High in the mountains in Cuzco

After a gruelling 22 hours on a luxury coach bus and another hour pedaling around the city blindly, I finally made it to my hostel. I left at 2pm and was able to plop my body on a bed at 1pm. In some regards, I got lucky - others have been on a bus for 30 hours!  If one had a car, the trip probably would only take 10 hours, but what slows down the trip is that once in the mountains, the road makes several winding turns and narrows out to do without shoulders. Traffic is light, but there is oncoming traffic (trucks and other coach buses) that require stopping.  At best, speeds will top 35 mph, but the elevation climbs and subsequent descents also limit how quickly we can get to that speed.

The ride started fine.  We were making great time along the coast. It was flat and traffic was light. The bus made a couple stops in towns that were at the foot of the Andes at sunset (6pm here). I was beginning to worry that I made a mistake in not pre-booking a hostel for the same day. As we started making our ascent up the Andes, it seemed unlikely that this climb would take 20 hours to go 170 miles. By midnight, I decided to sleep and when I wake up, I would be in Cuzco and deal with the situation of finding a hostel in the middle of the night.

The bus made a stop at some village at sunrise and took a 20 minute break. If we were taking a break at this point, it seemed unlikely that we were close to Cuzco.  My worries about being in Cuzco in the middle of the night without a bed was unnecessary. When we started moving, I knew we were far away, when the bus started a new movie (A Dolphin Story - a movie that tugs at the heart and fogs the mind... yes I watched it, if only because it was dubbed in Spanish and had English subtitles - need to learn Spanish any way I can). After that, they started another movie - Hugo. Dubbed again in Spanish and I really wanted to see this movie. By this point, I finally saw a sign that stated Cuzco was only 98 km away.

Just in time as the movie ended, we arrived in Cuzco. I got my two backpacks and Kona and set off for my hostel.  Unfortunately, I was on the edge of Cuzco and needed to get to the opposite edge of town. I was not counting on this because I was told that the bus would stop a few blocks away from where I would be staying. As a result, I had to wear both backpacks (one on the back and one up front on my chest) and pedal away. A wrong turn proved to be counterproductive as I was now dealing with excess weight (my thighs were pushing the front backpack upwards with each pedal) and I was going uphill... one road that I was taking was called Exercise Avenue in Spanish.  Eventually I asked some random people where I needed to go and after a few more hills, I was back on track and on the road to a bed!

Cuzco is the launching pad for Macchu Piccu and thus is one of the most tourist-ridden towns in the world. It`s got a nice laid-back feel, if you factor out the locals who are trying to make a buck and are hawking anything from crafts to massages (just like in Thailand). I am planning on staying here for about a month for some biking (after I get over this high altitude thing), some hiking and treking of Incan ruins and will even plan on sharpening my Spanish skills. Right now I`ve got a Blade Runner thing going on- if I don´t know a word in Spanish, I`ll use a French, English or sometimes Wolof word instead.

The temperature is similar to SF - chilly in the day, but a jacket is not required (if you live in SF),  but bring layers for the nighttime and quick changes in weather.