Our camping spot was even more spectacular in the morning so were really took our time to appreciate it. It was a Christmas miracle as Alberto had fixed our fuel bottle using some teflón tape. We were back in business and treated ourselves to a traditional camping breakfast of quinoa and tea. Hot breakfast again was a treat.

Waking up and seeing Apu and Chasqui


Our camping spot = priceless


Sun warmth


Alberto did some minor repairs to the bikes, and we also walked up to check out the view from the tower we didn't bother driving to last night. The view was indeed spectacular. To get there we had to pass through a farmer’s field and his guard dog was doing an excellent job of letting us know that we were not welcome.


Tacabamba



Once the sun came out in full force it started to heat up rather quick. As we were packing up the bikes we got a few more visitors. Our lady friend from the previous day came over to say goodbye. She told us that her neighbors had asked about us. They were suspicious that we were mining prospectors and that she should have got rid of us. She assured them that we were nice people and were only visitors to the area. Either way Alberto and I decided to come up with cover stories for our occupations in case it came up in conversation again. We decided to be teachers. He is a Spanish teacher and I am a Math teacher. Also a gentleman with his children stopped by to collect his cow. He came over to chat, but his kids seemed too shy to even respond to our hellos. Like most people we encountered at that camping spot, he was surprised that we spent the night outside instead of going into town to find a place to stay.

Packing in undies


Shy children looking at us from far



Leaving the camping spot was a little tricky. There was a narrow steep section, and when I tried to navigate it I drove my crash bar into the bank and it almost bumped me over and down the hill. It was a butt clenching moment, that I somehow managed to save and then Alberto came to rescue me, because my foot didn't touch the ground on the non bank side. The rest of the road wasn't too bad, some mud and some rocks. Worth it for the camping spot for sure.

It was a hot day, and only got hotter as we descended down to the town. We needed our chains adjusted so we stopped at a moto taxi repair shop. He said he would adjust our chains but we needed to wait an hour. That wasn't going to work. Alberto asked if he could pay to use his tools instead. That was okay, so Alberto adjusted the chains and in the end the guy didn't ask for any money. A man on a bike at the shop, who we were asking directions, offered to show us the way out of town. He did say though that the road was a dead-end, but we chose to ignore that little detail. We don’t believe in dead-ends. Unfortunately in the haste to be led out of town Alberto forgot some of his tools at the shop. I guess we ended up paying the guy in the end.

Cowgirl


Alberto working on the chains



We were en route to San Luis de Lucma, and thankfully in the direction of blue skies. The road was rocky, but overall a fine road for a fine day. We had a nice view of the valley and the mountains on the other side. Surprisingly Alberto had a crash when he lost the front in some rocks. It came out of nowhere, and he ended up stuck under his bike. He said he saw the gas dripping from the tank and had a movie moment thinking "this is where it ends". Luckily I was right behind him and between me lifting and him pushing with his free foot we got him out from under his bike and the drama of the dripping fuel. No serious damage was done but the crash bar was bent a bit and restricted access to the shifter. His boots and gloves, both Alpinestars, did a good job protecting him.

We took a post crash break to stop and smell the roses. Time to take a moment, eat some snacks and relax. I enjoyed the scenery and Alberto nursed his bruises.

Naomi riding ahead


The first town we reached was Anguia, which had a cute little plaza. We always ask for directions at the plaza, which is nice because we get to see lots of Plazas. The road was pretty smooth sailing as we were off our GPS route and the road we were physically on didn't show up on our GPS. We were just going on faith. In the end though, Lucma came into view. The road was rocky, and at some point narrowed considerably, to the point where a truck couldn't pass or at least it didn’t seem that way. Traffic miracles do happen in Peru though...


Amazing how steep crop fields can be


Incredible road and views


Another incredibly steep road


Countless small villages perched on almost every mountain



No room for day-dreaming


The road never led us through Lucma, we just came down and followed the river, Rio Curtervo, with the town off to the right. We were able to stop at a river crossing to freshen up because at this point it was hot hot hot! Bananas were growing at the side of the road, that is how hot it was. The road led us along the river, eventually crossing the river and joining what Garmin showed as a main road. The road we took was a bit off the beaten path and not for the faint of heart. There was definitely some tricky sections.

And refill our bladers



The main road had traffic, and was kind of dusty. The views across the other side of the valley were stunning though. And for the first time this trip, I think, we saw a mountain without a road on it. A virgin mountain! It was only a short distance to Sócota where we re-upped on directions at the plaza/church. Did I mention it's hot!


Amazing views of the road ahead



I like what I see


La iglesia @ Socota



The road to San Andrea de Cutervo was crazy bumpy and rocky. It looked like it had been washed out on many occasions. It was tough work and required all our focus. Also the road was now heading in the direction of some unfriendly looking clouds. The road slowly climbed along the valley, and then when it crossed over to the next valley there was a distinct change is vegetation. Alberto called it 'ceja de selva', the eyebrow of the jungle. It definitely looked jungle-like, and I ran over a my first snake of the trip. Oh boy snakes creep me out, just running it over made my skin crawl.

Small landslide


Some rain may be waiting for us


Fun road!


A storm is coming


We could see the town below, and we could also see and hear the thunder shower that was currently visiting the town. We were exhausted from the rough road and didn't want to camp in the rain so we were trying our best to find a place to camp in the dry. This was a difficult task since the road was basically cut into the side of the hill and didn't really offer anything in access off of it, not to mention the farms that were all over the place. This was going to be a challenge.

The rain was getting closer and we were running out of options. By chance there was a spot that became available, and the rain had not got us yet. It wasn't perfect, but it was going to have to do. We set up camp, and luckily the storm passed through in the opposite direction. The sun came out and we were able to have dinner in the sunshine.

Camping! yay!



The view from our campsite


Supper time! yum yum


A passing gentleman walked through our camp so we were able to inquire about if it was okay to be there. He was wearing a Daddy Yankee t-shirt and wellies and carried a large axe. We knew he could be trusted, haha. He said it wasn't an issue, and again was concerned that we were mining people. Good thing we have cover stories now. Once he saw that we were who we were he was happy and wished us well. It was a nice peaceful camping spot that treated us well.

Inside our casita



Another EPIC day bites the dust!


Day 07 GPS Elevation Change


VIDEO: Episode 08

__________________
Canada to Argentina 2010:http://nomi-beto-adventures.blogspot.com/

Website:www.MotoLara.com

We had a master plan for the morning. We wanted to get up early and hit the road before the sun crested the mountains and unleashed its wrath on us. Seemed reasonable enough. We did in fact get up early but the sun hit us earlier than we had anticipated. I felt like I needed 70 SPF sunscreen it was so powerful. What we also discovered in the morning is that we were camped next to a mini gravel source. There were at least 3 guys working the pile by the time we left. They had their shovels and their sizer. Quite the set-up.

It was hot but when we were riding it was okay. It was clear skies ahead, so we figured we were in for a hot one today. The town of San Andrés de Cutervo was very quiet on a Monday morning. Just a few weird looks from the people that were in the plaza as we passed through. We were told by one of the gravel miners that the road to Santo Tomás was pretty rough but that after that it was nicer.

Andean Lady in San Andrés


Clear skies to start the day


Found this natural water fountain along the road


Naomi @ La Iglesia de San Andrés


The road was pretty bumpy and rocky but our Keeways rode like tanks. Stick them in first gear and they just chug through almost anything. That is how they got their nickname, Chinese Tank technology. As the road wound it's way closer to the Cutervo National Park the vegetation changed drastically. It was noticeably more jungle like than anything else we had seen so far. It was an interesting change. Lots of leafy plants and trees all over the mountain side. We didn't see any exotic wildlife, just the usual: pigs, cows and horses/donkeys. We saw another small rock mine. There were sorting piles of the different product sizes at the side of the road, and then to complete the picture a donkey walking down the road with a cargo bucket on each side full of rocks. It must have been at least 200kgs of rock. Good on you donkey!

Shooting some videos with the boom-pro



Roadside waterfall


Putting Gore-Tex to the test! :hmmmmm


A nice quiet main plaza of a small village


It was supposed to take us 2 hours to get to Santo Tomás, and we rolled through town at the 70 min mark. So it was a pretty accurate estimate from the directions we got but since we were moving faster than normal traffic I'm guessing it would take a lot longer in a four wheeled vehicle. There were a lot of ruts to avoid, which was pretty easy for us, cause there was usually one clean line through the mess. It was strange to be riding through jungle at +2000m. Alberto exclaimed, banana trees at 2500m! Lots of little creeks crossing the road and the odd waterfall. It was all very exotic.

Very different vegetation around here


Taking a short break. Time to rehydrate


Alberto's setup... almost like an heli-helmet :norton


Eyes on the road ahead


When we reached Santo Tomás I was expecting us to lose elevation and follow the river. This didn't really happen, the road stayed at the top of the mountains somehow and in disagreement with the topo on my map. There was more traffic on the road by this point as well. When closer to the coast this tends to happen. My bike ran out of gas, so I had to switch it to reserve. Alberto's went another 15km before needing to be put on reserve. It still seemed like a long way to a gas station so we crossed our fingers.

This is a tricky one: find Naomi (Hint: she's on the road)


This was a super boring road... NOT!


The terrain was a lot drier now, but there was a breeze keeping the temps bearable. It was hot though, like 30 degrees, and if it was this hot up here Alberto warned me that it was only going to get hotter lower down. I was optimistic and thought he was crazy to suggest 40 degrees was possible. We had a little bet going.

The road went through some small towns and then, all of a sudden decided it was going to descend. We lost like 1500m in less than 20 min. Holy cow, it was hot now. 39 degrees of dry death. And then just like that our road led us onto the paved highway to Chachapoyas. We were still on reserve and luckily we only had to go 100m down the road and there was a Petro-Peru all by itself. No town, nothing. It like it was there just for us. We couldn't have planned it any better. It was killer hot though, and we needed a plan. I'd read somewhere that people had camped at the Hot Springs near Chamaya so we decided to head there, and if we saw a better place to camp before that we would. The only thing saving us was the breeze created by our 70kph driving speed. We quickly made it to the hot springs, there was a sign and there was a guy. He said it would be fine if we camped so we happily stopped. We didn't want to mess around in this heat.

Heading down into the heat!


Drier and dustier...


Riverside camping


Having a bite in the heat... dogs, cats and chickens as company


This little fella' kept running around looking for food under our table


Some nice views too!


Prediction: early morning wake up call...


It was too hot to put the tent up right away so we sat around in the shade and re-hydrated. It only took a few hours for the sun to go behind the mountain. Even though the sun had partially set it had still not dropped below 30 degrees, but it was certainly better than before. We set up the tent and I started to make dinner. It was dusk when I started dinner and all was good. Then the first wave of mosquitos came. They were bothering Alberto but not me. I only had my hands and head exposed so it wasn't really an issue. Then the second wave of vicious mosquitoes came out. Alberto warned me that there was a new kind out and about, but dinner was not done. They were vicious. I had to finish dinner sweating my butt off wearing my riding jacket and even then they managed to bite me over 30 times through my clothes. It was madness.

Across the river photo series


Closer


closer... men working the fields


The heat and humidity was killer... our little friend had no need for feathers!


Sunset in the jungle


Nighty night


We had opted not to put the fly on our tent since it was still stinking hot out when we went to bed. We ate our dinner inside and tried to focus on lowering our body temperatures. It was way too hot. We were both wearing the minimum amount of clothes acceptable and we were still uncomfortably hot. The temperature never dropped so we slept like that until around 12:30am when Alberto saw some lightening in the distance. That is one thing about not putting up the fly, you can see the stars. It's really nice, but... So there we were in the middle of the night hammering down the fly hoping the mosquitos had gone.

Day 08: GPS Elevation Change Data


VIDEO: Episode 09

__________________
Canada to Argentina 2010:http://nomi-beto-adventures.blogspot.com/

Website:www.MotoLara.com

At around 3am or something like that, a set of thunder and lightning broke that was so loud it sounded like it was inside the tent. There was a few more sets, that sounded further away, so we thought we were in the clear, and then the skies opened up. It was biblical. I was sort of nodding in and out of sleep but Alberto was checking on the tent throughout the night. Unfortunately the area we were camping in was clearly a dry region so the ground wasn't suitable for rain absorption. What resulted was a lot of water pooling around our tent. By around 5am we discovered that our tent was essentially floating, so we cut our losses and started packing up. We were hoping that the rain would let up some and we could pack the bikes in drier conditions. The rain didn't stop but there were periods where it was lighter (there were also periods where it was coming down like crazy).

Cozy water bed


Packing in the rain


We packed up the bikes in stages, and somehow the rain dissipated right around the time Alberto decided to come out of the tent to do his final packing. Meanwhile I had been out in the elements the whole time getting soaked. So even though everything we owned was soaked or damp, we at least set off for the day in the dry. The rain also brought the temperature down to a respectable 25 degrees. Rain gear would have been an uncomfortable nightmare in those temps.
Fishermen catching some rain


So off we went, down the paved highway. The road was straight at first but the views were different and therefore interesting to us in short doses. It was funny because at first there were road signs warning of dangerous curves requiring a speed reduction down to 20kph (that is VERY slow) which we didn't even need to gear down for, then as the terrain changed and twisties were the norm there were no longer any signs.

Amazonas!


Very different landscape from before


Back to straight tarmac


Rice fields


For the first time we were, at least we think so, attempted to be flagged down by police. There were two officers and when they saw us they came running out to their post (that in itself is a only warning sign). The first officer was whistling and giving the thumbs up. He was giving body language that indicated he wanted us to stop despite the thumbs up. The second one appeared to be giving me the slow down gesture, though there was a speed bump so I was naturally already going slow. If I went any slower I would be stopped. We just gave thumbs up back to the thumbs up guy and didn't stop. Anyone giving mixed signals does not warrant a stop in our opinion.

Into the mountains again!


Smooooth pavement

Banana trees!


We were enjoying the smooth pavement and twisties for a change. The road actually reminded us of the type of street riding we do back home. The road followed alongside a river, of course, the only difference from yesterday was the vegetation was a lot greener today.

There was the occasional crazy driver but nothing too shocking or scary. At one point Alberto was sort of racing with a local moto guy. The moto guy was faster on the straights (with his more powerful bike) but Alberto and Chasqui were faster in the corners. It was a great battle until Alberto stopped to take some pictures.

Somehow we managed to avoid any sort of rain. There was two times when it was spitting, but it was only briefly and felt more refreshing than nuisance. Considering the epic downpour we experienced this morning that was a welcome surprise. Also since the weather was overcast what could have been a stinking hot day of riding was actually very pleasant.

Tall rock walls


Some beautiful waterfalls along the route


Naomi is a great biker photo-model


Alberto wanted to go see Gocta waterfall, so I reluctantly agreed. For whatever reason I didn't feel like it warranted a detour. When we reached the tourism office and they told him it was a 2.5hr hike one way that was it. No way we were going to mess on with that. We are here for riding bikes, not going for walks. We went to the other entrance and took a few photos instead.

Valera: the small town where the Gocta trail starts


Inca rules: Ama Sua, Ama Llulla, and Ama Quella = don’t steal, don’t lie, and don’t be lazy



Stunning waterfalls


The scenery around wasn't too shabby either


Hotel on a cliff and surely with a view


Gocta Falls


Our plan was to go to Chachapoyas and stock up on some city-type errands. The road that leads up to the town is really fun on a dry day. The pavement is mostly good and the Keeways do a surprisingly excellent job in the turns. Smile factor was high.

Fun road to Chachapoyas


The road followed the Utcubamba river


Overhanging rock on the road


Welcome to Chachapoyas!


Once we reached the town we went to the plaza to grab something to eat, but there wasn't suitable parking. We asked a moto guy if he could recommend a place to eat with parking. He lead us to a nice restaurant but once we were inside the host was really awkward and tried to sit us at some random shitty table in the back "with the chickens" (as Alberto described it). Basically it seemed to us that they didn't like the way we looked so they were trying to stick us in some random sketchy corner. No thank you! We left in a huff. Back at the plaza we left the bikes in municipal parking and grabbed some delicious food for lunch right off the plaza. I had Lomo Saltado, and it was amazing. It was a huge portion though and I suffered from a Lomo coma afterward.

Friends greeting each other @ the main Plaza


Naomi is definitely happy


During lunch it was decided that we wouldn't try to get to Kuelap today. It was against my wishes but realistically it wasn't going to happen. We were running low on camera battery power and were hoping to get oil changes done on the bikes while in the "city". That was why we came in the first place, though the Lomo was worth it by itself. So we got a room for the night at Hotel Kuelap. Thankfully the ordeal of finding a hotel (one of the reasons I hate doing it) was simplified since we had stayed there before. With the hotel secured we went in search of a moto place. There was one only 10 blocks or so from the hotel so we got that done easy. The mechanics were all very nice people. Things were shaping up nicely. We spent the rest of the day doing a bunch of unexciting chores while in civilization.

Moto repair shop. Labour rate = $5/hr



Mechanic uses the road as his work area. Side note: Peruvians LOVE their fanny packs


Yada yada yada in the evening we went out for some dessert and a walk. Chachapoyas is a relaxed place, and as Alberto commented the traffic honks less, making it a nice place to be. It exhibits less of the traits we dislike about Peruvian cities so we enjoyed walking the streets at night. Muy tranquilo.

Night walk around Chachapoyas


La Plaza


GPS ELEVATION CHANGE


VIDEO: EPISODE 10

__________________
Canada to Argentina 2010:http://nomi-beto-adventures.blogspot.com/

Website:www.MotoLara.com

Alberto decided that he wanted to go see the Karajías (all of a sudden he’s a tourist). I wasn't that keen on it since it sounded like an unnecessary detour but he convinced me and they did look cool. He said he knew where it was so I agreed to follow him. We had a delicious breakfast of fresh fruit before hitting the road. Oh easy living.

All sorts of China-motos all over Peru!


Carving up the twisties down from Chachapoyas was fun once again. We only had to backtrack like 5 min for the turnoff to Luya, so it wasn't too big of a deal. The road was decent and the sign said it was only 17km to Luya so that didn't sound like too big a deal either. There were nice orange road signs describing the cultural sites. It was very helpful, or at least we thought it was until we got into Luya and had no clue what the deal was with the Karajías. Alberto asked someone near the plaza and she told him it was 1 hour in that direction, what!? Grumble. This was turning into quite the detour. Okay well, we've gone this far. We headed off in the direction of the Karajías. The other downer was that in the direction we were going it looked like rain. Alberto was ready to give up when I saw a sign saying it was only 12 km to the heads, so we committed to doing the 12 km.

Naomi's perspective of things


Alberto's office view


We went through some small towns and continued to ask directions to make sure we were heading the right way. As it turns out Alberto didn't really know where the heads were or if we needed to hike to them or not. I was rolling my eyes. The road got worse and so did the weather. I wasn't exactly having a good time, and there were no heads in sight. People kept telling us we were going the right way but I was suspicious. How were we going to know when we get there? We passed the 12 km milestone but we were so deep into this mess that we decided to keep going.

The road was a bit on the rough side, combined with light rain and fog, I was not impressed with the situation. Luckily for Alberto we came down the hill into one of the most amazing views we've ever experienced. There was a nice flat plain complete with a winding river. Horses and cows grazing on the green grass and the skies looked friendlier. I nicknamed the area little Mongolia. The riding was getting better and I was having more fun. Then just as suddenly as we came into the great plane we were climbing back out of it and somehow back into the ceja de selva.

'Little Mongolia'


This little house was empty


The road carved through the mountain rock


At this point we stopped to consider our options. We were clearly not going to see the heads despite Alberto repeatedly saying "we might still see the heads". We were way off track, but the road was nice and there was sort of clear skies. According to Garmin the road was going to connect through with our route to Kuelap, so we decided that we might as well keep going. We were a couple of hours committed by this point anyway.

The ceja de selva views were spectacular I have to say. The vegetation was so lush, it reminded Alberto of the Predator movie. He said that the road was like the famous Bolivian death road but better because we didn't see any other traffic. The road was lots of fun too, and we were having a great time. So much so that I had forgiven him for this crazy detour and getting us off schedule.

Then we entered a different dimension...


The walls were all covered on grey moss


It felt like a lost world out there


Naomi heading down the moutain


Really cool area to be lost in


Naomi loved the views


Time to stop & grab a bite


Making lunch


Giant Avocado + Andean bread


yum yum


Things started to go pear shaped when we somehow lost the road on Garmin. We didn't remember seeing any side roads, this was a tricky mountain road, not exactly a whole lot of options. Then when we reached the bottom of the road we had planned to follow didn't exist. We stopped to ask for directions and we were told the only way to the town we were trying to get to was via horseback. The road we were on was going to connect us back to Santo Tomas, haha that would have been funny. We knew we were going West thanks to Garmin so it was unlikely that we would have got that far, but still. That would have been quite something. So there we were in Congon faced with the reality that we needed to go all the way back to the paved road. It was a bummer, but it was an amazing ride so in a way it was worth it.

Fog rolling in


Chasqui and Apu taking a break


Coming around a bend Naomi spotted this (I totally missed it!)


Abandoned bike


Road surface made things more interesting


Officially lost


Needed to ride all the way down to ask someone for directions


A little friend hitchhiking


The moment we realized we had to back-track quite a bit


We didn't stop for any pictures when we retraced our tracks. Rubber side down, throttle open. We were trying to make it back to the highway before 5pm, if we could do that there was a good chance we could still make it to Kuelap today. So we boogied. It was 100% focused riding! and we were making good time! I had a momentary lapse in concentration that resulted in me losing the rear in a corner and the bike and me suddenly went down in a heap. No damage done, so we were quickly back in business and scooting along.

We were back in head territory and kept our eyes open but there was nothing obvious about it. There was no signs or anything. Next time more research will need to be done. We managed to reach the highway by 5pm so we decided to head to Kuelap. We didn't stop for any photos, we were trying to make it before dark. The route to Kuelap was well signed, which was a welcomed change from this morning. We were making good time, and about 5km from Kuelap Alberto ran out gas (he had to go on reserve about 30min earlier). So it got dark while we were topping Alberto up from the spare gas container from my bike. When we arrived at the site everything was closed up so we decided to just camp in a discrete location and pack up early in the morning. We will figure out Kuelap in the morning, for now we've had a long day and an unsuccessful head hunt.

On the way out we spotted this sign with the elevation


Back in business: Road to Kuelap


Views from the road before it got dark very fast


GPG DATA: ELEVATION CHANGE FOR THE DAY


VIDEO: EPISODE 11

__________________
Canada to Argentina 2010:http://nomi-beto-adventures.blogspot.com/

Website:www.MotoLara.com

Like I said, there is always a rooster. This feathery friend decided that 2am was a good time to start his business. Quite something indeed. The camping was more or less good. There was a few times in the night/early morning that people came and went but nobody disturbed us. We awoke around our usual time, about 6:30am, and it was pretty quiet at Kuelap. Nobody was around. We made breakfast, my Peruvian specialty of quinoa, honey and cinnamon and by the time we were finishing up the staff was opening up the place. Alberto went to speak to the people in charge and everything sounded fine. They were unconcerned that we camped there, and more worried about how cold it was last night.

Unfortunately the weather was not co-operating as it had been raining on and off throughout the night. The rain was not too bad, only spitting lightly every now and then as the clouds blew in. The real issue was the low cloud cover and fog. There wasn't much point in checking out the ruins if they were covered in fog. We asked the locals and they told us the weather can change quite drastically, and that it was usually cloudy in the morning. So we decided to wait it out for a few hours.

By noon the low clouds had cleared but there was an endless parade of clouds coming our way down the valley, and these ones carried rain. The rain was on and off, but more on than off and when it was on it rained relatively hard. Also there was a pretty strong wind, so at times the rain was sideways. Overall the whole weather situation was very unpleasant.

Only one tour bus showed up. Judging by the weather down at the bottom it didn't look pretty for those guys. Alberto chatted to a few of them when they returned and they said it was very wet at the top. While waiting out the weather we were able to check out the mini museum they had at the facility. There was some interesting things inside like a description of the construction of the houses and a map of the Chachpoyas civilization regions and other ruins that have been discovered. We learned that even though it is referred to as a fortress by people, Archeologists do not think this is the case. Their opinion is the Kuelap was a city.


We waited it out as long as we could, but by mid afternoon the weather had only got worse so we decided to stay another night and cross our fingers that tomorrow would be better.

Then unexpectedly there was a break in the weather at 4pm. There was pockets of blue sky hiding above the clouds. It was too late to go for the full tour so we asked if we could just go up for a few photos and then go for the full tour in the morning. We thought that if the weather was still crappy tomorrow we would at least have a few dry photos.

The walk up wasn't that bad, even though we were both out of breath. Unfortunately it was still raining up at the top. We snapped a few photos, made arrangements with one of the guides for the following morning (a guide is mandatory), bought some dinner (papas rellenas y tortillas de maiz) and then came back down to our waiting tent.

[CENTER]This way up


Our new 4-legged friend came along for the hike


A nice stone trail to the ruins


Kuelap from far



The front wall


One of the entrances to the sacred city


Amazing stone walls at the entrance to the city


Carved figures on some of the stone walls


The Chachapoyas built some really tall stone walls to protect the city

More menacing clouds coming our way :devildog


Naomi happy to see 'a little bit' of Kuelap today


The outside wall is long!


Time to head back down with more rain coming down

Supper of champs :lift Quinua + Stuffed Potatoes + Andean Bread



VIDEO: EPISODE 12

__________________
Canada to Argentina 2010:http://nomi-beto-adventures.blogspot.com/

Website:www.MotoLara.com

One of the stray dogs that was hanging around decided to adopt us for the night. When I woke up I found him sleeping in my vestibule. The good news was I could see some patches of blue sky from my tent window, the bad news was that when we got out we still saw a dark grey cloud above Kuelap. Oh well, at least there was visible patches of blue sky today.

Waking up to a friendly stare


Steep steps to access Kuelap


Views from the top


Some really cool rounded walls


Amazing how they built a city at the top of a mountain


70 ft tall walls!


We had a quick breakfast, then hiked up to the entrance. We got there before the staff had opened up the ruins, but they arrived shortly after us. Soon we were entering the third entrance to the city. There were no guides available so Segundo, one of the maintenance guys, showed us around. He was a nice tour guide, and gave us what we thought was a thorough tour. In its time Kuelap must have been a very densely populated city. It was fascinating to think about what this would have looked like. I was impressed by the fact that the walls were still standing. It is a tricky place to build structures like that, and with such intricate rock work.

A sudden drop on both sides of the city


Naomi posing for the lens


Kuelap's wild flowers


Neat rock details on walls


Hola amigos!


Carved rocks on walls


One of the entrances to the city


We were finished our tour by 10:30am, so we returned to our bikes to hit the road again. The weather during our tour of Kuelap was pretty decent, we even had some sunshine. Waiting the extra day was worth it. After all was said and done we hit the road about noon. We still needed gas, as it was unlikely we'd make it back to the main road with the gas we had. We were able to find someone, on our second try, that sold gas in one of the small towns. We bought 2 gallons, thinking that would give us enough to make it to a gas station, and hit the road again.

The road is nice, with some nice views of the valley but it is quite the detour to Kuelap. We were told they are going to build another entrance from the south which should be more direct. Too bad for all the towns with accommodations and restaurants and stuff on the current road though. So far the weather was holding up nicely. When we reached Tingo we asked where we could buy gas, but apparently there was nowhere. We were told the next town, Yerbabuena, had gas so we continued.

Off we go again


Getting some much needed gas


Dull scenery... as usual


Apu and Naomi


Happy to find gas!


The road, still paved and narrow, followed the very high/full Uctubamba river. It's a dangerous business being a road next to a river like that. It rained on and off, but it never rained hard enough to worry us. Clearly some clouds had come through though because the roads were soaked. We stopped at the gas station in Yerbabuena. It took us a while to find someone, and when we did they told us yes they had gas, and then sorry they couldn't help us because they didn't have the key. Okay, thanks. They told us there was more gas in the town, so we went to search. There was not. They just wanted to get rid of us. The next place to have gas, we were told, was Leymebamba.


We had been on this road before but neither of us really remembered any of it. I remembered a few places here and there but I didn't remember riding the road at all, but there was a faint déjà-vu feeling. We found the gas station in Leymebamaba thanks to some directions and an official road sign. It didn't look like a gas station. Thankfully we were able to get 4 gallons before the gas man ran out. Alberto's bike appears to be consuming a lot more gas than mine, and it's causing us some concern and difficulty.

Fun fun fun!


Leymebamba



The road leading out of town was still paved, but very narrow. It looked like rain up ahead so finally Alberto conceded and put on his rain suit only to have the rain move on to the next mountain range while he was suiting up. You win some you lose some I guess. The road topped out at 3600m, at which point it was windy and I was freezing.


The amazing thing was on the other side of the pass was some of the most spectacular views we have ever experienced. We have ridden this road before but we didn't remember it at all. To be fair we did ride it in the opposite direction last time. Beautiful green mountains with streaks of sunlight filled our eyeballs. The paved road continued, but it was strange. It seemed like it was a typical dirt road through the mountains only paved. Lots and lots of twisties, but barely big enough for two vehicle traffic. There was so many corners that there was no way to keep count. The entire road was a series of small corners linked up with the occasional straight line. It can only be described as epic!

Narrow wet road... hope no one's coming the other way!


Calla-Calla Pass with mossy walls


The nice thing about having the road paved was the ability to turn down the concentration ever so slightly to appreciate the scenery a little more than usual. It was a delicate balance though and the consequences if you got it wrong were deadly. The drop off was near vertical and the valley bottom below was a long way down. This went on for a few hours, and then we eventually remembered the road, in its non paved form. We finally figured out why we could not remember the road; it was not paved before. Even though we had ridden it before we didn't remember the views being that epic.

Quite the view!


Superb road


Heading down to the Marañon River


Beautiful mountains in this region


Great scenery


Amazingly fun road


Endless curves heading down the mountain



The sun is going down. Time to find a place to pitch the tent

[/CENTER]

It was getting late by the time we reached Las Balsas. Even though the sun was behind the mountains the temperature was stinking hot. We picked up some food, though the options were very limited in that town. What do they eat? Don’t try to buy fresh goods in the desert. We got some more gas, Alberto's bike continues to consume, and headed towards Bolivar. It was crunch time now, we only had minutes before darkness set in. Miraculously we found a really good camping spot just before the last light had gone. We lay in the tent eating our fruit for dinner. Looks like it will be a hot night.

__________________
Canada to Argentina 2010:http://nomi-beto-adventures.blogspot.com/

Website:www.MotoLara.com

Alberto woke me up early so that we could hit the road before it got too hot. It was still pretty hot but the sun had not come over the hill yet, so we were safe at least for the time being. Today we were charting a course for adventure. We had no confirmed road to Pataz, just some looking around on google earth and some hoping it would turn out. Based on my map it looked like we would only have to endure the heat for the first little bit; I was expecting us to gain some elevation pretty soon.

Our camping spot: not too shabby



The road followed the mighty Marañón river and the terrain looked a bit like Arizona again. There was cactus along the slopes and the rock features were dry with shades of orange and red. Once the road turned inland we passed lots of fruit growing properties, mostly papayas and bananas. It made the air smell delicious and sweet. We were surprised when we approached the town of San Vincente both because it wasn't on our map and because it occupied a surprisingly large flat valley. The road passed through town in a long straight line at a steady grade. On our exit from town there was a river crossing. There was also a family of people, who looked dressed up, walking through the river which appeared to be a fair way out of town. We suspected a hidden church nearby as we couldn’t figure out from our vantage point where those people would have been going. The river was pretty tame but during my crossing my back wheel hit a rock and put the weight of the bike off balance. I almost lost it, but some how managed to brace my right leg and kept the weight of the bike from going down (something that I could never do with a bigger bike). It took me a while to gain my composure and footing to get the bike upright, but I did and both myself and Apu left the river more or less dry. Just giving the the family some entertainment.

Then the sun was out!


Taking our first break of the day


Braaaaaaaaappppp!!!


Some impressive smooth rock-wall right there


The road to Longotea was fairly rocky which kept us on our toes. The road was dry and as we climbed in elevation the scenery changed from dry fruit trees to more greenery and eucalyptus. We were making good progress and having fun. Suddenly I had a problem getting my bike into gear. It was like it had found a false neutral. Alberto parked his bike to come help me. He noticed that my chain had come clean off, so that explains the lack of drive. We parked the bike off the road and started trying to get the chain on. Unfortunately Alberto had accidentally left our rear wheel size tools in Tacabamba so we were pretty limited. We weren't there 5 min when two passing motorcyclists came by. They stopped to ask what our issue was. Alberto explained that my chain had come off and one of the guys immediately jumped off his bike and said he would help. He was in the process of getting out his tools when Alberto asked him if there was a bike mechanic in town because he didn’t want to bother them. He said he was the only guy in town that worked on bikes, what luck. He quickly had my chain back in order and gave Alberto's a tighten too. We explained to him our tool situation and asked if we could buy something in the town. He told us we might be able to in Bolivar, then decided to sell us his wrench for less than $5. Such a nice guy, and now we would be able to sort out any rear wheel jobs. Him and his friends went on their way and we thanked them. Both Alberto and I noted that both bikes carried air pumps on the back, not your average Peruvian riders.

Time to start going up the mountain


Naomi + Apu looking pretty


Alberto being shown how it's done


These guys were super generous with their time



The directions we had been given were to turn right at 'the rock' to go to Bolivar and that the road becomes very nice at this point. The road out of Longotea is where we started the climb, and also encountered some fog. The fog got my face and gloves pretty soaked. Alberto said he was enjoying the freshness, while I was getting a bit cold. The road was a series of switchbacks with a stunning view of the valley as we climbed. and indeed the rock was waiting for us. There was also a road sign indicating the way. Also waiting for us at the top was rain. We suited up and headed even further up, to a max of 3900m. We saw some poncho motos (riders wearing ponchos are the best) out there in the nasty weather but that was it.

We were high up in the mountains and the weather changed drastically as we worked our way across the pass. The road was very very nice. Super smooth and silky. We could see the rain moving across the valleys and it quickly passed us by. I was freezing though so as soon as the rain had stopped I stopped to layer up. It is hard to go wrong in Peru when mountains are involved but the ones we saw today were very unique. They were more rocky and jagged than what we are used to seeing.

Near the top of the rock





Flat track material right there! :super



Horses carrying wood fire for cooking


The views at the other side of 'the rock' summit









Our plan once we arrived in Bolivar was to get gas, find a moto mechanic and have lunch. When we reached the town around 1pm everything looked closed. We found another bike rider and asked about gas and the mechanic. He showed us directly on his bike. The mechanic wasn't really a full time mechanic and he was just about to leave (returning at 4pm). He suspected Alberto's bike needed the carb cleaned. Also during our travels around town Alberto had confirmed from various sources that there was indeed no road to Bambamarca, and that it took 3hrs by horse. Crap, there goes our master plan to get to Pataz. Dejected we picked up some food and headed for the plaza to have some lunch. There we sat eating our avocado and bread discussing our situation. Our dream to ride to Pataz was dead. It wasn't going to happen, and it didn't seem like a smart idea to go off into the remote mountains finding a road ourselves.

While sitting in the Plaza a boy, who had seen Alberto earlier, came by to chat. He offered us some yogurt and hung out asking us questions and having a detailed conversation with Alberto. When we had finished our lunch he wanted to help us find gas. He jogged all around town showing us where to get gas. We succeeded on the third place we tried. Alberto's bike seemed to take about the same quantity as mine this time, so that problem may be dormant for now. Our biggest gas risk was Bolivar to Pataz anyway so it was less of a concern now. Alberto was chatting with the guys that sold us the gas while I went to some stores to buy some more food. We unfortunately had hit a dead end in Bolivar, but it was a nice place with friendly people and stunning scenery.


Avocados, Andean bread and cheese


Local woman



Incredible views around Bolivar





Chasqui loving the Andes


Mountain field crops




Absolutely amazing


The sun was out now and while it was still not red hot, at least it wasn't raining. We had learned about a shortcut back to San Vincente through Uchumarca so we were at least going to do a loop instead of the exact same ride back. It was around 3pm when we left Bolivar so we were on the lookout for a place to camp. Unfortunately there was too many farms or a steep drop off from the road. It was not camper friendly. We rode all the way to Uchumarca without finding a decent place to camp. At least the sun was still shining. All the other motorbikes we saw today had air pump strapped to the back. It seems that biking culture in this region is more advanced, or at least more prepared.

We enjoy waving at the children at the side of the road, some wave back while others just stare. On the road down to Uchumarca Alberto waved at a cute little girl in a poncho and unfortunately by the time I passed her she was balling her eyes out. I told Alberto that she was not used to being waved at by aliens. "He had big yellow eyes mommy". There was still very little options for camping as the road was pretty much carved out of the side of a steep mountain. The road and scenery however, as always, were very impressive and it was nice to take a different route back.

We sound like broken record: AMAZING roads and scenery



The further along we went the hotter it became. We were searching hard but there were no good options out there. We eventually arrived back in San Vincente so we decided to return to the same camping spot we had the previous night. We picked up some fruit before leaving the town. It was dusk at this point so we knew we were mostly likely going to be riding at night. It was hot and dusty and dark, but we made it back to our camping spot from the previous night. We only had to ride in the dark for about 30min, and we only encountered a few other vehicles so it wasn’t too bad. We also kitted our bikes out with auxiliary lighting so we could see and been seen pretty well. We set up camp and resumed our place sweating away in the tent. Tomorrow, plan B.

Even when we thought the day could not get any better





'Eucalipto' tree






VIDEO: EPISODE 14

__________________
Canada to Argentina 2010:http://nomi-beto-adventures.blogspot.com/

Website:www.MotoLara.com

We were going to do it right this morning. We woke up before it was even light out. This time we were going to beat the heat. We had our breakfast, the bikes were packed and it wasn't even 7am. Then Alberto noticed my front tire looked flat, I said that it was just buried in the sand. Unfortunately Alberto was right and I did have a flat tire. Crap, there goes our early start.

Ayayayyy caramba!


We decided to try and cheat the system. We didn't want to go through the hassle of taking the front wheel off. These bikes only have side stands so keeping the front in the air was going to be a pain. Alberto quickly got to work breaking the bead and inspecting the tube, while I pivoted the bike so that the front wheel was off the ground. He found the leak quickly and we set about patching the hole. While the patch was curing he searched for the culprit. It was hard to see from the outside but we were able to track it down knowing the location of the puncture. A small, but long thorn had breached my tire and punctured my tube. Putting everything back together was the hard part. It took Alberto 3 try's to get that tire back on the rim, it was a stubborn one, and by the time the job was done we were both sweating up a storm. Not too mention the bugs. It was not an ideal location to repair a flat, but I guess it was also not the worst. All said and done we were able to hit the road at 8:30am.

It wasn't long before we were back on the paved road into Balsas. We bought some mangoes and then took off into the mountains. It was way to hot to hang around. We had a bet going about whether the road was going to be paved all the way to Cajamarca. We both thought it would be, but Alberto decided to place his wager on not (better value on those odds).

A great day for mountain riding

Naomi enjoying the smooth tarmac


Interesting... housing development in the middle of nowhere


The road basically continued where it left off, skinny paved track with so many corners it made our heads spin. The twisties were nice, Alberto called it the twisty sweats (like meat sweats) but there was some crazy traffic that came along every now and then to spoil the party. The road quickly climbed the mountain and soon enough we were enjoying the cooler temperatures. It was strange in a way because we had ridden this road before, but two things were different this time: we were traveling in the opposite direction and the road was now paved. It changed the experience, and although the twisties were very fun and Alberto has now ranked this his number one paved road/ride in Peru, we both agreed that the experience of the unpaved road was more memorable. Still you can't take anything away from the stunning views and exotic wildlife (I saw a giant reddish orange centipede that I swear had horns).

Braaaaaaapppp!


The road we came from


Naomi & Apu


Still a single lane paved road


Taking a short break to enjoy the views


There was some clouds in the sky, but we stayed dry the entire day. The riskiest section weather-wise was the top of the pass, not to mention the riskiest driving as well. The road is very narrow and the dropoff is incredibly steep. Don't look down, it makes your stomach jump. Thankfully we didn't have any moments with other vehicles during this stretch.

Foggy in sections




Quite the view from the narrow road


Lovely scenery

:lurk


Awesome riding indeed


Near the summit


You never know what is waiting for you on the other side of the mountains and today we got lucky. On the horizon was blue sky, a welcome sight for sure. Before we knew it we were arriving in Celendín, which Alberto thinks has grown in size since last time. Arriving into town we went looking for a gas station, which as it turns out was easy to find. We passed a bull market en route to the gas station, what a crowd. It was like a rock concert was happening. Lots of dairy production from this region. At the gas station we took note of Alberto's bike's gas consumption performance, re-inflated my tire (the bead was a bit uneven from this morning) and chomped down some of our mangoes that were acquired in the morning. We also phoned Alberto's dad (his parents live in Cajamarca) to give him an update on our arrival.

The road to Cajamarca was completely unexpected. Last time we came through there was dairy container carrying donkeys all over the road. What remains now is a modernly engineered two lane highway. It was night and day from what we were expecting. The road that once was is no more and the ride is completely different. The road is nice, very nice, with plenty of twisties to enjoy. A lot of quality work has gone into making a modern highway the only problem is the lack of driving skill by other road users. There is plenty of lane to be used but still vehicles prefer to use the lane for oncoming traffic in corners. This was somewhat excusable, despite being extremely dangerous, when the road was very narrow but now with a perfectly good highway for use it is unacceptable. I could tell that Alberto was quickly losing his patience with the other road users. His disposition is not designed for populated areas of Peru, and neither is mine come to think of it.

The road was 3 times as wide!

Naomi likes her Aloe plants


The views on the other side of the mountain were also great


Near the town of Celendín


There was only one small section that was unpaved, so Alberto won the bet, and the equipment was actively working on paving his section. There was still some sections of the road where locals still treated it like a rural dirt road though. We encountered people walking their cows down the road, or a random donkey walking down the middle of the road, and my favourite a man sending his donkeys loaded up with wood to cross the road oblivious of potential traffic traveling at highway speeds. You can replace the rural dirt road with a fancy highway but the people haven’t changed.

Surprisingly we were faster than 90% of traffic on the road despite our small capacity engines. If the cars knew they were getting passed by local 200cc bikes their egos would be injured for sure. Most people think our bikes are large capacity Japanese bikes. We had a relatively nice ride enjoying the twisties all the way to Banos de Inca.

Reality sunk in when we arrived in Banos. I was pulling my hair out pretty quickly. Every 100m there was a speed bump, the most aggressive kind. It is extremely disruptive to be driving down a road with speed bumps everywhere. It was starting to drive me crazy. We parked up in the plaza and phoned Alberto's dad. Surprisingly he was just around the corner having lunch so we joined him. The food was amazing, it was easily the best Lomo Saltado of the visit so far and Alberto really like his meal as well. I'll be dreaming about that Lomo for days to come.

After lunch Alberto's dad showed us the way to a mechanic to take a look at Alberto's problematic bike. The mechanic cleaned up the spark plug and air filter on both bikes. We were able to buy one new spark plug and will most likely be changing one of the bikes in the near future. Not sure if that is going to be the difference but the bikes felt a lot smoother after the air filter clean. We have been somewhat careless on that front and should be more diligent going forward.

Time to service our machines Apu & Chasqui


That's one dirty air filter


Not sure Alberto buys what the moto-mechanic sells


Motos in Peru are working tools not really for leisure riding


The bikes safely put away for the night


The town of Cajamarca


Iglesia in Cajamarca


GPS DATA: Elevation Change Day 14


VIDEO: EPISODE 15

__________________
Canada to Argentina 2010:http://nomi-beto-adventures.blogspot.com/

Website:www.MotoLara.com

It was decided that we would stay another day to get our affairs in ord0er and do some more visiting. Since yesterday evening things were hectic we took the opportunity this morning to walk to the plaza and soak up the atmosphere. I think that the old part of town is really pretty, and I enjoy looking at the different shops and what is on offer. We got lucky too since it was a nice sunny day, we were told it has been raining a lot recently. The temperature in Cajamarca is quite perfect, feels like a late spring day back home.
Mangoes for breakfast!


Morning walk around town


Pomegranate, prickly pears, andean berries and other unknown fruits = yum!


'No parking zone' yeah right....


La Catedral church


Family time at the Plaza


At least one is wearing a hard-hat

Street nap

Walking around and around


Freshly peeled fruit anyone?


(blurry sorry!) Stylish!


We were able to re-up on our supplies, to our surprise, at a market a few blocks from Alberto's parents house. I was like a kid in a candy store, so many yummy smells and delicious looking fruits and veggies. I was getting a bit queasy in the meat section though so I had to bail. As it turns out we bought tons of snack items, which are tricky to find in the smaller towns, so we are set now for the rest of our time in Peru. Also, to my delight, we purchased a bag of bread. It is the most delicious bread we have bought in Peru so far, melt in your mouth delicious.

Cajamarca is a nice town indeed


Cajamarca is a big town!

Amazing! found dry fruit and a variety of nuts

Fresh bread


Fresh-ish pollos

:bert Sheep frozen heads


Street fruit vendor

Our shopping spree... never travel without TP


In the afternoon we did some work on the bikes. It was discovered that my rear cargo rack had broken a bit, so we did some home welding. It might stay fixed it might not, the break is not a deal breaker so life goes on either way.

What strikes me most about any decent sized town in Peru is no matter what, you can plop yourself down on any street corner and instantly have access to pretty much any amenity you might need: electronics, hardware store, corner stores, pharmacy, hotel. Try doing something similar in Canada and you would spend hours running all over town gathering supplies.

A nice relaxing day was spent in Cajamarca seeing the sights, taking care of business and enjoying the company of family.

Went out for a walk at night. A few night shots:

__________________
Canada to Argentina 2010:http://nomi-beto-adventures.blogspot.com/

Website:www.MotoLara.com

Awesome RR guys - I'm just in Ayacucho heading north - I hear you about drivers using oncoming lane on blind corners, the driving here is horrendous - and what's with people using full beams all the time? Anyway, I could rant about it all day but instead just take dirt roads when possible and for all the atrocious drivers Peru is still my fav country so far. How long do you guys have left? Maybe if we're passing we could meet up for a chat and a

Take care,
RTW

Hi ridetheworld, glad to see you are having a great time in Peru. It is our favourite international country for riding that is for sure.

The secret is out , we are actually back at home (in Canada) already so we won't be seeing you out on the road but have a great time exploring those dirt roads!

__________________
Canada to Argentina 2010:http://nomi-beto-adventures.blogspot.com/

Website:www.MotoLara.com

We said our goodbyes and hit the road as early as we could. The sun was out again so we were anticipating an enjoyable day of riding. Exiting Cajamarca was fairly straight forward. Having the GPS has been a huge improvement for negotiating large cities, as this has never been our forte. We stopped for gas in Banos del Inca and confirmed directions. Once again it was revenge of the speed bumps, something I just can't get accustomed to. I liked Cajamarca, as far as cities go, but the surrounding countryside after we went south from Banos del Inca was even better. Much more peaceful and still the same great view.

Mandatory good bye photo with Alberto's Parents


Fertile lands of Cajamarca


The road leading to San Marcos was pretty quiet. Lots of farmland and campestre restaurants. The temperature was very pleasant for riding and the road was pretty fun as well. Nothing to blow your socks off though, just a regular Peruvian Sierra road. We quietly buzzed along at our top cruising speed of about 80 kilometers per hour and pretty much had the whole thing to ourselves. There was a few small towns along the way, with intersections to make critical decisions at. Oh the pressure! Again the GPS gave us the helping hand we needed, though we still relied on our old habit of asking directions from anyone we passed. More than once we have been able to correct a mistake made by blindly following the GPS with a few conversations with locals.

Stopped to take a photo of the views and these two cuties came up to say hola


Hope the pair didn't stay on the highway too long...


The scenery doesn't disappoint in this country!


What followed from such a pleasant morning was a horror show. Continuing south on Highway 3N from San Marcos we were treated to a dust bath courtesy of excessive road construction. Some areas we had waits, others we got lucky, some sections had deep gravel but either way it was a 'Shitabamba' time :lol2. It was bumpy, it was dry and dusty, we just wanted it to be over. Even in the sections of the road not plagued by construction we could tell the road was older and not in the best condition. Even though this was a main route between Cajamarca and Huamachuco the road seemed forgotten.

Views along the way


A close up of the mountain in the photo above


Eventually by Cajabamba the road construction appeared to be complete. Which was good because we were pretty fed up. We were navigating our way out of town when Alberto got a flat rear tire. There was barely enough room to pull over. We were already unimpressed by the area and wanting to get away as fast as possible and now we were rendered immobile by a nail. Alberto asked around to some passing moto guys if there was a tire repair place. It was just a few blocks away, but after assessing the lack of air in the rear tire we decided to do the job there at the side of the road.

Insight of the day: If you don't have a center stand alway bring a friend. I held the bike off the rear wheel while Alberto patched the hole. Since we pulled the nail from the tire we knew where to look. Fixing the puncture was the easy part, getting the wheel back on was very tricky. I was trying to balance the bike and Alberto was trying to hold up the wheel. It wasn't working too well. Two boys had been watching us and at this point we enlisted their help. Me balancing the bike, toque boy lining up the brakes, Alberto positioning the wheel and the other boy stuffing in the axle bolt. It was a tricky job but we got it done. We gave the boys some stickers, a geography lesson, and thanked them for their help. Back at my bike a nice fresh puddle of oil had been pooling, courtesy of the rear shock. Oh well, you win some you lose some. I'm certainly not buying a new shock for Apu so we will just have to see how that one plays out.

Ay caray!


A good old rusty nail being a pain in the... tyre


Half way there!


We were able to inflate the tire to 20 psi then decided to ride to the tire place to finish the job. It was a good thing we did because the tire was flat again by the time we got there. With the proper tools the second patch job went much faster. The nail had probably made two holes and we missed the second hole during the first fix. While the bike was being put back together I noticed a Tenere just outside on the road. I walked out to take a peek. A nicely kitted out couple, each with Teneres. The husband pulled over to say hi, but his wife was having some sort of issue so he couldn't stay to chat. We finally saw some other Adventure riders, we kept wondering if we would at some point. 2.5hrs after arriving we were finally leaving that place.

At the tyre shop...


Must get muddy when it rains around here


Past the old tyres and rubbish, the views were great (at the tyre shop)


While there was no road construction to deal with as we headed south there was still maniac drivers and maniac livestock. We each had a close call with some crazy drivers. We were longing to return to the piece and quiet of the less populated Sierra. When we passed the sign welcoming us to Shitabamba we truly felt that summed up our shitty day



Apu and Naomi looking pretty


Two hundred and seventy nine (but who's counting) speed bumps later Laguna Sausacocha came into view. So many speed bumps will make any mild mannered person cranky, and we were cranky. To top it off the road we needed to take to Bambamarca was closed from 7am to 6pm (with a 1 hr lunch break) so we were pretty much screwed. It gets dark shortly after 6pm so that wasn't going to work for us. We decided to cut our loses and find a place to camp as close as possible so that we could hit the road while it is open in the morning.

We camped by the lake, by the pier. We were told that other gringos have camped there in the past, and while it is not our usual style it will do for tonight. Today has been the least enjoyable day of the trip thus far.

Camping!

Tumbo fruit = yay!


Sausacocha views from the pier


Sausacocha Pier


GPS DATA: Elevation change Day 16


Video: Episode 16

__________________
Canada to Argentina 2010:http://nomi-beto-adventures.blogspot.com/

Website:www.MotoLara.com

Shitabamba - brilliant! Looking forward to next post

Thanks ridetheworld, in all fairness Shitabamaba was a nice enough town the sign itself talks up a big game haha

__________________
Canada to Argentina 2010:http://nomi-beto-adventures.blogspot.com/

Website:www.MotoLara.com

We hit the open road at dawn. We had set our alarm to make sure we were up and ready to go so we could get through the road construction while the road was open. As it turns out this may not have been necessary since, at that same early hour in the pitch dark, a garbage truck was making his rounds. We did not realise it was a garbage truck at first because all we could hear, far on the other side of town, was extremely loud music of the icecream truck variety. We knew this was a tourist town of sorts, but ice cream trucks at 5am seemed a bit of a stretch. When the truck eventually passed our section of town the music must have been blasting at 175 decibels.

Local woman at El Pallar


Leaving 'El Pallar' down in the valley


The road construction area was manageable. There was some traffic and some narrow sections but overall it was fine. After reaching the end of the construction zone we needed to stop to do a map and GPS check. There was a road on either side of the river, that according to our map and GPS seemed doable however we decided to play it safe and go with the thick red line on the map instead of the skinny red line. So we crossed the bridge and took a left.

Family of 5. Love the boombox the lady carries


One of several small river crossings on this route


The road followed the river, and it was getting hot. We had dropped 1500m since the chilly morning start and I was wearing too many layers. The road was narrow and did not really look in as good condition as the map lead us to believe. We have been on dotted red lines in better nick than this solid red line road. The scenery following the river was nice and we soon descended into desert territory again. I saw more different types of cactus today than any other day so far. We drove for 2 hours without seeing any vehicle traffic, just pedestrians and animals.
No bridge? no problem



Following the Chusgón River


At points, some narrow passages


The road was very challenging, the most challenging road so far, and by far. There was several river crossings, both small and big, very steep rocky roads, actually pretty much rocky all over and we both had a hard crash each. Each of our crashes resulted in a trapped leg under the bike, but thankfully so far everyone seems okay. It was an extremely hard day involving 100% focus at all times. Exhausting to say the least. To make things more difficult it was over 35 degrees. We were both boiling away in our riding suits. There was a couple of opportunities where we were able to refresh ourselves in cleanish water but for the most part it was a dry and dusty day. At one particular place we stopped for a break there was a tree of parrots high above serenading us the whole time, pretty exotic by my standards.

Enjoying the great views


A dream ride


Some beautiful Cactus




The route was very pretty as the road followed along the Chusgón river. The terrain was dry with lots of cacti populating the nearby slopes. When the road eventually turned inland things got steeper and rockier. It was all I could do to stay focused on the road and keep the bike upright. The heat was unbearable, and since we were riding in first gear there was little wind to try to cool us down.

Awesome!


Some very unique mountain features. Really beautiful






This section of the road was unbelievable


We passed only a few vehicles all day and they were pickup trucks. Once again I think people are very surprised to see us. The dogs, cows and donkeys get spooked easily so they are probably not used to seeing bikes. One poor puppy saw us on the road and started running for his life down the road, unfortunately he chose to run in our direction of travel so he probably thought we were chasing him. He ran for his life for a few kilometers before finally getting off the road before a pickup that was coming the other way. I hope his owner found him again. The views were nice but there wasn't much opportunity to appreciate them as the road required full attention pretty much at all times. There was a few smoother sections where you could relax a bit but they were few and far between. The map is very misleading on the quality of this road.

Who knew this route was going to be THIS good


Much needed cooling off


Found an oasis to recharge our batteries




Some of the trees looked like mini-Boababs


Earlier in the day, what I thought was challenging riding, did not even compare to that last 2 hours of riding. By some miracle neither of us, especially me, went down. At around 1pm we came across a tiny stream. Since it was the only water we'd seen for 45min or so we stopped to recharge. And what started as a break soon turned into us quitting for the day as we were both exhausted. We made some food and relaxed in the shade. I was pretty much a zombie for the next few hours, the ride had taken everything out of me. In the evening while we were hiding in the tent from the bugs and trying to keep sort of cool we could hear an owl, and here we thought there was nothing living in this hot dry place. We eventually saw the two owls high on the ridge perched on some cacti watching us. Such amazing animals.

Getting hotter by the minute!


The multi-coloured terrain was very unique


Spot Naomi & Apu




Trees growing out of rocks? what is this place


Camping on the side of the road. At least we had a drying creek as water supply.


GPS DATA: Elevation Change Day 17


VIDEO: EPISODE 17

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Canada to Argentina 2010:http://nomi-beto-adventures.blogspot.com/

Website:www.MotoLara.com