May 2, 2000
Day 193 To Cusco, last day of cycling
The beds are hard and the pillows are even harder. But what do you expect for 12 soles a night? We get up every early and are on the road just after six. The sun hasn’t risen yet and its cold. It’s about another 50 kms to Cusco, they are a bit harder than we expected.
It starts with a climb out of Urcos, then a downhill into a valley. Lots of small farms and a couple of smokestacks that billow out a black smoke that fills the valley. After another climb, this one longer and steeper than the first, we descend to a beautiful laguna. There we rejoin the railroad and river for a long steady climb to Cusco. Not steep but longish especially the last 10 km where the road passes through ugly industrial suburbs. We have to share the road with truffi’s and busses that seem to stop every time they pass us.
When we enter Cusco we first head for the hotel we heard about at the border. But it doesn’t have matrimonial. The next one is way too expensive, and the third one cheap but not very nice, and no matrimonial. We finally end up at Hostal Imperial Palace. It’s cheaper than the name suggests but still 17 dollars a night. Nice and friendly though.
We eat a lite meal, check e mail and find a travel agent that books us on a delta flight to Atlanta & St. Louis on Friday 5/12/00. We also decide to fly to Lima two days earlier, first so we won’t miss our flight home, and second so we possibly could visit Nasca. After booking the tickets we wander through the streets of Cusco for many hours in search of bike boxes. We can’t find a single bike store and the appliance stores that sell bikes claim they came wrapped in plastic. We ask at the tourist information and at the South American Explorers Club, but to no avail. The bikes will have to travel without a box this time.
We go back to an internet place to do some more surfing. Patrick also books a return flight from St. Louis to Boise so he can get the slides and organize them for later when in Cowden. Also, he does some research on a rental car for the weekend.
We eat a nice Chinese lunch (satay). In the evening Patrick starts getting the bikes ready for flying, just turn the handle bars, lower the seats and remove the chains and derailleurs on both bikes.
Today's ride: 47 km (29 miles)
Total: 6,178 km (3,837 miles)
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