Cuzco, Peru
Cusco, finally. The finish line it is. Will I miss the moto taxi? No comment. But not having to search for a mechanic or wonder how far our beloved steed will get us today, leaves me with too much time on my hands. Time to be a tourist. So Machu Picchu, Nazca Lines and sand dunes it is. Peru, here I come! By train, by bus and by plane. As all 'normal' tourists do... Good bye moto taxi, maybe you'll be missed after all...
Urcos, Peru
Just 50 km from the finish line our beloved moto taxi (please note my sarcasm, again) decides to die. It's not the chain, it's not the exhaust pipe, no, it's something new completely. Whatever we try, how ever much we plead, there is no more sign of life in our moto taxi. It already being dark we decide our best option is to walk to the nearest village in search of a mechanic. Dennis goes and Malou and I stay with the moto taxi. A small hour later we are approached by a police car. The friendly officers tie the moto taxi to the car and pull us 15 km to where Dennis is trying to organize a mechanic. Again. But the police officers have a better idea. They arrange that a taxi loads the front wheel of the moto taxi in the trunk of the car and thus is able to bring us to the finish line in Cusco. And there we will dump our dead steed at the Adventurists garage, and leave it to Alfonso and Willow to bury it. For our moto taxi junket adventure has come to an end, and an end in true junketeer style it is!@
Juliaca, Peru
Just got pulled over by transit police. 800 Sol fine they said. That's about 280 euro. Luckily my spanish is good enough to negotiate: an appeal to their good conscience and an open invitation to visit me in Amsterdam, all sealed with hugs and kisses and we were free to go with a warning. You just gotta love that South American spirit!
Puno, Peru
We made it to Puno with a broken exhaust and bad chains. We're winging it to Cusco, no more repairs, the tie wraps and rescue tape will have to do. Now on our way to Agua Caliente for some hot spring relaxation. We left our travel buddies, team Chupito, in Puno. But the split won't be for long I hope, as we will await their arrival in Cusco. The A-Team is on the move!@
Desaguadero, Peru
finally we can leave this shit hole. Payed way too much at weighing station and we get moto taxi back with exhaust pipe completely broken. Welcome to Peru it is... I can't say I will miss the moto taxi when we leave it behind in Cusco. If we ever make it...
Desaguadero, Peru
finally we can leave this shit hole. Payed way too much at weighing station and we get moto taxi back with exhaust pipe completely broken. Welcome@
Desaguadero, Peru
I guess you can say we made it to Peru. 5 meters into Peru, that is. We missed the tiny window of opportunity to import the moto taxis into the country. Customs are only open until 3PM, we got here five minutes later... Damn. So now a night in the lovely town of Desaguadero (please note my sarcasm). Dennis is in bed with a fever, so for him a short moto taxi day might not be so bad after all. Tomorrow at 8:30AM we try again... We shall prevail!
La Paz, Bolivia
Leaving La Paz today. We arrived late Friday night. Of course it could not end smoothly, our chain broke when parking the moto taxi in a garage. We left it until this morning. Enjoyed the city all Saturday and went down the Death Road on mountain bikes on Sunday. That was truly amazing. This morning we took care of the broken chain and now we leave for the border. Let's hope we reach Peru!
Oruro, Bolivia
what an amazing couple of days. Bolivia is beautiful! After enjoying Sucre, we drove to Potosi. A beautiful drive and no breakdowns! Yay! In Potosi we stayed two nights to discover the city and to go into the mines. Very impressive. Altitude sickness strikes on Dennis and I. After Potosi another beautiful drive to Uyuni. Moto taxi has lost all power and needs pushing up the steep slopes. After a nights sleep we take moto taxis to the salt plains. Breathtaking! We end up sleeping in a cave and have a little party with team Chupito. Next morning more driving over the Salar and then back to Uyuni in time to catch our train. Yes, we loaded the two moto taxis on the night train to Oruro, where we are now. Just had a mechanic clean our engines inside and out and we're now ready to drive to La Paz. We're sorry that we won't make the end party in Cusco on time, but Bolivia just has too much to offer! Hope that we do cross paths with some other (slower) teams!
Every plan you make, changes.
Every plan you make, changes. Instead of picking up our moto taxi and repairing it in Camiri, the Moto Taxi Diaries (Adam and Tom), the Chupito's (Pasquale, Francesca and Claudio) and us (the A-Team) saw our chance to make up for lost days. The lorry that picked up our broken moto taxi was big enough to fit in all three. So why not load them all and have him transport us to Sucre. So that is how, after a 25 hour (!!!) ride, all 8 of us cramped up with the 3 moto taxis in the back, through rain, mud slides and other hazards along the way, finally managed to reach Sucre. And we even passed the other two Dutch teams, who hope to arrive here tomorrow afternoon. I hope we'll be clean, rested and have the moto taxi repaired by then! And then, let's have a 'normal' day of moto taxi riding!@
