In a move that would have mothers nervous in all four corners of the globe, some friends and I decided to rent motorcyles for the day. And what an awesome decision it was! (for most us anyway) This turned out to be one of the most fun ways to explore around Cusco and the Sacred Valley of the Incas with all its small villages and ancient ruins.
Early on a cold and cloudy Friday morning I showed up at the rental agency with Ben, Travis and Tom(all Australian), Paul from Canada, and Tom from England . After signing some wierd contracts and papers, all written in legalese spanish that no one could understand, we handed over our passports and the six of us hit the road. They didn't ask to see licenses or any proof that anyone actually knew what they were doing but that's the South American way. So off we went following the well paved highway through the Sacred Valley which once marked the epicenter of life and culture of the former Inca Empire and civilization until they were conquered by the Spanish invaders in the 1500's. Throughout the ride we were treated to views of distant snow-capped mpountains, hillsides with amazingly intact ruins, small villages, and the colorfully dressed people that inhabit them.
And then there were five.... After a few hours into our journey, Ozzy Tom decided to flip over his handle bars at 50 miles per hour, completely trashing his bike and leaving a few marks on himself as well. Fortunately, English Tom is a combat medic in the army and after a quick check for any broken bones and a clean-up of some scrapes, he turned out to be OK, just a little banged up, especially his knees which is where the bike landed on him . But the motorbike was another story. It was left unridable after the somersaults it had just performed so we had to hire a truck to transport him and the broken bike back to Cusco. This is where I came in... as the most proficient spanish speaker of the group, I had to talk with the locals and negotiate transport prices with the owner of the truck. No problem!...and within a few minutes, the bike was loaded up and they were on their way back.
The rest of the day was uneventful for the rest of us and we returned to Cusco in the early evening to return the bikes. The weather wasn't the best for photos but I still took plenty. Plus I'll have a few more when I get some photos from some of the other guys' cameras.

And has anyone bothered to check in on my friend Jamie? She has passed the half-way point on her quest to hike the entire 1800 miles of the Great Wall of China. Once again, her webpage is Here