Day 64 - Cuzco to Puerto Maldonado, Peru

RobT:  We left Cuzco after a three-day riding break.  It felt good to be back on the bikes, but first we had to negotiate our way around the hotel lobby and desk to get to the street.  We had parked our bikes in the courtyard just inside and that was the only way to get to it.

Casa Grande Hotel, Cuzco.  Not bad for 17 USD per night.

One last look at the impressive Andes before heading down into the jungle.

We rode through several small villages en route to Puerto Maldonado.  It seemed like all the indigenous people were out in their Sunday best.

RobC enjoying the last remaining twisties before the straight roads of the jungle.

The new Interoceanic highway from Lima, Peru, to Sao Paulo, Brazil.  At this point Sao Paulo is 4600km (3000 miles) away.

About 100 km prior to Puerto Maldonado we noticed several temporary "villages" set up along the highway compete with restaurants, motorcycle repair shops, homes and brothels with scantily clad women sitting in plastic lawn chairs out front. Garbage was strewn along the roadside, the ditches and the ponds. The building were constructed on stilts with blue plastic tarps as walls and roofs and wood plank floors and walkways.  There was even a communal bathroom constructed of wood with a walkway to it which was situated over a pond.  Reminded RobC of a gold rush town.  Later RobC found out that this was indeed a gold rush of sorts, with many people seeking fortune, or just work, by panning gold in the nearby river.

We rolled into Puerto Maldonado in high heat and humidity after spending the morning at 4000 meters in cold and wind.  First thing first ... a couple of cold beers ... then look for a place to stay. We found one, no air condition, no toilet seat and an extra roommate ... a cockroach about 3 inches long.  He disappeared shortly after the sighting so we couldn't evict it.  RobC asked for an extra fan, as the one on the ceiling wasn't doing the job.  The night was just bearable. Welcome to the jungle!!