Just4fuN: January 19th & 20th WARNING! LOTS OF PICS!

Seems like many of you prefer pictures to me babbling on about my day. No surprise there, hah hah, so I will accommodate as previously there have been access and internet speed issues. Here at the four star hotel in Santiago I have none of those issues so prepare yourself for some previously bypassed photos.

The next two pictures are from the tower in Nasca famous for the line "drawings" drawn in a very large scale in the desert.

This picture is all about the morning light on this building

Me with a road worker at a breakfast place. He was quite friendly and very interested in the workings of my trip.

Early morning in Peru

When Mark and I took trips to Europe and the Middle East we often took pictures of bathrooms. After so many years of traveling I had seem so many unique combinations that I no longer found them interesting. Here is a shot of one we had at a place in the mountains which you had to sit 'side-saddle'.

Warning! As we spend the greater part of our day riding there follows many road shots which may only interest bikers.

The views when above 10,000 feet are nice

Peru

Coca leaves are regularly used for stamina while working. The leaf is de-veined and maybe 5-10 small leaves placed between the cheek and gum. They just taste like leaves and make my cheek kinda numb so I passed.

Street scene in mountain town

The view back towards the bikes

After a rain there can be many places where water is running across the road. This is a fairly shallow crossing. Some were nearly a foot deep.

Me likey!

Another view of the rainbow. With all the rain we have experienced on this trip I am surprised we have not seen more of them.

While putting on rain gear in the mountains a herd of sheep being guided down the hill. This was VERY common in the morning and late afternoon as shepherds brought their flocks to to and from the pastures. The herds would be sheep, goats, cows, steers, and horses. It made coming around a corner interesting sometimes.

Parking the bikes in the nice lobby at our hotel in Cuzco. I was worried about the glass doors I had to pass with my large aluminum panniers sticking out.

Ladies take the "collectivo" buses from the countryside into town to sell.

While boarding the train to Agua Calientes ladies sell food for the trip. We bought some corn on the cob. They had very large kernels which you plucked off one by one and ate. Tasty.

A shot of the raging river from the train

Another view from Machu Picchu. The wispy clouds winding their way through the various peaks were fascinating to watch.

Ditto

The Lama knows the way

AH! Here is the good picture of the windy road which I think only folks with motorcycles would appreciate riding on.

A night street view of Aguas Caliente

Desert view while on the trail which is being transformed into a road

Aren't we supposed to run into a road somewhere?

Town square scene in which family is posing for a picture. There was a guy with a digital camera who, for a fee, would take many pictures then you could go to a local store and have them printed up. As many here do not have cameras business was brisk.

Road through the desert

Bikes through the hostal window

My riding partner Mike an all around good guy and fun to be with

Sand dunes trying to recapture the road

Popping out along the coast

Fun riding along the beach

Mike's V-strom is a good bike to have for this kind of trip

Desert scene

The Dakar Rally was moved to South America some years ago. It goes through Antofagasta and there were lots of posters advertising it. Unfortunately we were a little late.

Some desert artwork. "The Hand" which is about 45 miles South of Antofagasto and just off the main road. Pretty impressive.

Can you picture yourself with just your bike and your thoughts riding down this road? I highly recommend it.

The desert has it's own kind of beauty

Many times I fought the urge to just head out into the desert but my bike is a little heavy for sand

We crossed paths with these Brazilian guys on Yamaha 600 Tenerras

Here we are comparing routes. We are heading South and they are heading North.

Mike and I toasting a good days ride and to finding a homey place to stay with a glass of Chilean wine. We were fed dinner and breakfast in this nice room.

Here is the small courtyard where we parked our bikes and enjoyed the pleasant weather

Shot of the coast and the terrain

Dinner with Peter V in Santiago. He owns a dropzone in Pucon which is South of here approximately 700 miles. It was nice of him to time to his business to when we were here. I look foward to jumping with him this summer in Racine along I-94 at Skydive Midwest.

Night view of our fancy digs in Santiago

Morning sun peaking over the mountains surrounding Santiago. Picture taken from my room window.

Thank you for bearing with me and my attempt at this blog. So far it has been the "Trip of a Lifetime". Someday I hope to do something like this with my dear Wifey Zoe.