Trails & Travel

Adventure | Experiencing New Cultures – Tito Tomasi in Peru

16.09.2015
by

Tito Tomasi leaves the French winter behind him and travels to Peru, what he found there left him fascinated. “Peru – drifting in the south with my bike and my diary.”

Peru by bike.
Peru by bike.

It is winter in France, I am already in Chile to ride the Andes Pacifico and shoot for MTB heroes2 with FastFokus. It’s been a few weeks that I have been travelling, perhaps i just can’t convince my self to come back home just like that. Without visiting Peru …

Leaving the winter behind in France.
Leaving the winter behind in France.

I LOVE PERU!

Everything about Peru was fascinating.
Everything about Peru was fascinating.

The feeling is good when I am travelling there, the people, their culture, the food, .. Everything is fascinating! And to finish this positive portrait, the mountains in Peru are big, beautiful and populated. Making the best spot for big mountain adventures, for real.

With the local people.
With the local people.

I decided to travel one month, I landed in Arequipa, where I collected my bike case and moved to Cotahuasi to ride for a week. This canyon is the deepest in the world. More than 3500 meters deep. A curious place to visit and ride, the trails are going from dry as desert places to oasis like areas. A lot of the villages there are remote and with only the trails to get there. It was perfect and beautiful to travel in the giant canyon, meeting the people and learning the culture. They always found a place for me to sleep and some thing good to eat.
Then I took a bus, another bus and finally a boat, I arrived on the island of Taquile on the Titicaca lake. Here the people have a really strong relationship with their land. As everything they eat is from their production, the best way to realise how important our earth is. So they take care, listen and look. It was really nice to learn and spend some time there. Usually the tourists don’t stay but I was really attracted by the place and got to know a few kids. The time on the island was nice and rich.

Riding everything from deserts to areas of lush vegetation.
Riding everything from deserts to areas of lush vegetation.
Point of view from riding Peru.
Point of view from riding Peru.

To finish my trip, I went to Cuzco. I first spent some time in this vibrating and fascinating city. Through modern culture to Inka culture, the shock is strong! Some local guys showed some trails around Cuzco, the views where beautiful and the trail super fun. Finally I took my bag again and left for a little while, just the time to go into the Urubamba range. The trails were crossing some Inka ruins, villages and more mountains. It was a blast, with big elevation and a rough ride in the mountain. Some passes were higher than 4800 meters, meaning going down to the green valley took forever! It was an incredible experience of living with the mountain people and riding the historical trail all day.

Riding with the locals.
Riding with the locals.

The way back to Chile was long but before my flight home I could share a ride with the guys from Rocky Mountain Chile! I jumped in the plane and landed in France, the snow was already melting and the playground almost free. Adventure never ends! Happiness is always around for those who listen and watch with patience.

Words and Photos: Tito Tomasi.

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