25th February 2015 – Puno to Urubamba in The Sacred Valley

The day dawned bright over Lake Titicaca as we assembled in the hotel car park for our 8am start.  The drive out of Puno gave us a final glimpse of Lake Titicaca as we head towards Cusco.  We hadn’t gone far out of town today and we could smell something burning like brakes or clutch, so we pull over and it turns out the rear left brake is extremely hot.  The car is jacked up 3 guys jump underneath it and the brake is backed off so it’s not binding and the wheel is running freely. The whole process probably only took 15 minutes and we are back on our way, thanks to Pete & Ken.  Today we have a 443 kilometer drive from Puno to Urubamba on a good sealed road passing through small villages.  As we drive through the large town of Juliaca I can’t help think there must be more tuc tucs than cars here. Some of them are set up with trays on the back, some are taxis and some are really pimped up.   We find a nice morning tea spot next to a river off the road.  It’s a very pretty drive as we wind and climb over the Altiplano to 4,338 meters at the pass at La Raya. There is a tethered Lama at the pass that loves to pose for the tourists.  As we continue towards Cusco we find a lunch stop on the side of the road near to a field of corn and quinoa. There are a lot of different crops being grown even on the sides of the hills which are very steep.We turn off the road to Cusco and drive through the Sacred Valley, it is lush and green with steep sided green hills on both sides and quite narrow in places. The road is fantastic and it winds alongside a river through little villages the MG’s love it!Our hotel for the night is fantastic, which is saying something after last nights. The cars will stay here for 2 nights, unfortunately we’re only here for 1 night.