Following the gruelling road to Espinar the team seemed up for a bit of break. The goal today is Ollantaytambo and some pavement. Pavement was easy. Actually getting started wasn’t. Our reasonable departure time was swallowed by the misfortunes of Larry. The morning greeted Larry with a flat rear tire and the chore of finding a shop that could repair it. Hours passed putting the team well behind our intended start time. My condition played favourably to a late start. Something had me feeling a little less that eager to ride a motorbike. Let’s just say I was sick and it wasn’t the result of a night of heavy drinking. I took advantage of our delay for some tea and bread with the assistance of Gian Franco and Aldo. No, they didn’t feed me...they kept me company.
After a few false “ok...Larry’s back” alarms...we were finally off and looking for our way out of town. Within about 43 metres the roar of bikes was replaced the clank of wrenches as once again Larry’s bike had other ideas. For those of you who don’t ride I’ll educate you a bit on motorcycles. Lesson #1: The wheels need to spin...ideally freely. The rear wheel of the aging bike was defiant. Once again Pepe jumped into action and worked to sort out the problem. In no time Pepe would be racing up and down the street testing the work he’d just completed. Shortly afterwards we were off again.
The twists and turns out of Espinar were exhilarating and quite a bit of fun. The smooth asphalt felt good under the wheels. Rounding a corner changed my focus from the road to “...holy SHIT! Was that Pepe?!?!” What I’d seen was the last bit of Pepe’s departure from the road as his bike tumbled into a small pond. It was a puddle really. Until this, the only time I’d seen such things was on television. My concerns immediately turned to our team mate and his condition as we all slowed down. Very quickly Pepe was up and with the help of Aldo he was out of the ditch and back on the road as though nothing had happened.
This was a bit of a testament to Pepe’s spirit and skill. Arguably the best rider of the group, his years of experience were clearly visible...well except for when he went off the road. His brilliant smile and big laugh were tough not to be caught in. While I didn’t understand much in terms of language you really didn’t need to in order to see the spirit in him. Pepe got this trip and what it really meant.
With the looming curtains of rain ahead we continued on towards Ollantayambo and what would certainly be some of the most scenic parts of this great trip.
(In this photo, Gian Franco, Piero and Raul wait for Larry)
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