I have just riden from Nasca to Lima through the earth quake zone on the Pan Am.
I read in a respected paper yesterday that travel times from Ica to Lima had doubled from 4 hours to 8 hours , so i was allowing all day for the ride. But i was in Lima in time for lunch.

The road is in very good condition considering. they have worked hard to get it smooth again it appears. 2 or 3 areas they were working on the surface, and there is a gravel detour round the broken bridge but all working smoothly. still one of the better roads in Peru.

I didn´t go in to the centres of the affected towns but there appears to be no more incidents of desperate people robbing cars. there is a significant police presence on the road and in towns and government help has arrived in the past week so perhaps people aren´t so desperate now. they are many kids at the side of the road begging for handouts, but not doing anything reckless or dangerous to passing cars.

no problems with petrol or food on the way. Was trying to contribute to the businesses! but some people told me that some locals has bumped up the price of a bottle of coke from 1 sol to 3 sol in the days after the quake. So it appears it was and is business as usual.

The one very noticable lasting effect is the weather. it is much colder than usual according to some locals i was talking to, and there was even rain and almost freezing fog in teh hills coming down from arequipa. I had heard that earth quakes can effect the weather but now i have witnessed it first hand. and can say it was very cold riding. had to get my winter woolies out again.

Most hotels and attractions are still open south of Pisco, so there is no reason to miss the area. Come and give them some business and help the area get back on its feet.

cheers
mike

Hi Everyone - Thanks for your replies. Just to let you know that we left Nasca last Thursday, 23rd August. The road is fine and has been well repaired and we had no trouble from the people. They are just desperate for anything that you can do to help.

Thanks for all the tips everyone. I can confirm what mother77 said, the highway is fine and the cleanup has begun. Rode through from Lima to Nazca Sept. 1st. Truly sad to see that the poorest of people are the ones who suffered most. Their homes are poorly constructed and most lay in heaps on the ground. Hard to give them anything other than support (or money) when riding through on a bike, but they appreciate anything you can spare.

Cheers,
Daren