The Race Thus Far

The past week seems like so long ago. On Thursday I got to get my first taste of what driving the mototaxi would be like. It took some practice. The whole key was the gas to clutch ratio. We got to know the ends and outs of the bikes. By the end of the day I felt like a motobike mechanic.

Saturday we moved to the San Jeronimo Hotel in San Jeronimo. San Jeronimo is a municipality of Cuzco. The reason we left from there was because mototaxis are banned in Cuzco. The hotel was really nice but it stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the shanty homes and buildings of San Jeronimo. That evening we had a party in the plaza thrown by the mayor. They had a live Peruvian band and even a beer tent. It seemed like the whole town was there to see us. The night was capped by a homemade fireworks display. It was one of the best Ive ever seen.

Sunday was the launch of the race from the same plaza. After getting the bike loaded up and our superhero customes on we left from the hotel to fill our extra gas can. That was the first test of driving the bike. Before it was just in circles on the hotel´s soccer field. It wasn´t too hard getting down to the gas station. The trouble was getting up. We had almost made it to the square when the chain fell off. I thought at least it happened before we left instead of on the road. I would eat those words later on in the day. It turned out that the chain had one extra link so we removed it. When everyone had arrived the mayor said a few words and then we got a blessing from some Quecha priests. It was really cool. When the race started we were 3rd for most of the time. We managed to pull ahead and lead for 3/4 of the way. Then James wanted to drive. He hadn´t driven really because he arrived Saturday. He was doing really well until he decided to vear off into the opposite lane and go into the ditch. Another team was on the opposite side stopped and they ran over to help us push it back onto the road as a semi came around the blind curve. Nothing bad happened until about 10 KM outside Sicuani. That was were the chain came off again. I was fixing it but a local guy stopped and helped us out. That night us and a few other teams managed to find a hostal with secured parking.

Monday started out bad. First we couldn´t get the bike started. Some guys helped us try to push start it but it didn´t work. We managed to get a local mototaxi driver to tow us to a mechanic. There we spent 4 hours. They fixed our choke, tailpipe, rear brake pedal, and spokes on our wheel. When we were finally off things were starting to look up. About 40 KM outside Juliaca our chain fell off again. After I got it fixed and back on we attempted to leave. We weren´t going anywhere. One of the local boys at the gas station pointed to the same tire. It was flat. Now I had the wonderful opportunity to change my first tire tube. Another team stopped and helped us out. It took 3 times to get it right. The first two we knicked the tube when we were putting the tire back on so they didn´t hold air. Since it took so long getting the tire fixed we now got to drive 90 minutes in the dark to Juliaca. This was one of the most scarriest things I have ever done. First off all it was freezing. Secondly the other cars don´t allow much room when they are passing you. I almost got ran off the road a few times. When we got to Juliaca I had to drive in the local traffic weaving in and out of them. That was an experience that I pretty muched aced. When we got to the hotel I was exhausted. That drive had taken so much out of me.

Yesterday I felt the same way. James drove almost the whole time because I was just so haggard. I mananged to take a nap in the taxi for awhile. The drive was amazing though because a good amount of time was along Lake Titicacca, the worlds highest lake. I couldn´t believe how big it was. We arrived here in Desaguadero yesterday afternoon and found 8 other teams waiting. The paperwork we received was incorrect. There were too different signatures instead of just one. We stayed in a shit hole hostal with no running water and no working toilets. I ended up going to bed at 7:30 because I was still so tired.

This morning I awoke at 5 and felt like a million dollars. We were told that we would have the correct paperwork at 6. Then 6 became 8, 8 became 10, 10 became 12, 12 became 2, and now 2 has become 4. At this point I hope we are able to leave today. La Paz is 3-4 hours though. Its looking like more night driving. Hopefully my next update doesn´t still find me at the border. Cheers.

J