Today the photos are few as most of the morning was spent in the rain, and when it rains stopping for photos is difficult.

We felt we had enough of the Tourist Experience the past two days and decided just to go and have a coffee in the centre of Cusco, in the Historical Section of this city, which is also the Capital of the Province. So we set off on a small beautiful little back road following the river. We passed an old man who was waving and shouting at us, it looked like he tried to tell us that the road was closed????

We started getting these small rockfalls along the way and even one very big one with a little detour on the side of the road getting you around the obstruction. Professor Google said the road was open and we pressed on.

But then we reached this rockfall and that was when I realized “Local man more smart than the Proff.”

So we turned around and headed back to where we turned off the bigger road, waved at the old man smirking as we rode past him.

We continued to Cusco and lost each other in the traffic and chaos. The streets became small lanes and Garmin GPS lost the plot (it can’t pick up the Satellites in such a built up area.) Eventually we arrived at the main Plaza in drips and drabs. Pie and Tex were sitting having coffee at thew wrong Square while Millsy Rocky and I were sipping Capacchino’s from a 1st floor Coffee Shop, looking at our bikes which we just parked next to the Square, where no other vehicles were parking.

Peens was on a mission of his own, at the airport they confiscated his Cognac (Brandy is not big in South America, but they have a cheap Cognac which taste worse than our Brandy and they confiscated his bottle, so he heard of a place in Cusco near the tourist area that sells Cognac, so he went in search of liquor. He as double upset as in South Africa they said he could not fly with his Deodorant and they wanted him to put it in a bin, but he got upset as he suspected it would be retrieved from the bin and used for Personal Use, so the smashed the Deodorant on the security counter and punctured the can, resulting into the contents spraying out into the air. The security wanted to arrest him as they said they have asthma and he is “playing with their lives” and he responded that it will then be dangerous to walk past a lady wearing too much perfume. So I was hopeful he would find the Cognac and then also look for some Deodorant as I was sharing a room with him every night and I think I might have developed Asthma myself.

There were lot of shops selling tourist trinkets and everything form a fridge magnet to a handbag made in China.

There were lots of tourists and our bikes was rather a hit for them to take a photo of.

Sadly there is nothing left of the Inca Culture here, the Spanish simply flattened everything the Inca had built here in Cusco and built some marvelous buildings.

But at least all the Bras and Copper in the statues has not been stolen, (let me not go down that path now.)

Tex also decided to have his boots cleaned and waxed with Lama Fat, and as you can see in the photo below, the police had now discovered us and wanted us to move off the square. We started getting ready to leave and the pressure from the policeman mounted as we were all moving at a different pace and some far to slow and he started calling for back-up to write tickets. So we scattered and lost each other in the process.

My GPS was very confused and took me back to the square where I found Peens still getting his Riding Gear on, so we stuck together and I followed him out of the city. Along the way we decided to stop for lunch at a local eatery and as we parked Millsy arrived, we then ordered some Chicken Soup and washed it down with a type of Fake-Coka-Cola. Then the other three arrived, they followed a different route out of Cusco and thinking they were ahead stopped alongtheu road and bough large amounts of peaches, which they consumed and then caused them the race from toilet to toilet for the rest of the day. Needless to say they did not eat any soup with us.

And what is better for the “Sound Affect” of listening to little chickens” For Sale” chatting away in the shop next door while you are eating Chicken Soup ????

So reunited as a group we stuck together for exactly 30 minutes before Peens raced off into the future, Tex stopped to buy a raw Mielie (corn on the cob,) who knows what he plans to do with it, maybe in future we will have a hotel room with a microwave and then he will cook it for snacks ????? Millsy and Pie mistook todays ride as a race and chased after Theuns, and Rocky, without a GPS rode in front of me and I directed him using my Hooter and hand signals, Laurel and Hardy could not !!!!!!!

But the road was not special, we ran along the river in-between two mountains and most of the day was in-between Maize Fields. But every now and then you would get a little town, all very ugly, with re-bar sticking up above the uncompleted building, lots of Reductors (if you remember they call Speed Bumps Reductors in Mexico, and these were all vehicle-breaming speed bumps in every town.)

Here are some of todays photos:

Above is an example how just a little change in your life can change your families future, iu you can just break out of that Poverty Bracket and can afford a scooter your life changes as you now have transport for the family to the clinic and to school, you can use it for farming and the poverty cycle is broken as your kids now will get an education and they will keep on improving, their kids might make not to University and who knows what your family might oneway achieve. BUT DONT BE LAZY as nothing given or handed to you can then ever break that poverty cycle, get off your bum. OK maybe I an preaching to the converted here.

 

Due to the rain I think this man was not flying his Chopper:

Every little town looked the same, unflustered buildings, little shops on the sides and vendors selling they home-made cool drink and beer, miles raw and cooked, sweets and bread, ice cream and cool drinks. Not pretty.

Why do they cover the top of the Re-Bar with bottles??? in years to come they might continue building, and then the tips of the rebar will have no Rust but the rest of the rebar will? Mystery!!!!!!

Above is a lady pulling her cart with miles she had cut from her field which she or maybe her daughter will sell tomorrow next to the side of the road, there is also some grass for her cow and goats from which she will get milk, maybe make a little block of cheese and her daughter might also sell this to a truck driver tomorrow. She is not lazy, she is building a better life for her family.

After we scattered and lost each other we slowly re-grouped at the town we picked out of a hat to sleep at tonight. Rocky and I met up with Peens at the entrance of the city, Millsy and Pie found their own little square and Tex was lost after his mielie buying excursion. We sent each other Pin Locations and Peens found us a nice hotel with Parking and before you know it we were sitting in the passage having a whisky from our flasks.

We might take a Tuk-Tuk to town tonight and eat a rodent.

Keep well all

Fleisch