UPDATE 12 - PERU - 17 JUL 06

10 – 17 Jul 06 PERU.
10 Jul 06 (Mon). Copacabana, Bolivia – Cusco, Peru: Ruta 3S: 345 Miles.
Another 0500 start to the day! Yesterday Mick wanted to get some photos of the full moon as it set on the far side of Lake Titicaca but it disappeared too quickly. So this morning we were set; camera mounted on the tripod last night ready to go. The alarm ensured that we did not miss the moment! This morning the moon was much higher in the sky at 0500 and it wasn’t until 0630 that it finally slipped over the edge of the mountains. We also wanted to make a hasty exit as we were advised that it would be an eight hour ride to Cusco.

Another crisp bright morning, scrape some ice off the seats and we were off to the Peruvian border. Clearing immigrations and customs on the Bolivia side was a straight forward set of stamps for the passport and hand over the temporary importation documents for the bikes that we picked up when we entered Bolivia. Then the police had to document our exit too; not a difficult task, but when complete, a straightforward request for money, but using the excuse that it was for the Religious Idol on the wall behind him, another pagan god of travel; it would give us good luck for our journey and he would prefer US dollars! With six dollars lighter and a silent travellers blessing from The Madonna on the wall we departed to the Peruvian side.

The Peruvian immigration’s officer was up and awake and processed us with a smile and a stamp. The custom’s officer was still to shake a leg and when he did it was to join the National Flag raising parade which all the border officials attended under command of the senior police officer. Nice to see a flag raised in style and with due respect. The custom’s officer gave us the forms to complete, which is unusual, but when he came to transfer info into his ledger we understood; he was as blind as a bat and almost had his nose on the page to see the writing. Now for the police! This was the first person to put the “2” together; 2 Michael’s on 2 white identical BMW’s, it amused him; are we like Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb or probably more likely Hinge and Bracket? Then the request for money! Do all the Police demand money to let you through, are they all poachers turned game keepers or still poachers? All in good humour they got $6 too and wished us a good journey. Mick’s more benevolent take on it was; if you think of it as a tip for a service completed, just like a waiter, it doesn’t feel like you’ve been fleeced!

The road conditions have now changed considerably, we are no longer the only ones on the road and the luxury of having it to ourselves has gone. There is also constant habitation, we are never out of sight of some form of dwelling, people or traffic and the road surface is very old and in poor condition. We crossed the border at Yunguyo and headed North West to Puno which is a major tourist attraction with reed beds and floating villages etc; our only requirement was to get some cash from the ATM. Finding the main Plaza, Mick stayed with the bike while I went for the cash. As usual the bikes were quite an attraction and to cap it Mick was interviewed by Puno TV. He explained in his best Spanish what we were up to, but he got the distinct impression that the cameraman was bored of the slow, laborious process of trying to extract information from his broken Spanish; “surely there must be a children’s concert that we can film instead”!

Juliaca was our next major city enroute and with it some sporting riding, dodging a new mobile and agile opponent, the three wheeled powered taxi and the pedalled variety too. As taxis the world over, they know where they want to go and will just go for it! Some serious blocking tactics were required here with an added measure of robustness! La Paz tactics plus the threat of a pannier backed up by 350 kgs of Beemer slapping their front end seemed to give us just about enough room to stay in a straight line.

Mick continues to be lead scout for me so that he can let me know where the road dangers are and I can manoeuvre round then or follow him in to it and brace or relax as required. But a new hazard; riding along a straight road with good visibility, Mick moved to the far left of the carriageway to pass a cyclist, who, without warning turned left into Mick’s path when he was 20 metre away. No time for too much arithmetic: slow down and definitely collide, accelerate and contact might not be made. Mick missed him by hairs breadth and the cyclist continued without a change of pace of direction; these are getting very close!

Arriving at Cusco which is the regional capital and our jump off point to visit Machu Picchu we found a hotel and someone to sell us a trip to the religious site for tomorrow at what seems an exorbitant fee.

11 Jul 06 (Tue). Machu Picchu: Railway: 145 Kms.
Another early start, collected at 0530 for a 145 kms, 4 hour train journey at 0600 to Machu Picchu. There are many ways to get to Machu Picchu, but as we were late arriving at Cusco and had allocated one day only, our options to negotiate were limited and as the write ups said the train was a good way to visit Machu Picchu, so we did. Heading North West climbing out of the city on yet another heavily frosted bright morning, the train negotiates 4 switchback junctions in order to climb to 3700 metres then slowly descend 1700 metres to Aguas Calientes following the Rio Urubamba through river gorges, tunnels and high snow capped mountains of the Sacred Valley. Get the picture, more wonderful scenery? An observation as we rode through Peru yesterday was that the dogs we not interested in chasing us! There were many more dogs that we have seen of late but they seem indifferent and just sit on the side of the road at regular intervals as if they are a line of guards. But today the wheel chasing dogs were back and at full tilt! As the slow train wound its way along the narrow track with tight turns we saw a dog chasing the front wheel of the train, trying to get hold of it; obviously a wheel is a wheel weather attached to a bike or a train and its all fair game – good effort.

Machu Picchu Pueblo (previously called Aguas Calientes is the tourist hub, where all tourists congregate to be transported up to Machu Picchu by a fleet of buses, seeming to be run with military precision. Another rapid ascent from 2000 metres to 2450 metres (up and down like a yoyo!) to meet Louie, our guide for the morning. He was very good and agile too skipping up the steep steps trying to get us to his tour start point quickly! Machu Picchu is so well documented that I will not give you a history lesson but to get the salient points across and to set the scene and using Louie’s interpretation of the history and archaeology; Machu Picchu is located in the Sacred Valley known as Vilcamayo, 80 kms north west of Cusco. The traditional Inca trail was from Cusco to Machu Picchu serving as its supply route, with supplies being delivered by men carrying 56 kgs each, taking just two days to cover the distance. The Inca trail is now limited to 40 kms for tourists taking 5 days. Machu Picchu is a religious site and named after the mountain on which it sits. The term Inca is not a tribe or people it is a king and the Inca was king of the Katcha Tribe. Machu Picchu was built as the religious centre of the Inca’s empire which had a population of 7 million at its height and stretched from Ecuador to Chile, from the Pacific Ocean to parts of Bolivia and Northern Argentina, When the Spanish arrived in the early 1600s and learnt of the Inca’s wealth they made moves to destroy the Inca and his tribe taking its wealth for Spain, but before the location of Machu Picchu could be compromised, it was abandoned with all it’s inhabitants moving south into the jungle and building Bilca Bamba which was found and destroyed by the Spanish around 1670. The irony was that Machu Picchu was never discovered by the Spaniards.

Compared with modern religions the Inca worshiped the Sun, Earth and Water; representing fire, fertility and life; which intern was accessed through the Condor who represented the higher spirits, the Puma who represented the earth’s living life and the snake that represented the spirits of the underworld. Great importance was made of these gods and worship was guided to each to fulfil the needs of the people. Llamas were sacrificed to Mother Earth and their heart used to predict the outcome of the coming seasons. The special relationship between the llamas and the gods meant the llamas within Machu Picchu were sacred and could not be used for meat and there are16 llamas roaming freely over the site today; they have a dual purpose, good for the tourists to get photos with and a constant mobile mower keeping the acres of grass short. Was their religion so wrong; you could see it, touch it, see it, taste it and hear it, but the Spanish slaughtered it to replace it with a mythical god that we are expected to believe in, but have no evidence of?

Machu Picchu lay undiscovered until 1911 when Hiram Bingham came across it; it was a ruin then but has been reconstructed over the last 80 years to show its original layout and function. As a tourist site it is very well run and controlled, with a recommendation from us that a guide is a must have, to get the maximum value from a visit. But the guides do seem to have their own interpretation on the history as we found while listening to another guide explain the same object that we had just seen; but I suppose its close enough for our needs. In the high season, which is now, they expect up to 2000 visitors a day, but its down to 800 – 1000 at this time; the reason being put down to the Football World Cup! It is a fascinating place to visit and should not be missed if you’re in the area.

We had a late return train which meant that most of the journey was in the dark; but there was entertainment by the carriage staff. First was a tradition tribal dance followed by a fashion show of locally produced Alpaca wool clothes. The aim was probably three fold, entertain the passengers; which it did, show off local produces and attempt to sell them. It was very light hearted and killed on hour or so of a slow dark climb back up to 3700 metres. Could you imagine any of the British rail companies doing this; Branson, something for you to consider!

12 Jul 06 (Wed). Cusco – Nasca: Ruta 3S, 26A: 450 Miles.
Hairpin heaven or hell? Yet another early start today, on a fresh crisp morning, 0630 on the road as we have 450 mile between us and Nasca near the coast. Dropping from 3700 metres above sea level (ASL) to 1800 ASL it warmed up nicely to the point of stripping off our fleeces and cold weather kit. The run down hill following the Rio Apurimac was through rich pastures with cattle being the main industry. Lots of sweeping hairpins and some very tight too for a fun ride down hill and along the valley floor and we thought that it was going to be a straightforward day sitting back for a relaxing ride! Once we had crossed the Rio Apurimac and climbed to Abancay where we refuelled, we understood that it would be a more demanding day than anticipated. From our map, we could not determine that from Cusco to Nasca we would be cross graining over a series of mountains the would take us up and down from altitudes of 1800 to 4500 metres ASL, then to sea level. At the start of the day it was sheer bliss, sweeping bends, 180o hairpins uphill and down dale; but where does joy turn to tedium? Probably after your first one hundred turns with as little as 300 metres between bends; spending much of the day in 1st, 2nd or 3rd gear not getting above 30 – 40 mph much of the time. It’s another bit of road that the sports bikes would have had a field day on, except for the lack of fuel stops for their small tanks!

We refuelled at Puquio at 1500 hrs which is a town that seems to have no reason to be there. You arrive on tarmac and as you enter the town the roads turn to dust and rubbish, it is a sorry excuse for habitation and that would appear to be the local councils view as it had no visible amenities. When as you exit the town you’re back on tarmac! Climbing to our highest point of the day, 4500 ASL we were back in Llama country and the mountain people who herd them.
The conditions of these people appeared to be more austere than the other mountain habitations that we have passed. Riding at speed along a straight flat piece of road two llamas ran from behind a mound of earth directly into Mick’s path, when they realised that they were about to collide with a vehicle and could not stop, they skidded on their hooves and dropped to their knees in order to reduce their velocity, sliding behind his bike; that is the third close call and each one was closer than the last! We were to be thankful that they were llamas not sheep; had it been sheep they would have attempted to get between the wheels assuming that they were agile enough to get under the engine too!!

As we got to the end of the last set of mountains, it was down hill all the way to Nasca. At 1700 hrs we were heading due west into the setting sun, which on any other day would have made for some fantastic photo opportunities. But after 400 miles and 10 hours of hauling bikes around hairpins we were exhausted and it was showing in our riding; a couple of close calls on downhill hairpins, riding into the sun and missed judged the severity of the turn nearly had us running out of road with a very long drop to the next bit of firm ground. It took a conscious effort to slow down and accept that we would have to finish the ride into Nasca in the dark. Nasca reached and after the usual couple of turns around the main areas we found a good hotel to secure the bikes and get some well earned rest.

13 Jul 06 (Thu). Nasca Lines
The credit for the discovery of the Nasca Lines has been attributed to the German Born Dr Maria Reiche who spent 50 years studying the ancient markings and trying to decipher them. As for Machu Picchu, the Nasca Lines are well documented; it is about 500 square kilometres in size with a series of animal figures and geometric shapes, none of them repeated and some up to 200 metres in length. There are many theories as to there origin and meaning, from the alien navigation and runway theory to the agricultural calendar to help to regulate the planting and harvesting of crops as well as all the others.

The best way to see the Nasca Lines is from the air or to get a limited view from the viewing tower on the Pan American Highway. We opted for the aerial view to get the best view; arranged by the hotel, we were collected by taxi for a short ride to the local airstrip which has an abundance of air tour companies offering a spin around the Lines. A 40 minute flight twisting and turning over each figure and shape so that passengers on the left and right of the aircraft can get a view is not for those with a weak stomach. Although this is a major site of archaeological interest and with it a major tourist attraction it was a disappointing show; mainly due to the type of aircraft used. A variety of small Cessna type aircraft with small windows would ferry the punters skywards with a pilot saying the Monkey’s on your right etc, doing a quick spin to get it on the left for the other passengers. The assumption was that these figures would standout on the desert floor and be instantly identifiable; the reality was the opposite, they were very difficult to acquire from the air and by the time you had they were gone! Although it was a very interesting experience; expectation did not match the reality of the site; we were both disappointed by the show; too much tourist conveyer belt, not enough detail. Our recommendation is yes visit it if you’re there, but visit the viewing tower first to get an understanding of what you’re going to see; you’ll then have a better perspective of what you’re looking for from the air.

14 Jul 06 (Fri). Nasca – Huacho: Ruta 1S Pan American Highway: 426 Miles.
The Rough Guide says that Paracas and Pisco are worth a visit to see the flamingos and pelicans and possibly whales; so that was the plan, but remaining flexible to continue to push north if it did not meet expectations! Nasca behind us and a dull day with even duller scenery was the benefit of being at see level. A few hairpins to deal with as we climbed some large sand dunes leaving the district of Nasca and to increase the interesting and focus the mind, a diesel spill on each corner; first one caught me out with a rather quick twitch requiring quick throttle down and handful of opposite lock; I really don’t need to go down on tarmac! No, all safely recovered and once out of the hairpins it was laser straight, how tedious!

Paracas appears to be a holiday resort as well as a fishing village with a transient population, catering mainly for holiday makers. There were lots of pelicans crowding moored fishing boats and that was about it apart from the dune buggies dotted around the village waiting to thrill some punters! Other than that and a few fishermen trying to float a fishing boat and a fisherman doing maintenance with his hound there was not much to see, so we pointed north and into the dullness we rode to get as near to Ecuador as possible in the shortest time. We are going to meet Albert in Quito and he has been giving us advice on routes, hotels, must see sites, etc; he did say this part of the ride would be dull, oh how right he is.

Lima was looming and it was decision time, late afternoon, do we call it a day in Lima, Albert’s given us directions for a hotel or do we kick on and aim for Huacho only 100 miles up the motorway? Obvious, we kick on. The Pan American Highway does go through Lima and had we been able to pick up the signs we would have stayed on it, but we would have missed experiencing the cesspit that Lima is away from the main thoroughfare. I can understand why the mountain people want to migrate to the cities to escape their desperately poor way of life, but to live in the squalor that is thought to be civilisation is a sorry mistake. Is grass always greener and are streets paved with gold? If only!

Once we were in the maze of back streets it was difficult to find our way out, we were going round in circles; then found ourselves on what must have been a bus only street when Mick intercepted a policeman or was it the other way round? Driving licences and docs checked, he did give us directions and it was back to the place we’d been circling, but missing the one and vital road that was our escape route! Playing chicken with the heavy traffic leaving Lima was not so much fun but survival of the fittest and making sure that you could be seen. Where does all the traffic go? We’re up to our panniers in bumpers and then all of a sudden we have the road, as far as the eye can see ourselves? Sheer bliss, dual carriageway in good condition, good visibility and hardly another vehicle insight; time to open the throttles and really cover the miles. Uphill on a sweeping right hander and down the other side, there was a policeman in the middle of the road inviting us to pull over. Apparently we’d been caught by a speed trap over the hill; it was all so similar to Uruguay. The ritual is to dance around the traffic regulations book singing out the bits that say extortionate fine, and “I keep your licences and you have to go to here to collect them blah, blah, blah”; yes, yes, how much for the Policeman’s Christmas Orphan’s fund? “Oh it’s not like that”. Well, the good cop, bad cop routine eventually plays its course and we cough up $100. But fair enough, we were banged to rights. He said the limit was 70 kph and we were doing 90; well we probably were but not 90 kph! Mick’s regret, having paid the money is that we did not barter as it is negotiable, to a degree!

Another day of overstretch. Arriving in another town in the dark trying to find a hotel with security for the bikes and around in circles we go. When in doubt ask a policeman, they will either want to check your docs; fine you; help you or in this instance, Mick stopped in the middle of a busy roundabout to ask the policeman directing traffic for directions to a hotel. I thought that was pretty ballsy considering our earlier encounter and the volume of traffic this guy was handling. He just stopped all the traffic and pointed to the far side of the roundabout for us to go and park and he walked across with us. When he understood what we were after he said he would escort us to a hotel, what service! He just abandoned his post, jumped on his 125 complete with siren and red flashing light (not used) and off we went through the traffic. Fortunately he realised that we were about twice the width of this bike and gave due consideration when we darted up the lines of traffic, jumping junctions with a quick squirt of the siren; fine for him up front but being third bike, traffic had thought that once the cop had gone through it was a free-for-all again. First hotel, he jumps off goes in and come out quite quickly, no secure parking, let’s go. Back on the road we pick up a second police bike with 2 cops; a lot of discussion between the three of them; then we have a two bike escort! Next hotel, checked by the cops, its fine, garage around the corner; they insist on getting us to the garage and give warning to the staff that the bikes were not to be tampered with. It restores ones faith.

15 Jul 06 (Sat). Huasho – Huaraz: Ruta 1N, 14, 3N: 175 Miles
Another dull start to the day, heavy haze and mist that has blocked the sun for the last couple of days and we’re starting to suffer from sun deficiency; we’re not used to riding without the sun on our faces! But at least at sea level you we can breathe more easily. We have high expectations of finding blue skies and the sun today as we are going to climb back up to the gods, sit on top of the world, breathe their rarefied air and have a view from horizon to horizon. We have had a couple of very strong recommendations that as we are running up the Pacific coast we should take a small detour via Huaraz and take in the 50 snow capped peaks of the Cordillera Blanca.

Leaving Huasho, first job was to refuel, which is usually a friendly chatty affair as the bikes draw a crowd; today was no exception. I think the female assistant would have come along for the ride had the rear seat been available; more confirmation that puppies are not required! The Tut Tuts (three wheeled taxis) also stopped to look and ask the usual questions; who are you, where are you from, where have you been, where are you going and can we swap? Its good chat and a laugh with these guys at the forecourt but it’s full combat using mobile interception and blocking when you meet in their combat arena; the street!

After yesterdays contribution to the Policeman’s Orphan’s Christmas fund we were riding at a very steady pace; we cannot afford to handover $100 everyday. It really is a miserable place to ride compared to where we have been; the whole road is an extension of the council tip. Trying to spot the Feds way off and constantly checking speeds we swept around a right hander to see the police flagging everyone onto the side; a quick glace down the road and across the bridge gave the reason, a slow moving very wide crane was coming towards us. Through the next town and still riding with great caution we passed a police patrol on the side of the road, they raised a hand so we waved back and continued, only to be stopped by the next patrol claiming that we were speeding. Now yesterday was a fair-cop-guv but today smacked of a mugging! Yep we were mugged by a very friendly cop who was desperate that while he had his hand in my wallet no one could see, so every note handed over was at full arms length and as obvious as I could make it.

Both of us were furious at the highway robbery and it took the edge off the ride up Ruta 14; which is a valley worth visiting. It is a mixture of small agricultural holdings and open hills side that gives way to steep open mountain side the higher you climb. I’m leading today; time to get out front again and Mick came alongside pointing at his warming lights; his engine management light was on! The only thing to do is to stop and assess the problem, easier said than done as we have no diagnostic equipment, but sometimes just switching off and back on clears the problem; it did, that’s a relief.

When we reach the top of the pass, the route was flanked to the west by the Cordillera Negra and Cordillera Blanca on the east and we were riding north, into the sun, bliss. It is a spectacular view and the ride is worth the effort as the Cordillera Blanca is, as advertised, a line of snow capped mountains with tremendous views. But not wishing to devalue it, we have been slightly over exposed to good mountain scenery, so it did not have quite the wow factor that it would have been had it have been one of our first mountain ranges! “Oh the luxury to be complacent of mountain views” I hear you say! Yup, but that’s what we’re doing, overdosing on spectacular scenery.

The intention was to overnight at Huaraz rather than do what we’ve been doing recently and pushing on until we are both knackered. It’s no different to the other towns we’ve ridden through in Peru, a desperate poor crumbling town where the streets are rubbish tips and life is hand to mouth. We rode around the town for a while, wrong way up one way streets etc, trying to find the hotel recommended to us by Albert. It is another one of those oasis of civilisation that is nice to have, especially as Mick’s body has rejected him from both ends and he feels as though he’s been hit in the back by a steam roller; not a pretty sight! He’s gone straight to bed in the hope that it will pass while he sleeps and we can continue tomorrow back to the Pan American Highway and dull weather and dull views, probably? He’s put it down to the Peruvian/Chinese meal we had last night!

16 Jul 06 (Sun). Huaraz – Trujillo: Ruta 1N: 230 Miles.
Not a good night had by either of us; it was my turn for D&V during the night, shivering one minute and sweating the next but generally I was ok for a days riding. Mick was in tatters; he looked like death warmed-up and the colour of milk. Was he ready for a 100 mile ride along a cart track or did he need another days rest? A contributing factor to feeling rough was probably the fact that we had ridden from see level to 4000 metres in a few hours the day before and reducing the altitude might help, so off we went. Four hours, 100 miles later and Mick just wanted to lie down and die. The views on the route down mountain had been wasted on Mick, all he wanted to do was get round the next corner without a problem and eventually reach the Pan American Highway. On one corner we met a bus hurtling up (still the fastest thing on the track) hill; discretion being the better part of valour, we did the polite thing and pulled into the side to allow it to squeeze past. I shot off expecting Mick to be in my wing mirrors, but when he failed to appear after a mile I turned round and rode back to meet his just near where we’d stopped. As he was starting off, his rear wheel hit a rock and tipped the bike on its side trapping this right foot under the crash bar, ouch! He’d manage to free it and get the bike upright too but was in great pain from the crushing. So not only was he feeling like ***t but there was a fair chance that he had done some serious damage to a toe too!

The Pan American Highway was as we left it dull, and the ride to Trujillo was uneventful. We almost rode through Trujillo thinking that it would be a much larger town.. Our night stop was at a very seedy hotel, but with a secure compound for the bikes. There were no restaurants about so it was a carry-out of biscuits and bread from the garage and a picnic in the room. Fortunately the cockroaches were polite enough to wait until we’d had our fill before joining in. Mick’s toe was not a pretty colour but probably not broken and even if it was there’s not much to be done with it other than elevate it; he can do that tomorrow by putting his legs up on the crash bars when he’s riding!

17 Jul 06 (Mon). Trujillo – Loja Ecuador: Ruta 1N, 35: 513 Miles.
It was going to be another one of those very long days, yet another very early start; but first get rid of that cockroach running around my helmet! We skipped breakfast, you can probably understand why. The weather was as dull as ever and the view was non existent. At our first stop Mick also had to get rid of something that had been running around his crash helmet for the last 20 miles! From Trujillo to Chiclayo there was some traffic to entertain us but once through Chiclayo and into the Desierto de Sechura it was laser straight; we felt confident that we could up the speed as the other traffic was moving much quicker that us, so we put feet up on the crash bars, locked throttles off and leant back on the packs, it’s going to be a long one.

At Sullana we had the option of staying with the coast road around to Tumbes and cross the border into Ecuador at Huaquillas or go inland and cross at Macara. No contest Macara was closer and would get us out of Peru the quickest. Riding from Sullana, the countryside started to change from desert to subtropical with fertile ground for plantations, colour and warmth. The border crossings were as they have been previously, friendly, straightforward and easy, and the bonus, neither sets of border police needed a financial contribution to their gods.

The immediate impression I got as we crossed the border was that the people were more smiley, brighter eyed and in better physical condition. Their houses were more substantial and they were more industrious. Also, the girls wore short skirts and tight tops, all very easy on the eye!

Crossing the border at 1530, we still had 3 ½ hours of hard riding to do to get to Loja through the tight and twisty roads of this part of the Pan American Highway. Loja was another town too far and with Mick still having stomach problems was suffering, lots, but we were now well and truly in Ecuador. Next stop Quito.

Our comments on Peru: Peru has some of the finest relics of ancient Inca history and what we saw was well worth the effort. The rest that we saw was a cesspit of humanity and it was a pleasure and relief to exit Peru. Unlike Bolivia I would not give Peru a second visit other than to use it as a thoroughfare to transit through!

We are supporting:
Charity:
Macmillan Cancer Support – http://www.justgiving.com/mickdaly-hereford
Schools:
Christ College Brecon - http://www.christcollegebrecon.com/
St Richard’s Bredenbury - www.st-richards.co.uk

Our intention for the next week. Did we achieve last week’s intentions to enter and exit Peru! Yes. Next week is to visit Ecuador and possibly Columbia too but aiming for Panama.