Soon it was back to the cause and time to head to Cusco. No, you will have to stay another day as the road is closed due to demonstrations. Ok, we will wait till tomorrow, no problem.
Tomorrow comes, the road is open so we make an early start for Cusco. A good mornings ride has us needing fuel and we can not find any 90 octane anywhere. The protests and road closures mean the fuel stations are running low, so it looks like it will have to be that crap 84 again, not good.
About half way into the day rocks soon appear on the road, then many big rocks, then total rocks all over the road. This is not looking good. Soon a line of trucks appear and a mass of people on the road side all yelling and waving banners. We ride, weaving through the rocks to the head of the queue and encounter a gravel barrier with wire strung across the top. This is not looking good.
A wave and a smile to the head man and he agrees to let us through, his beef is not with us but the local government who have kept the funds their area has been allocated for roading. We ride slowly through the crowd and are again stopped. This is not looking good.
Sorry, you can not proceed until we paint some protest slogans on your panniers. This is again not looking good.
We let them paint one side pannier and motor off before they attack the other side. Not far down the road we stop and wash of the paint before it dries. This is South America and what a day and we are riding a KTM ADVENTURE.
Cusco soon comes into view and we head for the central plaza to find the accommodation we have been told about, but the bike has other ideas. This bloody 84 fuel is coming back to haunt us again. As soon as we hit idle speed in the traffic the bike chokes, coughs and splutters and soon dies and wont start again. Not a good place to happen on a three lane street with all the taxis racing for that last spot in front of the other guy. This is bloody well not looking good. What now.
Once the engine cools we manage to get round a roundabout and back to a garage we passed on the way in. For the next hour Annette and I have an audience as we remove the tanks and drain all the crap fuel from the bike, reassemble then fill with sweet 90 octane.
The beer tasted real good that night we can tell you and what an amazing old city Cusco is. We spend hours in the Norton Pub on the old balcony watching Cusco go about its business.
For the next few days we do the tourist thing here in Cusco, replace the rear brake pads and try to work out where we will be for Christmas. This is looking good.
2 comments:
Hello young people. Rocks on the road, draining your fuel tanks... never had those hassles riding through to Murchison. Photos continue to be stunning, especially liked Machu Picchu. Donald's looking thinner despite the beer intake you describe. In 4 days I'll be in Ushuaia myself posing by that end-of-the-road sign wearing a Dust Devil beanie but minus a bike. Going to Antarctica for a month via Falklands & South Georgia. Will have a lot of your blogs to catch up on when back. Meantime have a Navidad alegre and of course Viva Huelgo.
Well done old chap and I bet you will have a tear in your eye as you stand beside the sign. The wind is very clod there. You have a great time in the frost. Come back with some great photos, and by the way, are you taking your blowup bike with you for your new book "Ice Cool Throttle?"
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