Day 83 - Cuenca to Guyaquil

Cuenca is JC's home town. He was born here and lived here until he was five, then again when he was 8 to 10, then moved to the USA when he was 13, by crossing the border and walking into the desert from Mexico. His mother lives in Cuenca and he went to visit her when he arrived. Cuenca is also a gloriously pretty and clean town, in particular compared to anywhere in Peru. Crossing into Ecuador was so stunningly different from Peru, and this town highlighted it with magnificent parks, mowed lawns, clean streets and well appointed houses. We were delighted. 

Our day started in the small but very neat hotel called La Casona, when we all piled into Willy's truck and headed down to the BMW Dealer at Challuabamba, one of six in Ecuador. They had done the service on our bikes overnight and were out testing them and getting them washed - my bike has not been so clean since it was new! The service was also excellent and a very fair price. They replaced my spark plugs, the oil and filter, air filter, and also all brake pads for the two front disks and rear. The difference in performance and smoothness was particularly noticeable, and I was very pleased. Our route out of town head up a very winding road on a nearby hill and Ned Meisner, the new rider joined us until the coffee stop on his new Suzuki adventure bike. It was a true cafe and the coffee was very good, and hopefully will continue to improve as we head north towards Colombia. 

The road continued up-hill but I was unable to stop at the "mirador" or lookout as a truck was parked across the entrance, and to make it worse a very heavy fog came down, which really slowed us down as we headed down the hill on generally good roads, trying to avoid the occasional pothole. We were heading to Guayaquil a port town on the Guayas River, and therefore reknowned as a drug smuggling port. We stopped after 200km at a Wyndham Hotel on the waterfront and then Sheryle and I went for a long walk along the waterfront and a ride in the local Poma Cabin lift across the river. We were warned not to wander too far out of the area, as "it's not safe" but it seemed very reasonable to us, at least around the hotel.

Tomorrow we fly to Glapagos, something we have waited on, for many years.

Day 82 - Entering Ecuador from Peru

We had enjoyed our short break on the beach at Mancora but had were glad to head out of Peru and into Ecuador. We had spent plenty of time in Peru and despite its wonders, we had had enough of the trash on the back roads and some of the more disorganised hotels. It is such a country of contrasts.

We decided to rise before dawn and leave very early. The hotel people provided coffee and bread and butter but no toaster or jam or fruit, but we all knew we needed to eat something, so did and were glad of it. 

It was 140 kilometres to the border, and sensibly the Peruvian and Ecuadorian governments share buildings for both entry and exit. Exit was easy, but the border officials said that we could not enter Ecuador without a certified certificate saying that we had not criminal records for five years! Obviously it would be easy to create one, but getting the "stamp" would be a challenge. The purpose of this extended rule was to keep villains from Peru and other countries out of Ecaudorian Cartel Gangs. We were very deflated, but eventually the manager came over and asked if we were riding motos (motorcycles) and we said yes, and so he made an exception. JC was very pleased as you can imagine. 

So after a couple of hours we crossed, but a German couple were so incensed with the rules that they turned back! I'm not sure what world you are in when you piss off Government Officials!

We rode another 80 km and were joined by JC's cousin, Edwin who was riding a brand new Honda TransAlp motorcycle and he escorted us into the town of Cuenca, which is truly beautiful, after a stop for a soup lunch which we all enjoyed. The roads here have large humps in them and some areas of gravel disturbance created by geological movements, which are worth watching out for as you round a corner.

We went straight to the BMW Dealer here, and the others to the hotel La Cascona. I have now ridden more than 20,000 km on my bike and it needs another service most urgently. I will also get the rear brake pads replaced (as I am carrying spares from Australi), but decided to continue with the excellent Michelin Adventure tyres for the moment.  The visit to the Dealer was interesting as they had our bikes on the hoists in seconds and were draining oil and replacing filters very quickly. My bike is filthy. 

Ned Meisner who is the new person joining us for the last 12 days, lives here in Cuenca, but is an American citizen. He invited us to his home for dinner to meet us, and we were a little unsure of this, but he provided first class Japanese Sushi and a hamburger for Paul which was a delightful surprise. Edwin and his girlfriend turned up too, and all in all it was a good evening. We travelled by taxi back to the hotel, and paid with US dollars as they are the currency for Equador. 

Day 81 - On the Beach at Mancora (not Punta Sol)

We are valuing our rest days highly, particularly when they are at the beach! As you can see from the photos below, we have a delightful position, with our room on the ground floor, a nice pool outside which we have used repeatedly and a long beach along which we can walk with ease, but dodging the horse riders and fishermen. 

There are many hotels and bungalows along this section, maybe 50 in all, but almost all have few if any guests. Covid restrictions and the social unrest has reduced the numbers here, but also there is no airport near by, and a gravel road out the back of all the hotels does not excite international visitors generally. Still it is a beautiful spot. 

We decided to walk to the town which took about an hour, and was delightful. However being Sunday, not much was open, and we were chased by touts everywhere. One was particularly loud after we did not respond to his question about which country we came from. Also, no one has espresso coffee (I am guessing due to the cost of a machine) but thems the breaks.  We caught a tuk tuk home for about two dollars, driven very slowly by a young lady. Tuk tuk racing is unlikey to have the same impact here as in Phuket!

We swam again and I swam in the sea, with a little surf. There was a young man on a board here, from Lima and he had been in Sydney which he loved. For Peruvians, getting a visa to visit Australia is quite a challenge unless you have assets and a job in Peru.  The waves were small but powerful and I caught a few in body surfing mode and ended up right on the beach which was just great. 

My sore tooth is still sore, but anti-biotics seem to be helping a little and I am hopeful it will be repaired by tomorrow as we head across the border into Ecuado and to Cuenca, home of the sombrero and maker of the best Panama Hats from natural materials. I will also get my bike serviced as we have now passed 20,000 kilometres of riding with about four thousand to go.

Day 80 - Trujillo to the Coast - Mancora

After nearly a week in the Andes on mixed roads, we were finally about to head down to the coast, reducing the incidents of altitude sickness experienced by many, but little by us as we have been taking Diamox each day, half a tablet in the morning and half in the evening. 

The road from Trujillo meandered down via many corners, but lost height fast. We were very concious that this was the longest day and even all though it was shortened by not going to remote Punta Sal, but staying near to Mancora village, it was still about 620 km. Generally the surface was excellent with few potholes. We all hummed along.

Everyone rode alone according to their interests and speed, which resulted in some funny passing exchanges. I had about 80% of a large tank of fuel and left last, with Paul leading out the front, followed by Rahn, JC, me and the truck with Sheryle and Willy in it. 

The road was good and got better as the Pan American Highway (which runs from Alaska to Ushuia), in some cases even dual carriageway. However, it passed through a small number of towns and these were always packed with people and "tuk tuks" or three wheel carriages called Torinos or Little Bulls in South America and used for carrying two passengers - in one case an entire family of five was observed. In addition, Peru has instigated series of road humps in all towns, usually fairly modest but large in number. Occasionally they are very harsh (or steep) so that you have to slow to about 10km/hour to get over them comfortably, or take a mighty leap into space. But there are hundreds and they get wearing when you have a long distance to cover. 

I was feeling good so decided to ride until I was at the limit of the bike's remaining range, which turned out to be about 386km. As a result, I passed all of the others, who were stopped for a pee stop, or for fuel, first being Rahn and JC and then later Paul. 

He had stopped in a town we called "chick-fil-lay" after that food place in the USA, but the real name was Chiclayo.  It was a large town and the most filthy I have experienced in all of South America. Peru has some wonderful things to experience and see, but they have two real problems being feral dogs and roadside rubbish. There are dogs all along the roads, even in remote places in the mountains, and they are generally feral, with a few looked after by locals. Mostly they do not attack or bark but a few do chase the bikes, and it is obvious that the council will eventually have to manage them in some formal way.

The rubbish is another matter. Basically at any layby on the side of the road in Peru, rubbish has been dropped by locals. There are differing views on why, but it is clear that the older people used to do this, as almost all their trash was biodegradeable. Now it includes plastic bags and bottles. While I could look past it in most places, Chiclayo was a different matter entirely. There was rubbish everywhere. The town is a central point for communications too, so on a local hill there were about seven huge radio masts with dishes and antennas, and houses directly underneath - clearly cancer will finally get to many inhabitants. In town there were rubbish bags blowing down the street, but out of town the piles of rubbish were maybe 3m high and stank. JC says this is cultural and that there are local tips for disposal, but I am sure this is not entirely true. Willy says that the correct thing is not taught in schools. It was simply not a nice place to be. Simply Peru must start public education to get people on the right course, as we did in Australia.

I continued on, across a large section with no towns or house and got well into my "reserve" of petrol, finally finding a garage just after a toll booth or "Peaj". By this time Rahn has passed me three times and couldn't understand why! Generally in South America, motorcycles are free at toll booths and there is a slip lane off to the right, usually hard to see and very narrow, but not requiring a stop. I did stop after one for a quick chat to JC. Anyway, I filled up at this garage and the cost was 146 SOLEs (about $60 AUS), which would be about five times the cost of filling one of the local small motorcycles. The female assistant was quite distressed, believing that the machine had measured it incorrectly, so I had to explain that my bike has a very large tank. We had a good laugh in that international mix of different languages and sign language.

Because of the change of hotel, our pre-provided GPS routes were going to be wrong, and so JC had given us clear instructions. Like "after the Manora sign, make sure you turn left down the gravel road before the bridge". This worked but the gravel road was not 3km long but nearer six to the hotel. The Bungalows are on the beach with good views to sea and a simple bar and restaurant. While not flash, it was nice to be beside the seaside. We had a local dinner in their restaurant and slept well. 

Day 79 Huaraz to Trujillo

Leaving Huaraz turned out to be straight forward. This was the town that JC had said "there is nothing to see here" but we found the City of Churches to be actually very fascinating and visited about six of old Spanish churches before leaving.

He had been unspecific about the road ahead, and that usually meant that it was full of potholes or had loads of gravel, but in this case the first two thirds were magnificent, well sealed and complete with many corners. It was later in the day that it deteriorated somewhat. JC decided that we would go down Duck Canyon, as he had been upable to do it before. This road was built to support the Hydro scheme and was initially sealed. It travelled via 35 tunnels, but the seal was almost all gone and the potholes were horrendous. I had truly had enough by the end. This is supposed to be the main highway along the spine of the Andes, in comparison the Pan Pacific Highway which follows the coast, and is in general well sealed, even dual carriage way in some areas. 

We were warned that the mountain people in Peru were a delight which we found to be true in many senses, compared to the people on the coast who might hold you up!

In the later morning, JC chose a small road-side stall to stop at to see if they had coffee, which they did not. However, the lady was delighted to see us, and offered herbal tea which was actually mint tea and decidely good too! We all imbibed. She also offered us a rolled bun of maize and some meat, wrapped in a corn sheath which was also very local and excellent. Beside the building was an open fire and some river stones, much like a NZ Hungi and she was preparing the evening meal, to be buried and cooked, for the road workers I believe. Anyway, we loved it all, and gave her a good tip.

We then stopped for lunch in a small town (rather than a village) and set up the picnic table under a rotunda in the main square. The locals were fascinated and we struck up a conversation with tow yourng men and a girl. She was about ten the boys were 12 and 14 and wanted to know all about us. The mid aged boy said that he had never met foreigners except once before, and wanted to know about us and Australia. They were genuinely interested, so we gave them some chips and other minor food. Soon after, a couple came along who would have been in their late teens. She spoke quite reasonable english and wanted to know all about our picnic food as it was very different to what they knew. For example she had never seen sliced ham before and was agog at all the different cheeses.  I think we will be the talk of the town for some days!

After that, we proceeded on an increasingly challenging road and eventually made it to Trujillo, where the Andino Hotel was a delight, being run by a Swiss gentelman and of course everything was perfect including the trimmed lawn! He said it was the first night in four years that they had had a full house, given covid and the social unrest in Peru for a few months last year. We were surprised, but said that most people would not visit if there was any perceived risk, and the riots over Chinese exploitation in Peru was in that category. 

Sheryle and I walked to the city Square and visited the Pre-Incan museum, covering the history of the Ancash people from about 2000 BC, which was certainly fascinating. We then visited an Ancash archeological site on a hill, that happened to provide the best view of Mt Huscaran (climbed by my friends from ANU in 1979). I also had a hair cut on the way home, that cost about $2.

After his accident, Jeff was heading home today to Japan, and can be seen in the photo below. The inter-relationship between the riders as in dynamics changed subtely but clearly as a result. 

Day 78 - In Huaraz City with Festivals

This was our first rest day in six, the previous five all being quite challenging riding on "mixed surface roads". We have been heading west and now north in Peru towards the Cordillera Blanca which is part of the Andean Mountains, and they have now come into view. Eventually we will travel west to the Coast then north to from Trujillo to Punta Sal and onto Ecuador.  

On our rest day, I was determined to actually rest, as it was tempting to ride to a high lookout nearby, but I did not do that and I am not sure that anyone did.  Last night, I had arrived here first and the others soon after with Jeff being last on his bike. Right outside the front of the (very good) hotel, was a new road-hump as there are everywhere in Peru, and he caught his bike stand on the end of it, tipping the bike on its side again, with his foot trapped under the frame. I was the only one present, but with a local man, managed to get the bike off him. However he had damaged his shoulder again, the one that had had such major surgery from other accidents on other rides in Africa and Europe. This was his sixth tip-over that I can count for this trip and he was in real pain, but managed to stand up. JC took him to hospital for an X-Ray, and it appeared that both the cartilage was torn and the bone was actually broken from the day before when he had crashed in the drain in front of me. So the decision was made to drive him overnight to Lima, and fly him home to Japan tomorrow. JC went with him to the Lima airport in a hire car and should be back the next day for our Team Dinner. 

During the day, we walked down the hill to see the Square or Plaza da Armas as they are called in pratically every small Peruvian town. There were hundreds of young people in the street celebrating a Catholic Festival which actually runs for a fortnight. They were all dressed up in local costumes and dancing in the street with oompah bands playing their drums loudly. We walked to a nearby church, where they were singing mass for three hours then headed to a nearby hill which is an Ancash (previous to Incas) archeological ruin called Parmacayan, but it was closed until 10am so we returned later. 

The main square was small and very well kept, in fact Huaraz is a very tidy town for Peru. It has all the normal Government State and Municipal buildings around it plus a small museum to the Ancash people who occupied from about 1200 BC and came down from the Bering Straits land-bridge as did the American Indians. Of particular interest were the hand tools, weapons and more importantly the ceramic pots, which were beautifully decorated. The museo was crowed with groups of school children who were all very intersted in the stories told by their teacher. Some were however, more interested in why the gringos were in the museum too!

As we walked back to the hotel, I passed a small fa mily hair dresser and went in to have my hair cut back to the scalp which was fun as she spoke no English at all, however the word "zero" was well understood and I had a very good hair cut for less than three dollars. 

We eventually made it to the top of the Ancash Hill and ruins from where there is a glorious view of the mountains all covered in snow. One is Huscaran which my friends from ANU climbed all of those years ago. 

Day 77 - Huanuco to Huaraz

"Mixed Roads" they said. Indeed, with some super-highways and lots of turns, but mostly gravel, water and mud. My bike looks a shocker, being covered in mud and horse shit plus dead bugs and god knows what else.

The distance for today was predicated on some good roads, as the Peruvian government is building a super-highway from Huanaco to Huaraz, based on the need for an inland highway to offset the actual super highway on the coast from Lima to the border with Ecuador. However the terrain is incredibly steep and rugged and every day we can see great folds of geological time in the rocks on every hill.

The expressway being built is 12 metres wide, which would be plenty for large road trains and other cars. Right now, there are sections of about 2 kilometres supplemented by longer sections of very narrow mud and rocks. To make matters more demading there have been many land slides onto the new sections and some are now down to one lane. They also have an interesting habit of not installing culverts of any size, but building a cement dip or drain across which water flows and creates a very slippery surface for all to pass over. 

On one part, I had accidentally passed the agreed stopping point, a very small village (where a cup of coffee would have been very welcome) in an attempt to make it across a steel covered Bailey-type bridge of just one lane, used by everyone including shanks pony and the local women heading cows, sheep and sometimes pigs. It was very bucolic, but took my full attention. 

As I headed up the hill there was one longer section of black mud, which was especially exciting on my motorcycle, it being shod with good tyres but they were very much road orientated in pattern. I made it through with a bunch of local road workers cheering me on! The mountain people are so friendly.

We tend to overtake each other as one or another ride stops to take a photo or a pee, and so I found myself in front. At this point I stopped to take pictures of a water fall and JC stopped also, and asked if he could take my Go-Pro video camera on his bike and take some video of me. He did this and got some very good shots for my daily 1-2 minute video, which I upload to YouTube. 

As it happened the trip into Huaraz was easy compared to most town entries and I was at the hotel above the city quite easily and quickly. This hotel was very neat and is actually run by a Swiss German gentleman who spoke perfect English (and Spanish, French and German!). It is sparking clean and well organised and the rooms have nice views to the mountains. Also there is a garage on-site which is not normally the case, but it enabled me to clean my bike mirrors, screens and lights easily and to unload and load-up. 

It was here that Jeff had his accident outside the hotel, which was to result in him being driven to Lima and leaving the tour. He was an interesting character and I am going to miss him despite his foibles. 

Sheryle and I had an excellent meal at the hotel too, including a half-bottle of wine and some prawn dishes. The Team Dinner was put off due to Jeff's accident and hopefully that will occur on the following evening.

Day 76 - Huancayo to Huanuco

 The day started off fine with beautiful riding on roads with un-expectedly good surfaces. We also climbed steadily from about 3000 m to over 4330 m.

We had another picnic lunch, with the truck parked in a field behind a police station, complete with roaming pigs and dogs. Willy outdid himself with soup for lunch including lamb, then salad followed by canteloupe and strawberries and cream. It was truly excellent. 

The road then deteriorated with massive road humps in many small towns plus some gravel sections. I ran third in the group coming into the town on my own and had an excellent experience buying petrol this time from two very helpful young ladies who willingly accepted a credit card this time, rather than cash. Entering cities is often a very demanding ride but I was on my own and had a very simple run of it, following my GPS to the Grima Hotel (which we later found is part of the Westin Group, despite being three star). 

The rooms are large and clean but there are no other services, so we went out looking for a bar and restaurant, but in a town that sees very few tourists, this was a challenge. We did find a place to have a negroni but had no dinner which was fine by me, given the large lunch. Overall it was a fine day at altitude but we are all looking forward to reaching Huarez tonight and getting some washing done at last!

Day 75 - Ayachuco to Huancayo

I had been warned that this would be the first tough riding day for some weeks, with very narrow one-land roads following a river valley, plus many potholes and sections of gravel where the sealed road had not been maintained for some years. That was a good description for the 250 km of the day.

As it turned out, I really enjoyed the first half of the ride, despite the gravel sections. For these gravel parts, I am getting much more confident riding them with my skills improving daily and my confidence with it. I am also getting a lot fitter, which we call "ride-fit". In addition I am losing weight rapidly now down by at least 12 kilograms and maybe more. 

We stopped for coffee at one place but they only had local mint tea, which was delicious. The owner also gave us a meat and maize taster meal, wrapped in a corn leaf which was equally welcome. She was preparing meat in a hungi pit for dinner and it smelt fantastic. 

We had a picnic lunch in a gas station forecourt where there was shade, and for the entire 90 minutes not another car came in! The lady who ran the station made an excellent guacamole for us, usig avocados from a huge tree overhanging the forecourt, and all her family looked out their windows at these gringos eating a funny meal. It was truly excellent with white asparagus and many other gems. 

The second half of the ride had thousands of potholes and some sections where passing was a real challenge on the edge of the cliff, but we made it into town eventually, but only have Jeff crashed his bike in front of me, after crossing a water runnel on the road. I saw him slip in the river at some speed and then wander to the gravel side, where he dropped the bike at about 80km an hour and it slid for a long distance down the road. He separated safely from the machine but he rolled over three times on the way to a stand-still. All the bike alarms went off until I turned it right off, and a local farmer helped recover the motorcycle from the ditch with my help, and stand it upright on the side of the road again. Jeff seemed ok, but was a little dazed. His armoured ride-suit had been a good investment as it was grazed and torn at all the usual places, on the knees, elbows and shoulder. He had not skin grazes at all. 

Rahn also dropped his bike in a busy market coming into town. All in all it was an eventful day. The hotel was superb though and I had dieta pollo (thin chicken soup) for dinner and relaxed after a  demanding ride. 

Day 74 Abancay to Ayachuco

I really enjoyed this day with the spectacular views of the Andean mountains and the patchwork of small farms for miles and miles. I am sure I will never fully appreciate the sheer scale of the mountains in South America, with views that are incredible. The challenge is to keep an eye on the road, not to the mountains until I stop!

The road was good and we ran around hundreds of curves including many hair pin bends, and thoroughly enjoyed these. I stopped regularly for photographs and video, as I am now riding last or second last in the group of five, as requested. Surprisingly to me, Sheryle did not enjoy the day as much, but it is understable as the truck had to negotiate all those corners at slow speed. 

JC has told me that another rider will join us on the trip with twelve days to go which might be interesting. His name is Ned Meisner and he is an American from Missouri who now lives in Ecuador. JC announced this to the group the next day. This might change the dynamics a little.