One of the -many- side benefits of working in hospitality is that you can spend your whole life travelling and discovering the world, and really get a close to full immersion to the environment you are in (one’s own culture, education are so deeply rooted that it is almost to impossible to “reset”, become “another”… I have spoken Spanish for about 20 years but still am unable to pronounce correctly any word containing a “r” 🙂 )…
Once in a new country, you need to go out and explore… A great way to do that, if you live in a country like Peru, for example… is to jump on a motorbike (a bicycle is great too, if you do not work in a hotel, and have plenty of time on your hands… and good legs too!!
As a lover of freedom, I have always been fascinated by motorbikes, and very scared of them at the same time… that fear turned into excitment and great interest when I moved to Cusco, and started working at the Hotel Monasterio…
I guess the magical Andean landscape helped ! Another determining factor was that the French Chef I was working with at the time had purchased an old motorbike, a Honda 600 XR… for those not acquainted with motorbikes, it is a powerful, easy to maintain “tractor” kind … exactly what is needed in a remote land…
Within the hotel, an active touring group was regularly going out to the Sacred Valley, just outside of Cusco…
I was introduced to Alex, who owns a small motorbike shop near the Plaza de Armas, Peru Moto Tours, and rents all kinds of bikes there…
I had only ridden a bike a few times whilst doing my military service in the 1990s, so I had to start over and learn the art of motorbike riding on 125s and 250 ccs machines, and conquer the natural fear of leaning in the curves… 🙂
The scenery, the sound of the wind, the colours, the smells, and even the curves soon became addictive!! I was mesmerized, hooked, no turning back…!
Just as with any addiction, and as my skills improved, I soon needed more power, so I stepped up to 400 ccs for a while, until the Chef asked me if I’d be interested to buy his Honda 600 XR… It was just what I needed, no fancy electronics no one is able to repair, and homemade spare parts if needed…
I started venturing out of my comfort zone too, and trips got longer and longer too… I needed new horizons, and Peru has incredible ones….
From Cusco to Puno, Arequipa, Quillabamba, on dirt roads, lonesome highways, one moment at 5000m above sea level, another at sea level…. jungle, high Andean plateaux, the majestic arrival at Lake Titicaca…. and so many more memorable rides!!
A year later, I stumbled upon a Triumph Tiger…. but that’s a whole other chapter!!
