I continue on with the adventure, leaving Puno for Cusco. I can still kickstart my bike with my good right leg; I’m just a bit slow getting my left leg up on the peg. I can get it down quick when I have to stop, though.
I keep riding north, leaving the lake for the hills and crossing the Abra la Raya pass at 14,147 feet. This is where the river Urubamba starts—the headwaters of the Amazon. The weather is good and the metal road reasonable. At one point I pass a little pillbox, with its black and white barrier up in the air. There are no signs of life so I ride on through, and seconds later I’m sure I hear a bang and a bullet whizzing past me, so I hit the throttle and take off at speed. There are no power poles or phone lines around, so I carry on.
About 37 miles short of Cusco, I ride into the square of a small town and the rear tyre punctures. I put the bike on the stand, take my gear off, get my tools out, take the wheel off, and within minutes a crowd is gathered around me, with people offering tyre pumps.
With the puncture fixed I go on to Cusco—elevation 11,400 feet. Some local student puts me up for the night and we go out for a movie: The Great Escape, with Spanish subtitles. This theater is where they learn their English, and they practice on me as well.
I do a bit of local sight-seeing with an English backpacker, Shaun. We take a truck ride to a local market at the village of Chinchero, where there are lots of Inca ruins to see. Unfortunately, Machu Picchu is out of the question because of the stiches in my knee; the only way up is on foot. Instead, Shaun the pom and I take the bike and ride around some very interesting ruins.