I really miss having a scooter or motorbike to get around on. That was probably my favorite part of traveling in South East Asia...the freedom to go where you want, when you want. I'm back in Cusco, former capital of the Inca Empire and simply an amazing mountain town that by all accounts is overtouristed but still unmissable if you're going to be in South America. My last visit to Cusco in August of 2006 took me and five friends west through the Sacred Valley on motorcycles....so that's what I came here to do again. Ride! This time, I have a passenger since I couldn't find anyone else who could ride their own bike. Ashleigh, a cool Canadian girl I met in Arequipa a couple weeks ago, wanted to go along for the adventure as well. She was a pretty easy sell...I just said you're going to get photos that NOBODY else has and you probably won't die since I know how to ride. And between the two of us, we agreed that this was probably the coolest day we've had in Peru so far. We started out being half lost trying to get out of the city but once we found the highway going east, it was smooth sailing. We were able to visit small, forgotten villages and Inca ruins that literally no one goes to. In Cusco, we are used to getting harassed by street vendors trying to sell everything from stupid finger puppets to lousy artwork. But at the Urcos Market, we were the only white people around for miles. The locals weren't even sure what to make of us and didn't know if they should try to sell us **** or just leave us alone. In the end, no one bothered us and we saw how a real market is supposed to be...Peruvian families from various tribes and villages selling to each other so they can survive until next week when they have to do it again. It was quite clear there was no concern over the global financial crisis, the stock market, or whether or not Ford and GM will be in business next year. Unfortunately for us, just 20 minutes outside of Cusco on the return journey, it started ******* rain! It rained so hard that the highway became a raging river and we got caught in a mile long traffic jam. Nothing moved! When I had to put my feet down to hold up the bike, I was standing in ten inches of flowing water. Ashleigh, perched comfortably on the back seat with her feet reasonably dry, seemed to think this was the coolest thing ever. I thought it kinda sucked. Taking advantage of being on a bike, however, we slowly picked our way through traffic until we came upon the big problem...two vehicles stuck in a mud flow holding everybody up behind them. Once we were clear of that mess, it was a race back to the rental agency. But now that we were moving quickly, it got really cold! Once again, Ashleigh, perched comfortably on the back seat with her feet reasonably dry and protected from the wind by me, thought this was great. I was freezing my ass off. We got back with 15 minutes to spare...soaked! But as promised, we both have photos that no one else does and we arrived safe back in Cusco. Good day! 48 photos are posted in this entry so be sure to check them all out.