Lobsters to Llamas, Maritimes to Argentina

After you ride all that wonderful twisty pavement in the Sacred Valley you come to Santa Maria, then you hit gravel through Santa Teresa to Hidroelectrica. The road gets really high on the side of a cliff with no shoulder and about a 2 or 3 thousand foot drop to the river below. I really couldn't stop at the raelly scary parts and take a picture because of all the buses and mini-vans full of tourists I was competing with but this will give you and idea. not looking forward to that aprt of the ride tomorrow.




Do you see the blue gravel truck in this picture? I'm telling you this road is really really high.



Before that though, back on the Sacred Valley Pavement I took these shots.









sweet like cream soda






















I finally made it to Hidro Electrica and caught the train to Auga Caliente















Agua Caliente








I had this great wood oven baked pizza and a beer and went to bed at 8:30, so I could get up early and be at Machu Picchu for the early morning light and beat the crowds.




Welcome to Machu Picchu






































































Officially "Lobsters to Llamas"



I'm so glad I listened and went.





Kedgi

FN sweet Dwight!!

Fu#^*ing beautiful man!!!!!!
Good stuff!

From your map, I see you may not been coming to Paraguay, but in case you change your mind, count on a friend and a place to stay here.
cheers

Thanks

Kedgi

That a very kind offer.

Thanks Sandino

Kedgi

Thanks

Dwight

Kedgi

dwight:

I've always wanted to go there. Thank you for your photos

I'm glad you went, it is one of the wonders of the World, and you were so close. I am sure you would have regretted not going there. I'm glad you changed your mind

You must be used to the high altitude and you're smiling too

bob

I'm doing much better at high elevation now. It took a long time to adjust. I feel about 90% now.

Machu Picchu is one of the hardest tourist attractions to get to, but it was also one of the most incredible I've seen. My pictures cannot show the steepness, the extreme elevation of the city. It is thousands and thousands of feet down to the river.

I built, with my Father-in-Law's much appreciated help, a small retaining wall between my house and apartment building last year. All the stones we used were prefab and interlocking and we had a tractor to use. I cannot fathom the millions of man hours that Machu Picchu represents. Mind blowing labour and skill. All done before hydraulics, tractors, diamond bits, and at extreme elevation. Staggers the mind.

Kedgi

Great pics Dwight.

This one, I was sure I'd seen before:



Yup. Bryce had been through there as you know and posted just about the same photo on Jan. 22. His Post 883.

For comparison, Bryce's photo:



Kind of amazing how the same shots seem to keep cropping up.

Kedgi, the Llama Whisperer:



Glad you've gotten past the altitude sickness and things are going better for you.

Wow

That's amazing about Bryce's photo. He has been through here. That's they way they build the roads, they just pour a concrete dip in the road and let the water flow over. there must be at least dozen of those on the way in here maybe more. it's funny he picked the same one at the same angle.

That Llama was pretty tame. he just sat there as I and an Argentinian couple got photos. I had the Agentine guy take mine. there were about a dozen Llamas around. I suppose they see so many tourists they don't care.

Kedgi

Nice pics now we want to see MP absolutely beautiful thanks for sharing Dwight!

Great stuff Dwight! MP looks so awesome. Glad to see you're back in the groove.

Fantastic pictures Dwight ! Keeps the rest of us Dreamers in touch with your trip of a lifetime ! Glad you have adjusted to the altitude and have had a few days to rest up , keep going and enjoy each day the best you can..looks like the food has gotten a little better as well . And I agree the KLR is no ordinary bike ....it's a great all around bike, good value,as one guy stated....it's not great at any one particular thing...but it's good at everything you throw at it ...sort of like a multi tool Swiss Army knife..does what you need it to do!!! And Your Trusty is like a pack mule. Or should I say. A packed LLAMA,,
Jim

Waiting for the train this morning to take me back to my bike. Hope to make it back to Cusco today. Talk to you all from there.

Kedgi

Hey Dwight, your pictures of MP were incredible!!!

I have seen the high level pics from a distance, but your close ups of the details and workmanship were incredible. Were there originally wooden roofs on the gabled houses? Any sense as to how old the construction was, and have you seen any books that describe the history?

I am very happy that you have had a few great days, and are really enjoying yourself again. I AM SOOOOO MUCH LOOKING FORWARD TO REPEATING MUCH OF YOUR RIDE IN THE FALL.

keep up the great work, you're an inspiration to older Canucks everywhere. I can say that because I'm 65.

Cheers

Hey Dwight: I've been lurking right along, totally with you during the "low". Years ago on the Tibetan Plateau in China, thousands of miles from....anywhere really after several months of solo travel, I faced an almost crushing low. I endured, as did you and continued my travels. It's hard for people who haven't been that alone to really fathom the depths of it, but I was right there with you. By the way, I think your photography has reached stellar status!! PS How did you photoshop all the tourists out of the piccies at MP?

You are my #1 RR, thanks for the enjoyment.

Ah ha a llama!! is this the elusive lobsters to llamas llama?? I love the inca looking balaclavas!! imagine the looks you get blowing the driveway back in Shediac Oh wait they may not be colorful enough for the acadians Glad to here you feel more like yourself again.. seems like you need a little vacation from your vacation. Altitude sickness sucks. last week i was above 16000 feet on a test flight for a bit.. there was finger issues with the pressurization controller and the pilots fingers lol it thought it funny i was feeling like i needed to hurl or fall over. it messed me up for the rest of the day. but hey by the sounds of it you may not be blowing snow next winter as you are dreaming of Africa!

Great reports as usual :) I have really enjoyed following your reports. Glad things are getting better for you.

Wow ! What can I say. Dwight, I am so glad, for a couple of reasons, that you changed your mind and went to MP. Firstly, I think you would have regretted it later had you not gone. Secondly, a selfish reason on my part, but that has been one of my dream sites to visit and I must say that your photos were the most extensive that I have seen. Most people just post the money shot view and a couple more but you took the time to share with us many more that really detailled the site. Thank you, thank you!

It's going to be mighty hard to impress you with some neat trails south and west of Moncton after all that you have seen. Un gros merci encore!