TRAVEL FEATURE - PERU
CRAIG JACKSON
PISCO SOUR
WHILE TRAILING THE INCAS
I
t was apparent from our first din-
ner together that this group was
going to get along just fine!
This is what happens when you
have the good fortune to be able
to take a motorcycle tour of Peru,
Northern Chile and Bolivia with
a bunch of riders and pillion pas-
sengers who all share a passion for
travel, fun, good food, libations and
of course riding motorcycles. Riders
who are not afraid to love life and live
it to its full.
Even before the entree was deliv-
ered to the table the die had been cast
with a welcome round of Pisco Sours.
None declined, which is a great sign
of simpatico and this cocktail of
Pisco (a type of brandy), lemon juice,
sugar syrup and egg white became
the team’s “Gatorade” for the remain-
der of the tour. Both Chile and Peru
claim ownership as the originators
of this delicious aperitif, with Bolivia
having its own variant as well, but
since the city of Pisco is in Peru, we
TRAVERSE 43
had to give the Peruvians the credit.
Our first ride day took us along the
spectacular Pacific coast of North-
ern Chile and then, what felt like,
straight up onto the Atacama plateau
and into the desert. Riding along the
coastal road was wonderful with the
ocean directly on our right and the
bare dunes and rugged mountains
beside us on the left, we cruised along
kilometre after kilometre of sweeping
bends that followed the coast.
After lunch (I will get to our lunch-
es later) and a fuel stop we made a
left turn and started to climb. The
perfectly made road wound its way
via switchbacks and meandering
ascents up into a landscape that left
us in awe. I had never witnessed such
a lack of observable life in a land-
scape before. Usually when you are
in a desert you will see hardy bushes
or drought tolerant grasses perhaps
even some gnarled trees along a dry
watercourse. Here there was noth-
ing. Nothing but dirt and rock and