The Central "Zona Do It"

Back safely at Toby and Saras Ellen had to get some dental work done and I had been putting off some work on Maya until we had the right place and services, Huanuco is it.:clap

The town square



The view from opposite their home, see the hill picture on their B&B site





I wanted to get the Dr Bean board into our fuel pump, redo the mudflap which had been attacked and torn, clean out indicators from mud (the insides), clean air filters etc so just a big tidy up round.

The board was easy done however the guy did a less than ideal job on one soldered joint so we got that sorted the following morning, all good.

For a while I have been wanting to fit a bigger foot plate on the side stand and this was also accomplished $6 Soles (about $2 dollars), my exhaust baffle I had extended too $5 Soles (about $1.70 dollars), all in all my entire list of goodies to sort was sorted with a little local help from Toby.

Ellen and Sara did the icecream thing ... dunno how I missed this out :huh



A free Plug Here,
Now Toby and Sara are volunteer workers and spend much of their time helping the community for no gain for themselves other than satisfaction so our hat is off to them big time.:clap

Toby runs Around The Block moto tours and has a selection of machines from 250 to 650, both touring capable with KLR650s and offroad capable with the XR250s and XR650L .

We stayed at their B&B for a week and enjoyed ourselves although I was completely set up on a board game coming last .... hmmmm :lol3

Tobys site is

Moto Tours - adventure motorcycle tours in Peru and all South America

...and their B&B is

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1835398?s=9669

Wonna find em on your GPS, this will take you to the front door



We had hearty breakfasts, comfy bed, REAL hot water, wifi that is probably the fastest we have had in Peru, that was the paid part.

The non paid part is local knowledge from Toby and Sara, stuff you don’t get on GPS and maps.

With Tobys local knowledge we got Maya sorted (as noted above) and Ellen got her dental work done, done well and very economical.

Now Huanuco itself it not a total tourist town but has great shops and services, it is also close to Lima if you are flying in to start a trip or if you are lucky enough to be RTWing their place is a great stop over to get parts ordered etc, Toby can source stuff as he spent most of his childhood growing up in Peru and knows the locale, also speaking fluently in the local tongue cannot be matched for getting stuff sorted and the "not what ya know but who ya know" plays a huge part.

Huanuco is also a great gateway to the Amazonas to the east, the Huascaran National Park just north and of course south to Cusco and Machu Picchu so pretty well placed centrally, all in all for RTW travellers they have a great place stop, sort out and breath, sort our any moto stuff with a lock up garage and undercover place to work...ouwh and they are just good honest people helping ADVers and Hubbers alike.

I have just realized that all "us" photos are on their camera, so will have to get these .. that is an epic fail on our part!! :evil

Leaving Huanuco we headed off again with good advice from Toby (well sorta ... it snowed:rofl), onto harass some other unsuspecting people

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

Saying goodbye we hit the road south, the day was stunning and warm, total tar so a relaxing ride apart from dodging the usual Peruvians who like our lane better than theirs.

For the most of it getting up onto the plato the twisting tar gave us a nice rhythmic ride winding our way up the valley.



Stopping at a waterfall we layered up a bit as we were at 4000 meters and just cool enough, across the road was a another cool waterfall .. well at least half a waterfall anyway with the water pouring out half way down the cliff, something we had not seen before.



Cresting the plato there were very ominous looking clouds, being right on lunchtime we fooded up on hot tucker preparing for some rain, wet gear on too in advance.

A small mining town



As we approached the bank of angry clouds there was a huge flash and the big fella took our photo followed by a large bang/crack ... we knew then it was gonna get ugly.

See to the left pf the picture Ellen just caught the lightening :clap



Up ahead it appeared white but through my now wet visor I thought it was sandstone .... that would have been easier.

Hail, yeah, bouncing off everything every which way in all directions .... classic, at least it is dryer than rain.

The hail got heavier and heavier, the road was white with some wheel tracks creating a narrow safe-haven at least for a while.



A car was off the road and being pulled back on by a truck under the guidance of the police, one policeman looked at us like we were crazy .... I think he was right.

Our spot would not send any messages to the orange dot gods as the air was electric stifling any signals from spot, (we now have a straight line on our map) lightening was striking to our left and ahead of us giving us booms in stereo, this also meant that we would be riding into the stuff ahead.

Forced to first gear at one stage with about 50mm deep of hail on the road and no wheel tracks it was a game of lets try and stay upright, I won this game.

The storm veered right and our road veered left which was a welcome reprieve, however the hail then turned back to very heavy rain again, bike got another good wash.

We had visions of stopping in Junin but Junin sits at 4200 meters and it was bitterly cold, given it was only 1.30 we continued on with the last section to Tarma easy as just with lots of roadworks.

Small vid for fun :clap

Ice Ice Baby - YouTube

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

Spending two nights having a break was great, Chacas was a nice place to kick back.

Pretty epic view of hanging glacial basins



From the town square, beautiful buildings as well



Time to head on we rode up and over the national park on different road seeing us get up into the snow line with ease.



Picture of IDNA



The tunnel



Near the top there was a turnoff which we took only to get a wee ways along and find a showstopper rock fall which we could not fit through and rocks I could not move without dynamite ... which we didn’t have.





Having been stopped at this point the camera came out and the most was made of the top shelf scenery in front of us, behind us the weather was crapping out very quickly with snow laden cloud and rain so it was time to move, a slight backtrack was required.



Again up at 4780 meters this is the second highest point we have been on our trip so far and only 100 meters below Chimborazo in Ecuador.:clap

The valley was long with the usual Peruvian style zig zag and of course right hand drive bus and cars????!!!!!

Look closely at the picture you can see there are about 10 - 12 tiers of the zig zag down



Ellen and I have decided to start an import business in Peru with right hand drive cars and buses as the Peruvians really don’t like driving on their side of the road, so we should make it easier for them buying the right hand drives!! :rofl

The other thing we have found is Peruvians seem to send their dogs to “chase the moto skool” with some of them really going hard, I bought a stainless steel cup which is attached to my tank bag on the left, it is full of rocks and everyday requires a reload....some dogs make rethink their attack mode afterwards.:evil

See the zig zag in between the sign posts above Maya



Great place to relax and laziboy it to take in the valley



Down to humanville we hooked a lefty to Huaraz which was destination for two nights.

We had a failed attempt to go to Lake Llaron but with weather and track condition turning us around and we headed back to town, the weather caved in badly which means we would not be able to see a thing anything ... bumma but never mind.



The hostel was nice run by a friendly girl who was helpful, we provided the entertainment getting Maya in and out of the front door which was narrower than our handle bars.

http://youtu.be/XGSJbQdx4z4



From here we decided to head to the coast ..... warmer yes .... back to the sandpit.

Here is the little summary for our little ride from Chacas to Huaraz

http://youtu.be/jeEPtTNDkjc

__________________
Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

Fantastic!love the video .House prices crashing here all bad news may have to cut my own throat to get the house sold.Glad you have been talking with Paul Nomad ,he stayed with me on his OZ trip ,very nice bloke.Those mountains are spectacular.
Y.D.F Noel

Thank you sir

Well shit that is bad about the house prices mate, is it worth renting to ride out the monsoon? .... just a thought rather than taking a bath on the price

Yeah been in contact with Paul and hopefully helping him with things we can anyway, up to date info is always great

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

Back to the lowlands

South, well, south west up an over 4200 meters, freezing cold and drizzly, to top it off I was slightly off shade.





The food poisoning in Cajamarca has left my stomach tender and easily upset and today I was suffering I suspect from less than ideal water, not sure.

Easy trip down seeing us drop from 4200 meters to sea level in less than an hour ...wee change.

We arrived at Ceasers shop way ahead of time as the road was totally sealed and great condition ...unlike my bum!!!! :rofl

I chose to die for the afternoon and rest under the sheets while Ellen entertained our hosts.

The following day Ceaser and family took the day of work and took us to the playa (beach) then on to a swimming pool which we all made the most off being a hot day.



We played silly games that the lifeguards at any western pool would throw you out for.:rofl



Some other travellers who were there, our small waterproof camera is playing up too :evil



Again really cool being on the ground with locals.



The ride home in a mototaxi



Taking in Barranca it was a bustling town with moto taxi overload, these things were thicker than blow flies in Australia .... we even watched one get shortened by a truck when the trucks brakes failed at the intersection.:eek1

The last night we had Cuy (Guinea Pig) ... take like chicken but ya haf ta fight to get much meat



We were then ordered to sit down and have a few drinks with a birthday party ... awesome!! :clap



Plans to head back to the highlands saw us go back up the road we came down on as we left later than usual with a few photos with some local lads.

The sand dunes I dearly wanted to play on I did and Maya took us to the Elephant cliffs.

That next......:evil

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

A step up in time

Before leaving Barranca we headed down and out to the Elephants head sand dunes .....excorted by our host Ceaser, it was stinkin hot.



Sand...hot



This shows where we were parked on top of the elephants head



So photo shoot over we headed back to where our hearts were calling, not having finished with Huascaran we headed to Cataz, this time 3/4 up the mount the weather dealt to us with heavy rain and thick fog.

Towering above was massive vertical cliffs



Yes that is a bus that when off the road and remains a solemn reminder



The fog saw us down to first gear in places due to not being able to see more than a few meters in front of us, we nearly hit a cow and a (white) bus parked parked in the middle of the road....damn....kept on my toes.

No pics of the thick fog and rain, if you want the real deal jump in the shower and turn the cold water on, place a tuperware container over your face but allow cold water to hit and trickle down your face, add appropriate engine noise ... done!!

Ominous cloud met us at the top



Cresting the top of the valley the fog cleared as we “out elevated” it leaving us with just heavy rain so things were on the improve, getting to Cataz we had made good time despite the pea soup slowing us down, with Chavin in our sights we decided to get there as it was only 2.30 pm and an hour and a half to get there.

Yeah ....




So ......the weather, getting a good way up the valley the rain stopped which was great .... but it started snowing and the temperature dropped quicker than a led ballon.

Snow ...cold





The last 5km to the tunnel saw snow settling on Maya and us, heated grips on full felt useless!!!

Luckily we had prepped earlier with our full wet gear on which was a great move but the chill still let us know with authority .... bearing in mind an hour and a half prior we were at 35 degrees and wet from the inside out.

The tunnel was a short reprieve as we dived off down the valley with freezing winds tossing snow in all directions which made for hard riding, my visor was fogging on the inside and the snow packing on the outside.

As we descended down it slowly turned to rain again .... cool ..... at least warmer.

The road at this point is a combo of potholes, dirt and destroyed tar and the mix of lime and clay making a concrete like mix that is very abrasive ... as we found out getting only 1600 km our of the rear disc pads.

Something was going wrong with our rear brake and on exiting the tunnel we had nothing with the pedal going straight to the bottom with no effect ..... think we need to bleed it, again this just added to the riding level of attention using engine braking and front brake only on the greasy surface ... interesting.

Arriving in Chavin in one piece we had intentions of staying two nights but only two of the 10 - 12 hostels/hotels were open and were blindly ripping it.

We ended up paying 50% more for pretty scrubby accom THEN no toilet paper, no soap and one towel between two people saying because of the rain there were no more towels.

At that point we were in and only discovered this miserable anomaly when we went to have a shower, be fair to say I lost my cool, it was the one towel between two people which was an insult and I let them know, they then offered a tea towel .... NUP, full size or a fight. , they opened the door to a room which had towels on the shelves and lots of them .... wankers.

My hard line came about when more people turned up and they gave them towels(s) so they lied through their teeth to us

So with her miserable stupidity we decided to leave the next morning instead of staying the next night with food etc, great business tactics guys, the place is called Hostel Las Casana, DON’T bother going there as she will stick it to you after you get in the door, not impressed with them at all, this would have to be the worst that someone has stuck it too us in a “professional way‘ and is nothing short of an insult.

On a better note the ruins provided some entertainment as did the tea boxes or at least some photos.

Read the labels with your twisted mind



We also discovered the perfect RTW cookset for travellers, eco sized



The ruins



The ruins at dusk



Lastly, our video of the day

Snow In Huascaran National Park, Peru - YouTube

__________________
Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

Never seens trees so red before. Grt pics. Really enjoying you travel like this.

Sent from my GT-I9082 using Tapatalk

Heya Kayjay

Yes there are some amazing colours and creature in this part of the world.

Many thanks for your props.

Andi

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

Wonderful pic in the warm waterfalls

Sent from my GT-I9082 using Tapatalk

Sent from my GT-I9082 using Tapatalk

Heya Kayjay

... they were NOT that warm

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

A relaxing start as sleeping beauty stayed under covers till 9.00am :evil.

No rush, today was a local day to the caves and surrounding area.

Flinging the cases off Maya we set too only to find a massive market outside our front door, so people, please make way, there were stalls and stands everywhere, the only free bit of concrete was the footpath ... foothpath it is. :rofl

The caves are only 26 km from town and the dirt road takes you through small villages and up a valley, the caves sit at 3600 meters and the 5 minute walk to the caves seemed like a 5 hour trek.

A torch or headlight is essential, if not you can hire a guide who had a 1 candle power LED torch.

A guide and customer came in just as we got in too, so we all went in together, I had my LED lenser (made in USA and BLOODY awesome).

So here is a few photos to enjoy, not much to write about.

This waterfall greets you on arrival :clap





Caver extraordinaire





Ellen got a dirty bum sliding down one of the slopes



It is like the temple of doom with little bridges :rofl





The entrance from the inside out



Couple of llamas on the way back, you can sit on this fellas and get your photos taken, I still prefer KTM.:evil

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

Not as famous as Machu Picchu but a nice walk, to be honest you can ride probably 90% of it ... just a problem getting down the last 10% intact.

Just to give it some authenticity ....the old guy on the right gave us directions and we gave him two toffee lollies ....he liked them



In true form from the Peruvians who didn’t have a clue they guided us completely astray, Peruvians will never say they don’t know and they will always give you directions to somewhere.

The soil at this point was very red and very orange ....mineral rich of something.



There are a couple of crazy trees with S bends





There was few ruins along the way but to be honest without sounding like a bastid sometimes it is hard to tell the difference between ruins and someone house.

These are inhabited residence, no power, no running water, they are as genuinely old school as you can get.



The crest of the valley f i n a l l y ...with ominous clouds to go



Highlight of the day, an old man took a shine to Ellen and picked her some flowers which was duly thanked with a kiss ... he was not expecting that



Total surprise from him with Ellens reaction and thanking him, he was delighted despite the look on his face (which changed after this photo) and I know she made his day



This was our collectivo taxi that picked us up, there were 8 adults and 3 children in the car , just a small Toyota station wagon .. could easy squeeze another dozen in

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere