Our final destination…not too shabby.
Ryan and I were thinking about doing the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu until we found out it was sold out months ago…that’s what we get for heading to South America last minute I guess huh? Well, we’re adventurous guys right? So why not ride motorcycles all the way from Cusco to Aguascalientes…Brilliant idea actually! So what should have been a 6-7 hour ride turned into a 9.5 hours which covered riding in the rain, through waterfalls, through cloud covered mountain tops…visibility was about 20 feet or so…but it made me think of Heaven and it was a very peaceful part for me, on cobblestone roads, over landslides & the cleanup, being passed by super impatient and aggressive cars and trucks, riding through many towns with dogs nipping at our heals, a 1 hour white knuckle off road ride with shear drops to the valley…no barriers and no room for mistakes…my shoulders are still tense… and during the evening with no visibility…on the dirt road still.
We rode through the breathtaking, beautiful and very tall Andes mountains…oh and I laid my bike down after I believe it slipped gears and I was forced to crash next to a mini wall overlooking a few thousand foot drop! That was half way through our journey but after taking injury inventory: a non bending right thumb…which still doesn’t work properly…and a few bruises and scratches, we were back on the road 15 minutes later…not bad actually…it could have been much worse. I remember in the moment thinking “just don’t go over that wall, put her down and don’t go over that wall”…so I was pretty fortunate to say the least and it all happened so very fast. The bike needed a little tuning up and our guide gave me one of his rearview mirrors after I crushed both of mine. I saw a doc the next day at a clinic and he said my thumb wasn’t dislocated like I thought, only sprained and should be pretty good after about ten days or so, I hope he’s right.
The views were amazing and the ride was tense but extremely rewarding. Now this was my first ride on the streets after receiving my motorcycle license so I feel that I gained an immense amount of experience and I’m probably a little cooler than I was a week ago…so I’m almost cool now.
We were visited by many butterflies along our journey one even landed on my helmet during a stop, take a look at the picture. I felt that I was protected in a sense, especially during the crash. It was a peaceful journey but since we arrived much later than planned we missed the last train into town…this meant we had to walk 3 hours to Aguascalientes, yes 3 hours… along the train tracks, through the jungle andoh…in the pitch black. See pic:)
Aghhhhh….adventure…soak it up. It was a little tough after all those hours on the bike but we finally made it only to discover our hostel didn’t have our reservation. So we ate and had a much deserved beer and finally found a place with a vacancy. A long day to say the least…
The next day my thumb was twice the size so riding back was out of the question since it was my throttle hand, I saw a doc, got meds, ointment and bandaged up all for $20…gotta love that. We hiked Machu Picchu the next day and I don’t think I’ve ever had a more adventurous two days in my life. Time to rest.
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