Author: neil

Last night our host asked what time we would be leaving in the morning, which I thought was a little strange because we would be capable of exiting the hotel on our own at any time (this is not always the case in Peru! And entering this property required ringing the bell and having someone…

Prior to our 17 nights in Cusco, we had done a few days of riding through the Sacred Valley, but before that we’d had another 16 nights off the bikes in Ollantaytambo. So it’s really been five weeks without “serious” bike riding, and also while living in relative luxury. Even four years and a dozen…

Week 2.5 Despite two weeks in Cusco, we were still having a challenging and stressful time deciding where we wanted to go next, and how we wanted to get there. Having barely moved south in the last month, it would now be completely impossible to make it to Patagonia during its summer season under our…

Week 2 Cusco likes “7”. The flower-lined staircase that our AirBNB looks down on is named “Calle 7 Borreguitos” (“Street of 7 Little Lambs”). Nearby is “Calle 7 Diablitos” (“…Little Devils”), and there are five others around the city for a total of…7. More-recently, the city’s flag was designed with 7 rainbow stripes. And the…

Week 1 The major downside of our AirBNB’s location at the northwest corner of Cusco was the challenge of getting there with our bikes and luggage. But now settled in, we could take advantage of the upside: every walk to anywhere would “force” us to explore the historic area’s now-charming narrow lanes and hidden stairways…