I was lucky enough to go out for a pee around 5:30am. Despite the overnight rain I could see the entire mountain range in profile. This was shaping up to be a good morning. It didn't take long for the sun to shine some light on the peaks so we snuggled up in the tent and enjoyed the amazing sunrise. Alberto commented that it was the most amazing sunrise he's ever seen. We also took advantage of the views we could not see yesterday by having a casual breakfast alfresco. By 8am the fog had rolled in and we could see absolutely nothing, plus it was cold.

These are the highest mountain peaks in all of Peru!


Perfect way to start the last day of our trip


It was a cool & clear morning


Warmth was welcomed


Morning glory!


Looking West... fog rolling in from the East


Looking East... all fogged up


No need to hang about when there is nothing to see, so we packed up and chased the sun. We could see through breaks in the fog that it was sunny in our direction of travel we just needed to get there. Having spent the night only a few hundred meters from the road we knew first hand this wasn't a busy road. This was to our advantage because the road was quite a treat to ride. Lots of nice flowing 'S' turns and switchbacks. We were carving it up, and not another vehicle in sight.

No fog on this side of the mountain


Another day with a road all to ourselves


Above the tree-line


The sun was out and we didn't hit our first town for 45min or so. Just us and the road; a beautiful way to spend a morning. By was the second or third town, and some 1500m of elevation loss later, we were warm enough to shed some layers. We stopped in the plaza of Pamparomas, which was perched on a very steep hill. As always a few strange looks from some people chilling in the Plaza.

Naomi taking the lead


Back where trees grow

Plaza de Pamparomás


Little fella eating a 'Chirimoya' (local fruit)


The road continued down with enough switchbacks to sink a ship. The funny thing about this section of road was the amount of speedbumps. The seemingly random placement of speedbumps turned into a trend in this switchback section. Before every switchback in the downhill direction there was a speedbump to greet you. Talk about messing up the flow, but this is Peru and at a certain point you just accept the ridiculousness. The landscapes were lush and the smell of flowers was in the air. Just go with it and laugh.

A few more switchbacks... and speedbumps

From high to low, from green to brown


At the bottom the road ditched the switchbacks in favour of nice 'S' turns following the river at a nice steady downhill grade. Just before one corner, and thankfully just before one corner as the road was single lane, we met our first vehicle of the day: a cargo truck. He was going uphill so his speed was very slow, an advantage to us and no drama resulted from the encounter. The hills were getting drier now, and soon cactus could be seen at the side of the road. At the very very bottom the terrain was as dry as a bone and sand was everywhere, a clear indication we were reaching coastal Peru.

Naomi and Apu


Can you find Naomi?


We were making such smooth progress that Alberto didn't even notice when the road gained another lane, I had to tell him “Hey there is two lanes again”. There was a control gate manned by an older gentleman. He jokingly tried to charge us 50 soles to pass, at which point Alberto just laughed and demanded the gate be opened. The guy half heartedly continued his game, but it was short lived and the gate was opened without any money changing hands. The road was straighter and flatter. The lands were more populated and sugar cane was the crop of the region. It seemed clear that the fun had ended and now it was just straight business back to Huanchaco.

Looking East: tall green mountains


Looking East: brown dry lands


Enjoying the twisties!


Amazingly our side of the mountain had banana trees, but look at the other side:


Cati land


It is a strange site having been isolated in huge mountains for so long when up ahead (at an intersection) a large truck goes flying by at speeds you have not witnessed for weeks. So that must be the Panamerciana then. We merged onto the Panamercian Highway and fell into line somewhere between cargo trucks and personal vehicles. The wind tossed the small bikes around and when large vehicles in the oncoming traffic went past we had to brace for wind impact. We were surprised that even though we were technically going under the speed limit we were still passing vehicles. At one point a donkey cart was holding up traffic as the road crossed a bridge. A donkey cart on the Panamericana! Madness I say! Sorry there are no pictures of the next 3 hours of flat highway riding. It needed to be done and it's not something I would gladly do again.

Seeing the city of Trujillo on the horizon was very welcomed, and unlike Chimbote there is a nice road that goes around the outside of the city. When the waves of the shore came into view I was actually somewhat happy to be back on the coast. I had missed the ocean over the last few weeks. We arrived back in Huanchaco safe and sound, with both Apu and Chasqui arriving under their own steam. Well done boys. With another day in the books, we treated ourselves to lunch with an ocean view. We celebrated our trip with a couple of Cusqueñas and a high five. Well done team!

Arriving in Huanchaco Beach... we felt a bit overdressed!


Back to where we started 32 days ago


GPS DATA: Elevation Change Day 32 (4,300 m to 0 meters)


FINAL VIDEO: EPISODE 32

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

Website:www.MotoLara.com