenty of time for everything. You get a confirmation document emailed to you, to hand in at the Inca Rail office at Ollantaytambo station to collect your tickets.

The cost for two people was $320 or £259

So the rough cost for visiting MP minus food and drink was £335 for two people.

Now some of the variants ;

The bus when you get there is optional. You can walk up from Aguas Calientes if you want. We caught the little bus at a cost of $24 each or approx £19 each for a round trip.

For those that want to use a guide. They cost about 140 Sols each which is about £33.

The hotel will be different for everybody that will depend on your personal choice so costs will vary.

3. Once I knew the train and MP tickets were confirmed I booked the hotel, the Munay Tika in Ollantaytambo for five nights for $205 or £166 which included breakfast.

Of course on the internet and other blogs you'll read about people walking up to save money. That's fine if you want to do that but if you're not too fit a person, you'll be 'knackered' before you get there. It was certainly out of the question for me.

MP was built about 1450 AD and added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1983.The site of MP is incredible, quite fantastic how the Incas constructed it ,the size of stones used, jaw dropping. Not much point me giving you a history lesson on it as that can all be looked up or if you hire a guide they will tell you but it is fascinating and quite complex.MP is a 'must do' but it can be described as a 'tourist trap'.....over run....in peak times definitely.....should you skip it.....no.....if you're in Peru....go....if you don't you may regret it as it really is amazing. The Peruvians are controlling and organising it very well to be honest.....cashing in on it.....of course but then tell me do you know of any countries that don't cash in on their mega attractions? This is probably the most famous attraction in South America.Sod the expense and enjoy the day.Here's a little video I put together so you can see how we went on. In the end the hotel staff got a tuk tuk for me down to the station as they'd seen how bad I was walking at the moment.

No clever promotional video stuff here.....just the day as it was for us.

All in all we had a fantastic day and when we got back to Ollantaytambo we went to meet Melissa and her boyfriend Jose along with Sairita, Robin and Georgina for a drink before heading back, shattered to our beds. ....well it is after 12pm......Feliz Ano Nuevo !!!!!

New Years Day in Ollantaytambo was spent in the main square watching the locals play 'Sinkuy' which is a kind of bowling game. The locals all wear traditional dress with the addition of flowers.... quite a spectacle and very colourful in Peru. If you're lucky you'll also get offered a homemade drink called Chicha made from corn.

We bumped into Georgina and Robyn again, ha, ha which involved another drink. Robyn has her own blog/page from her travels called 'Follow the Robyn'....pop over for a peek.

It's now our last day in Ollantaytambo and we're going for a ride out....every wondered where your salt came from? Here in South America there's quite a few areas that cultivate salt but one that has to be viewed whilst you're here is Maras.

Located in the Sacred Valley not far from Ollantaytambo,these tradditional salt ponds have been here since the Incas and are owned by local families. A spring from an underground stream feeds the ponds, evaporates and then the salt can be harvested. The site of about 5000 pools is impressive to say the least. Maras can be accessed initially by a paved road, from Urubamba. Can't give you the number of the road as it doesn't appear to have one. A bit higher up before you get into Maras,Take the signpost that says 'Salineras' and you will turn off onto a gravel road which leads to the ponds.

Well that about wraps it up for Ollantaytambo and the Sacred Valley......for now. We did have some other things planned but because of the ankle some 'stuffage' has had to be shelved until we can return to Peru in the future. Tomorrow we are just going down the road to Cusco to meet up with Melissa,Georgina and Robyn again but also to catch up with Jerry and Jet. They've been stuck in Cusco for a while as another accident left Jet with a broken leg.

On a good note....I can actually get my bike boots back on for riding in...Yey 😀