Arriving after 400 km to just outside of Chiclayo we found a hotel run by an Englishman and his Peruvian wife. This town however looks like you are in a mad max film. There are falling down brick buildings, wires everywhere, and garbage. It is basically then sand from here for 2000 km.
Despite rumors we did not encounter “ bad gas” here.
We are on a mission, but decided on a shorter 200 km day today so we could visit the ruins near Trujillo.
We were stopped at a police check at one of the nonfunctioning tollbooths, but he had a trainee and so he really just wanted to show the guy what temporary import permits for foreign bikes looked like.
We stopped for lunch in the first decent town we have seen in this country on the beach at Huanchaco for some ceviche. Then we headed to Trujillo and our family run hotel.
We were interested to visit the Moche ruins at La Huaca del Sol y Luna. This site has been excavated for the last 25 years from what looked like a big pile of dirt. It is the ruins of the capital city of the Moche culture and was occupied from 100 to 800 AD. There is only excavation here and no restoration; so all the murals are original colors. There is also a nice museum full of artifacts.
The ruins are an adobe brick stacked at right angles and in sections, which experts believe was a way to combat the frequent earth tremors. It was abandoned when the masses lost faith in their religious leaders who could not combat the destruction by the frequent el Nino phenomenon with their human sacrifices.
The town itself is very nice with a bright yellow church and polished concrete on the square.
Today we had another 415 km ride planned thru sand and at times very strong winds.
The idea was to get up and leave at 5 am to drive the 150 km to Lima so we could get to the city on the Pan Americana by 7 am when it will not be grid lock. We did leave at 545 with the sun rising as we headed south.
There were areas that were so foggy I could not see Daniel who was just ahead of me on the road.
We arrived on the outskirts of Lima at 715 and we left the other side about 90 minutes later. I would hate to try this at rush hour. In general the drivers in Peru are not too bad the taxi drivers especially in the north are very aggressive. If stopped behind you at a light they will go right drive on the shoulder and then try to cut in front of you. The worst part is they will then pull over 50 feet ahead and let out their fare.
There was still just more sand south of Lima, but at least some hills as well for a change of scene.
We were stopped at a police check today and all we got was a handshake, a where are you from, and a welcome to Peru. Oh he also said never drive at night in Peru and be very careful on the way to Nazca because of the strong winds. The sand at times was blasting us a bit, but luckily not for long.
We stopped for lunch at Pisco and wondered if a typhoon had hit the beach the town was such a mess. That forced us to decide to press on just over 600 km to Nazca. We stopped at “the Lines”, but did not bother with the tower as you really can’t see much from there and the flights are too expensive at 110$ each for 30 min.
We spent the night in the Swiss hotel here and got off to another early start for the 400 km to Camana.
Filling up with gas we added our sticker to their collection.
We stopped to lube the chain and have a stretch.
The first 80 km out of Nazca were very windy as well, but after that the road moved onto the coast where there was almost no wind and the first nice scenery we have seen in 5 days.
We arrived in Camana and asked for a hotel and we were directed to the Hotel Plaza de Armes, by which they mean the hotel on the main square and not the name of the hotel. I have a thing for apple pies and this one was very good.
Dan is considering trading the bikes in for this guy.
No big surprise another day of sand and wind on the 460 km to get to Tacna.
This is actually quite a nice city with a good vibe finally.
