Ok, happy new year you guys and thanks for following, much more to come yet.

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

Ok, South that is the game plan and a nice clean road to Cajabamba, a trouble free and uneventful day saw us get to Cajabamba in plenty of time after a lunchtime getaway.

Seen this crap before Hektoglider :rofl



Cajabamba is a nice place with a good vibes and we bagged nice accommodation with wifi, this is a treat in Peru.

And it has a cool toy shop



This was to be our final civilized town with good services so we sorted everything before going awol.

Civilized ... tying them down is cheating :evil



Santiago de chuca was the goal, we hit our turnoff just after lake Saucachoca, it was very loose and deep with sand and lime and hiding those lovely round marble shaped rocks within which made it interesting to say the least.

The start of the sandpit



We spotted a cool gorge so went for a look, wow it was cool, we carried on our way heading further and further up the valley, it seemed longer than on the map, stopping for lunch asking to confirm directions this did not seem right by our info.



Spot mini me and Maya 3/4 way down :eek1



Continuing out of the town Maya stopped, assuming we had just run the rear tank dry we switched the taps over but no go, I blew into the tank breather to make sure it wasn't just a vapour lock then she started, went half km then died again, sporadically she would go then stop, repeat :huh.

By this time we had gone far enough to be very committed (and yes it was further tan on the map) thinking we were just near the top, the problem got worse to the point I was blowing into the breather every 200 meters to keep fuel in the carbs ... I was not enjoying this.

Especially trying to ride this stuff



Beautiful tho ....and worth every breath



Then it got worse, turning the corner we thought was the top of the valley it opened up to the next tier and even more difficult, we are now at 3900 meters, don't know where we are and still had to climb, committed we carried on to the summit at 4300 meters, we stopped at a cross track to gather, we established Santiago De Chuca was bloody miles away and we really had taken a short cut.....but to Angasmarca .... our next days ride :eek1

Cool mountain shapes



Few horses to keep us company



By this stage we are on a 4x4 style track with water holes 300 - 400 deep and muddy and it was dry (they would be 600 mm plus in the wet), we still had 50 km to get to a town assuming the road even existed, luckily it did and it took us onto a mining road for the last 12 km then down into Angasmarca.



The track sidled around the valley



Before dropping us onto this very loose and boney section



I continued blowing into the tank right to the plaza knowing we had to find accom.



Ellen got the hostel and it had a garage space so that was mint, off with the tank and pump, the points clearly weathering from bad power and a wire that was dislodged from its crimped keeper, it had not been crimped properly from new.:baldy:baldy ... now before anyone gets out the KTM gun the petrol pump is Mitsubishi .... so jappa.

Some sanding and filing of points and and crimping the wire properly we set her back together with life in our fuel pump, me I could run a marathon now with my lung training.

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

With Maya back together the following morning we headed for Tauca, we pretty much had the road to ourselves bar a coupla trucks.

This section of the road (yes we are actually on a road this time) we were expecting to be rough but after yesterdays track it was a highway, conditions dry it was boney and again the sand and lime dust was 150 mm deep at times again hiding rocks with wrong intentions ...bastids.:rofl

The zig zag was ahead of us and did not disappoint, just incredible where the road went.

This is what we were in for...



This is what it looks like on the BIG screen



The full picture



Cleaning crud out of the radiator after softening it in a creek crossing



Our reward at the top of the hill for lunch



There are many mines up here in the tops




Arriving at Tauca there are two hostels, the owner of the good one was away so closed, the other we could not get Maya in and they didn't seem interested to even help solve/sort something... this is a church, slightly different than usual



An executive decision was made to carry on to Chuquicara to get gas and stay the night.

The mountains bleeding different colours depending on the minerals providing cool colours



An entire town of ruins from volcanic destruction



Down the valley was a totally different stone desert likes we had not seen before









Then the bridge, being repaired, 20 minutes she said, nearly an hour later we were on our way but their half done repairs nearly sending us overboard with the planks rolling under our wheels...****. :eek1



After some heart stopping moments we got to the second bridge which was worse, with a strong crosswind Ellen got off to help, again more heart stopping moments we made it across and continued down the valley arriving at the bridge to Chuquicara....oh no the worst one.

This had boards missing and broken boards, in places there were holes 1 x 1 meter, we both hoped off and walked Maya across under power, 3/4 the way across a rotten longitudinal board broke under the front wheel dropping Maya into the bridge and onto the front disc, using the engine power we got her out only to have the back wheel drop in too, we made it finally, puffing like hell, sweating profusely and with full nappies. :eek1:eek1





20 meters can cause trouble, most of the boards were ok but some were rotten, not nailed down or anything, was very happy to have both of us and Maya on solid ground, then we found the gas station .....no gas .....nada, shit.... some days things just don't line up totally. :cry

We had enough to get to the coast but not enough to go through to Caraz so we had no choice but to go to the coast to Santa, no biggy it was a real moonscape drive and stunning but blowing very hard sending us across the road at times.

Next day was NYE so we decided to get a rest day, we also managed to get a new MT21 front tire for Maya so I was happy about that, at least the tire god stars lined up, fitted the new shoe to Maya....sorted. Caraz here we come :clap

We don't have a tiled floor in the garage a home :evil

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

As always….WOW. if you two ever have children, you'll never run out of bed time stories, Cheers

Rod

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I once ruled the world, till mum told me it was only the garden!

Love the shots of the twisty roads .wishing you another wonderful year of adventure.P.S I may have a buyer don't mention it to any one i don't want to jinx the sale.Y.D.F Noel

Heya Rod

Yeah unlikely on the kids front so we will just have to bore you guys to tears instead.

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

Heya Noel

Happy new year indeed.

On the quite then coolio on the house maybe sale, best for that mate I hope it pans out

YDP (your dedicated poster)

A

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

Shoulda been here for Christmas :rofl

Given we were driven to coast for fuel we took advantage of services that come with being in a bigger town, i.e. tire, wifi, toilets with seats etc.

Maya’s new years gift was the MT21, mine was being able to drink and hold down wine and food, after the food poisoning in Cajamarca it has left things a little tender, Ellen's gift was putting up with me!! :evil

The three of us went out for tea ... it was nice.:rofl



The Peruvians put on an epic show of who has the bigger cracker and sky rocket, this was quite the display for a town this size, was only minute at new years and the air was laden with beautiful gun powder smell (I love it), there were burning chairs in the street too, kinda like guy forks.





See the smoke hanging in the air



New years eve done and dusted bed jumped under us at about 1.00am.

Now, a small back track to the past for when I was very young (just a few weeks ago)

When I was about 18 years young I bought a magazine called Australasian Dirt Bike, in the mag there was an article of two DR400T’s 82 - 84 model, dual shock. round mid muffler model, all you old buggas like me will know them, all you young bucks will have to search or suffer.

The article was headed, “Peruvian Sand” and there were photos of these two hooning up the huge sand dunes and having a time of their life, I loved that article so much, I loved the bikes so much I worked my arse off and saved hard and bought a DR400S which had road kit for New Zealand, I was proud as punch cos I had one, I so much wanted to blast up the monster sand dunes and in my dreams I just wanted to be there.

Roll on 29 years ...yes I am 47 now give or take 25 years, well, here we are in Santa, Peru, I am looking out across the roofs at these monster sand dunes and I had a flashback to the “Peruvian Sand” article I loved so dearly ..... with a small tear in my eye I then realized HERE IN AM in my dream of about 1984 now on my newer dream bike that was not even dreamed of or thought about back then.



Was this my news year gift?, was this meant to be and a small gift of my own history, it was weird, hard to explain and I don’t wonna give it back so I won't but leaving Santa heading back to the mountains it is a cool memory to ride withclap, maybe in another 29 years I will have another cool flashback with Maya.

Where is this going, well nowhere really, but for me it meant that sometimes in an unexpected avenue your day can change in an instant with a dream realized, never EVER let go of dreams as they can eventuate even if by alternate forces and events.

I WAS HERE ... I couldn't tag the sand dune so this will have to do



Happy new all, mine was!!!

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

Sorry to those that have seen this on every ride report from every ADVer that has been through here .... but TOO BAD co we haven’t and it is stunning. :clap

Ducks, that is what it means, the only thing we had to duck was falling rocks and mad Peruvian drivers.:rofl

Growth, not a common word in these parts unless you are referring to rocks, stunning, a word I am guessing gets thrashed.



WOW can explain it, many tunnels, corrugated to hell in places, dusty, 41 degrees C and edges of the road that with see you plummet 100 meters to your death right beside you so yeap a perfect adventure riders road.clap

At the start we stopped at the dreaded bridge which saw me fill my nappies, the holes looking just as daunting, the wind had dropped so made it feel easier.

See the hole.





Photos, why not, one wished for superior gear here but we still made the most of what mum nature had twisted and shaped for our eyes to consume, again it was unreal to look at, me with my engineering mind trying to even start to comprehend the forces that pushed this into and out of shape.



For the non engineering people here, picture a huge bulldozer grunting hard pushing earthworks for that new road section, now look up to the twisted and curve rock shelves we drive past everyday when in the mountains and try to understand the immense pressure to do this, mind boggling to say the least.:eek1

Ok, back to human things now, making our way through to Caraz we past the hydroelectric scheme and dozens of tunnels before hitting tarseal (which was welcomed again)





Did I mention barren



Yes that is a road up there



A few tunnels





In some parts you zip out of one and into another



Dodgy dark dude



Coming into the closet :rofl



Stopping to take in the view



Heading out of the canon you can see the differing minerals making differing colours



Arriving at Caraz we caught up with Tobius again as well as Edwin and his girlfriend who pulled up to the hostel next door and couldn’t get there bikes in so they came into our hostel when they saw the easy alley Maya went down.

Yet another harsh day of adventure touring :rofl :clap

Finally a clip of the day

http://youtu.be/b6suSRZQSeM

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

Day trip from Caraz, unless you want to be wowed and enjoy breath taking scenery I wouldn’t bother going.

Tobius following us up on his 950 Adventure



Towering glacial cut faces looking down at us



Neat track leading up to the top



30 km from Caraz to roads end we parked the motos and with much enthusiasm from the other locals we had good laughs and photos.

Tobius, Ellen and I set too for the 1.5 hour easy hike, we were however at 4200 metres and reached 4400 metres at the head of Lake Paron.

Damn, this place is unreal, so for those of you in South America that want to go to New Zealand but can’t afford to go bust out $5 Soles ($1.35) and go here, this is as close to where we live as we have seen yet.:clap

A quick chat to discuss the beauty



So much orange beauty here :rofl



Good times



The place as awful





A close up



The three of us just just took it in sitting on a shingle fan looking around like three little kids being looked down on by our elders, quite a feeling.



On heading back to the bikes the combo of snow melt, rain and heat bought our small creek into a big creek



Once we had finished taking in our scenic overload it was time to head back for a late lunch back in town.

The zig zag on the way back down



Tobius left his 950 Adventure in our hostal and we did some adjustments etc, more moto heaven fun. Tobius said his bike was no good on the gravel corrugations and we had established prior that his fork legs were set very differently and too firm so we dealt it with much improved handling and comfort for the big fella.

Tea was had with all of us in town

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

Hey you two,

Waht a fantastic Trip/blog you're both having.
It seems like a lifetime ago we met in Nakusp, British Columbia!
Wishing you a safe but adventurous road ahead.......
Keep in touch......

Nevil
MotoExped - Home
Round the World 2013 on motorbikes

Attached Thumbnails

 

Fantastic shots,I was very impressed with the Machu picchu lookalike,love the lama shot.Bummer about the food poisoning.Any hoo , house has an offer only 100g below list so told them to improve offer or go away.Until next time,Noel

Heya Nevil

Now there is a pic from a wee way back.

Thank you for your props, much appreciated and yeap we are having good fun and loving South America.

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

Heya Noel

Easy to take nice photos when you are on a world class stage!!!

Food poisoning .... yeah ...Merry Christmas ... that's the way it is (was).

Damn the miserable buggers on the house, I can sort them out for you if you want , good man stand ya ground and don't give it away.

YDP

A

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

13 km, that is all the tarseal we got from Caraz then back into it, rough, gravel, mud, deep shingle etc.....perfect :clap

Destination Chacas we proceeded up to the park entry gates, this time $10 Soles each, this time the road up to the lakes was maintained and very nice, this was short lived tho and turned very rough very quickly.

Park entry



Joining the crew



New Zealand, here we are again, huge glacial cut valleys with daunting vertical faces steering at us with an unforgiving smile.





The lake at the first crest



Cool trees previewing the icy clay laden waters



Once past the lake we hit the zig zag .... awesome, the climb in front of us and taking us to the base of a glacier then zig zagging up and up, getting rougher and narrower, at 4000 meters we adjusted the fuel screws in as Maya was losing it, at 4400 meters we took the fuel screws in even further as it was difficult riding the tight switch backs with little power and trying to accelerate, this made a huge difference and she starting running much much better.



Adjusting the fuel screws at 4400 meters (14500ft)



Part of the road



Lakes in the distance we had past earlier



Sorry for the washed out colours but the poor ol camera was struggling with the glare from the snow etc.

Lunch, open air cafe, not much coffee but c h e c k o u t t h e v i e w :clap



A reflection of our past



Topping out at 4710 meters we were pleased to hit the summit and started heading down as oxygen is thinner here so wrestling Maya in and out of big rocks, switchbacks etc with our gear was a mission.

The crest and the monster long downhill, just as awful on this side :rofl, this was at 4710 meters (15500 ft)



Further down the valley the day got warmer and slightly easier although some of the villages we rode through had had heavy rain causing muddy boggy ‘tracks” in the towns which proved interesting.







Between the elevational changes and the amount of gnarly gravel roads we had ridden the last few days it was starting to catch up on me, 3/4 the way down to our finish line I had to stop for a drink, breather, stretch and a few toffees for a sugar boost.

Unexpected we were greeted for the last 6 km to Chaca by tarseal sent by god, it was smooth and beautiful and a seriously welcome sight after thumping around in the sticks.

Yeah a nothing photo other than the welcoming road :clap



Chacas, cool wee town with no wifi ... perfect, we decided to take a much needed rest day, do a small walk and catch up on some writing etc.

The timing of the thunder storm coming, we got in with good time, Chacas main square (plaza) donkeys and all.



A local lady selling baskets, she was very nice, in fact Chacas now holds the title for the most friendly town so far in Peru, the people were smiling and very welcoming which made us feel very homely.

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