Motorcycle diaries: Peru

When Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara set off from Buenos Aires on a 1939 Norton he was just 23 years old. Paraphrasing his words, the journey was about cruising along a given path with aspirations and dreams.

Together with his friend, Alberto Granado, a plan was hatched to travel 8000km in four months. Sixty-three years on, our plan was not quite so epic but we intended to follow the tread marks of this legendary journey, at least in part.  

The Method? Improvisation. Just like Guevara and Granado, my girlfriend Trish and I would be intentionally forgetting the tourist map; the front fender would be aimed for nowhere and everywhere with the same simple objective that Guevara and Grenardo had: to explore the Latin American continent.

POLICE PRECAUTIONS
Our first port of call was to be Peru. Not quite as deserving of the El Poderosa nickname that Guevara and Grenardo christened their Norton 500 with (meaning ‘the powerful’), our bike for this leg was a 2004 Honda XR250.

High in the mountains at a lofty elevation of 3300m above sea level, we were starting from Cuzco — a city once at the very heart of the then mighty Inca Empire. Drawing thousands of tourists each year, the overwhelming majority of which use this magnetic hub as a base to explore the surrounding Sacred Valley, Cuzco’s main draw — other than its colonial splendor and bustling vibe — is its vicinity to South America’s most spectacular archeological site, Machu Picchu.

However, we were no further than 10km outside of the city’s ancient walls when we came across one of the country’s notorious anti-drug trafficking enforcement roadblocks. Most who have ridden in Peru report incidents of having to bribe police, after being randomly pulled over. Having heard many aligning stories, I’d stashed the local currency equivalent of about $30 dollars in an easy to reach jacket pocket, knowing that a bribe or two would be part of our passage.

“Name, license, and intended destination?” said one of the moustachioed men in rapid-fire Spanish. He was dressed in full military attire, wielding an automatic rifle and inspecting the Honda while his burly comrade kept his eyes locked on us. I wasn’t expecting this to go well.

However, to our no-doubt obvious surprise, we were waved on with a smile and even given directions. I figured that somehow we’d stumbled across the nicest military police in the whole of South America, or maybe they were just humoured by our humble attempts at speaking Pigeon Spanish. Either way, that evening’s beers were cut-price… by about $30 to be precise!

Continuing out of Cuzco, the road, quite frankly, is breathtaking. Offering constant views of the surrounding mountains, I found myself biting my bottom lip inside my helmet the whole way as the route heads northwest towards the Vilcanota River via the towns of Huayopata and Huyro.

SIMPLE BUT EFFECTIVE
By this point we’d had a chance to acquaint ourselves with the XR250. Supplied by Cusco Moto Tour Peru (CMTP) — the best of a number of locally based operators offering tours of the region and DIY rental options — the Brazilian-made Honda Tornado, to call it by the local model name, comes in the standard on-and-off road trailbike form of Honda’s XR series.

Unlike its XR250 cousin that features an SOHC engine in the rest of the world, the Tornado benefits from a DOHC four-valve block that helps deliver a handful of extra horses at the rear wheel. That said, despite the model's smooth, predictable power delivery and forgiving nature in the dirt, neither the standard XR nor the Tornado would be considered by many as the ideal motorcycle for this type of ride, considering its distinct lack of gadgetry and thimble-sized tank. However, in Peru idealism gets replaced with practicality and the refreshing reality that all we need really need are two wheels, and a whole load of dirt to have fun on. And let me say, Peru certainly has that.

CHALLENGING TIMES
Rutted tracks, some with potholes wide enough to swallow a bike’s front-end whole, make for challenging riding. The odd llama, precariously straddled across the road, and more than the odd sheepdog seemingly asleep but secretly ready to pelt across a paddock to chase down any motorcycle that dares to pass also don’t help. Like others that have come here, I soon realisED that riding in Peru isn’t for the faint hearted.

However, battling through these challenges we found the rewards were huge. No matter how lost we thought we were — miles from nowhere in the middle of arid farmland — all roads eventually led to a friendly face, more than happy to point us in the right direction. Or at least towards someone who can better understand Pigeon Spanish.

Admittedly, a few old-fashioned accessories — such as a map and Spanish phrase book — were a necessity. Interchanging between perfect asphalt coils, snaking along mountain passes, and rutted mud tracks which left us pondering as to when, not if, the fun will end with a bump, the roads less travelled were showing us what Peru had to offer.

HOTSPOTS
This is a land of juxtapositions, where the riding can be as is hard as some of the region’s leather-faced gauchos, or as simple as the cowboy lives they live. Stuck in a sand pit up to our chests halfway along our journey, I was beginning to comprehend why the experts at CMTP had recommended the Tornado when helping me plan my route — a heavier bike would have been physically draining at times.

We’d diverted through the Sacred Valley’s various towns, including colonial Pisac, complete with its thriving market and Ollantaytambo — the region’s most atmospheric location. Other highlights included ample tourist hotspots such as the gargantuan Inca amphitheatre at Moray and the blinding salt mines of Maras and the ancient ‘lost’ city of Machu Picchu itself — defining this trip with its undeniable, spectacular beauty.

However, magnificent as each of these is to visit, the best bit is getting there. The views along the way and places we rode through or stopped at en-route are what made this journey, as they would any visit to Peru for that matter.

Anyone planning a similar trip should expect mountain after mind-blowing mountain, unlike anything outside of the America — as well as long-forgotten colonial towns, quaintly situated amongst clementine-coloured hills and indigenous villages, ripe with tradition and ready for exploration. We did. And Peru never failed to disappoint.

Longer itineraries should include a visit to Arequipa, home to the world’s deepest canyons and the nearby sand dunes at Huacachina where you can rent skis, boards and even supercharged buggies. Other musts include diverting to the storybook isles at Lake Titicaca, dramatically set almost 4000m above sea level. Trek-junkies can get their fix in the Andes, or for a dose of R&R, surfers should head north to sip on Pisco Sour cocktails and groove to reggae beats in-between catching waves on some of South America’s best-known breaks.