tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21598137056280553402024-03-13T06:00:02.183-07:00Taking the Road SouthSalt Spring Island, Canada to Ushuaia, ArgentinaAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15788577966737781330noreply@blogger.comBlogger205125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2159813705628055340.post-6868463525277307212011-09-16T15:47:00.000-07:002015-10-13T05:10:42.649-07:00Welcome<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
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Hello,</div>
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This blog chronicles the day to day story of our motorcycle journey from Canada to Argentina. There was up, down and sideways moments, but overall it was a great experience. I hope you enjoy our story, and please get in contact if you have any questions or maybe you just want to say hi.</div>
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Thank you for visiting,<br />
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Naomi and Alberto</div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Please use the Archive on the right hand menu bar to start at the <a href="http://nomi-beto-adventures.blogspot.com/2010/09/what-are-we-doing-and-what-do-we-have_11.html">beginning</a> of our story. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">Also please check out our new website <a href="http://www.motolara.com/">MotoLara.com</a> for interesting content and projects. Hit us up on social media, we love to hear from you guys.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I am very proud to announce that 3 of our photos from our trip were selected to be featured in the <a href="http://www.cafepress.ca/horizonsmc/1022875">HUBB 2012 Calendar</a>. Thank you to everyone who voted, there is an amazing selection of pictures in the calendar!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Two years in a row! We are very happy to announce that two of our photos were selected for the <a href="http://www.cafepress.com/horizonsmc/1022875">HUBB 2013 Calendar</a>. Thank you for the support. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So proud to have our story featured in <a href="http://www.bikemagazine.co.uk/">Bike Magazine</a>!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8NWM17J8ijTZvydZ_Ilo4C8VgZzXq00z9wfcgml1vfAv6ODB5fYgC5LrUOhBrluoelPBfnXMJ5dPwrXOqdxUiR3wxO0XL3aJkIwd9LP7jePZ3sdLHy_FlnqxGVz8zoEUfXwCov76dZkI/s1600/Travel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8NWM17J8ijTZvydZ_Ilo4C8VgZzXq00z9wfcgml1vfAv6ODB5fYgC5LrUOhBrluoelPBfnXMJ5dPwrXOqdxUiR3wxO0XL3aJkIwd9LP7jePZ3sdLHy_FlnqxGVz8zoEUfXwCov76dZkI/s640/Travel.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15788577966737781330noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2159813705628055340.post-6590620106526358812011-09-16T15:38:00.000-07:002011-09-16T15:40:25.764-07:00The Best and Worst Awards<span id="internal-source-marker_0.5468418963232349" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Best Adventure Road</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> -</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Peru: Shorey to Cabana.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Best Scenic Road</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> - Chile: Ruta 7 with </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">mountains, glaciers, rivers, lakes, this road has it all.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Best Paved Road</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> - Peru: Cabana to Chuquicara. A close runner-up is Nazca to Cusco also in Peru. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">This route lost because of the increased presence of crazy drivers.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Worst Adventure Road</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> - Ruta 40, Anywhere in Argentina it’s not paved. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The
road surface is terrible and demands 100% concentration so that even if
there were beautiful landscapes to admire, you can’t take your eyes of
the road to enjoy them.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Worst Scenic Road</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> - Chile: Santiago to Temuco. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Apart from the odd winery there was pretty much nothing to see from this straight divided highway</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Worst Paved Road</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> - Peru: Caraz to Huaraz. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Truly
the worst experience one can have on two wheels. Potholes, dust, cars
swerving erratically to avoid the potholes. Painful. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">A close second is Espinazo del Diablo, Mexico. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">People
spoke praises of this road for its curvy-ness. It’s hard to appreciate
any semblance of curvy-ness though due to potholes and trucks that can’t
stay in their lane. Knowing what I know now, I would have given it a
miss.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Best Route</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> - Anywhere in the Peruvian Sierra, so that the coast can be avoided.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Worst Route</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> - Peru: Panamerican Highway 250km north of Lima until the south exit of Lima. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">having
a major highway go through the capital of Peru is simply madness. And
though we didn’t drive it (we avoided it on purpose) I imagine the
Honduras section of the Panamericana would come a close second.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Country with the Best Food</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> - Peru: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The most variety coupled with the best flavours. There isn’t even a close second.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Country with the Worst Food</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> - Mexico: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Compared
to all the other countries we didn’t enjoy Mexican food as much.
Perhaps we had bad luck with the places we went out for food? As a side
note Naomi really loved the fresh Guacamole.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Best Meal/Dish</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> - Naomi: Palta a la Reina, Peru; Alberto: Lomo Saltado, Peru.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Worst Meal</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> - Street food taquitos in Barra de Navidad, Mexico. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Too much random parts: cow’s brain, eyes, tongue, ear, lips, stomach, etc... not enough of what I define as meat.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Favourite Country Overall</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> - Naomi: Colombia. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I like the energy of the places we visited. The people were really friendly, and the scenery was nice.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Alberto: Guatemala. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I
enjoyed the lakes, volcanoes, history. People were friendly and stuff
was cheap. Also I ate the best stake of the entire trip in
Huehuetenango.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Friendliest People</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> - excluding Canadians we found Ticos (Costa Ricans) to be the most friendly.... Pura Vida!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Unfriendliest People</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> - Northern Chileans with Coastal Peruvians as runners-up </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Not
just on one occasion did we have negative encounters but several
encounters. In particular in Calama, Chile. Coastal Peruvians as a whole
were sneaky, and always trying to take advantage. DISCLAIMER - This is a
blatant generalization.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Best Police</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> - Naomi: Chile. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Very professional</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">; Alberto: Colombia. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Very friendly and even stopped us to give us directions and warn us of road conditions.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Worst Police</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> - Not even a contest: PERU!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Best Border Crossing</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> - Colombia to Ecuador. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Very professional with clearly marked buildings.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Worst Border Crossing </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">- Anything involving Nicaragua. Honduras to Nicaragua and Nicaragua to Costa Rica.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Best Biking Culture</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> - Colombia. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Even though a lot of bikes were smaller cc, there was a wide range of riders. Also people wore helmets and riding gear.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Best Waterfall</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> - El Chiflon, Chiapas, Mexico.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Best Mountain</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> - Mt. Fitz Roy, Argentina.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Best Lake </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">- Lago General Carrera, Chile.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Best Beach</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> - West Bay, Isla Roatan, Honduras.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Hottest Girls</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> - Costa Rica.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Best Kit Item</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> - Naomi: Gore-tex socks ;Alberto: Airhawk Seat.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Worst Kit Item</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> - Naomi: BMW Summer base-layers; Alberto: Collett Communication System.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Best Gadget</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> -SPOT 2.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Worst Gadget</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> - Collett Communication System </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">it’s just that bad.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Best Aftermarket Bike Farkle</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> - Gear-it-technology Crash Bars.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Worst Aftermarket Bike Farkle</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> - Alberto’s Cheap but cool-looking Mirrors.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Best Camping Spot</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> - EcoVenao in Playa Venao, Panama.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Worst Camping Spot</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> - St John RV Park in St John New Mexico, USA.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Best Hotel</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> - Hotel Oasis in Caborca, Mexico. Best bang for your buck.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Worst Hotel</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> - Motel Viga Nueva in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Best Day</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> - Day #126 </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">it had everything a GS could ask for: dirt, pavement, scenery. Peruvian Northern Highlands.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Worst Day</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> - Day #182 </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">because of having to deal with the police.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15788577966737781330noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2159813705628055340.post-33527109653950181542011-06-28T16:02:00.001-07:002011-06-28T16:02:26.913-07:00The Budget<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS,sans-serif;"></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS,sans-serif;">Our overall budget was <b>60 CAD</b> per day for the two of us, plus shipping the bikes (Darien and home) and major services which we had budgeted for separately. We almost succeeded in keeping our costs below this number, and we did have our costs at about 55 CAD per day before the engines broke, but we had to significantly pick up the pace to finish our key parts of the trip after we got the bikes back. I think post engine meltdown we rarely came in under budget at the end of the day because we were averaging 311.36 km/day whereas before we were averaging 171.92 km/day. If we can pretend that we weren't spending unproductive dollars waiting around for working bikes we actually spent less overall because we covered the same amount of ground in less time. </span> </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS,sans-serif;">This trip can be done for less or more than what we did it for. For the most part we weren't concerned with wasting time finding the most economical place in town to stay. As long as we found a place that met our criteria we were happy. We stayed at medium quality budget accommodations and ate at relatively economical places. Though we didn't put too much effort into reading guide books and finding cheap places to eat and sleep. We just made things up as we went along. </span> </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS,sans-serif;">So my advice is: make a budget that realistically fits your travel style and doesn't bankrupt you. Finding the balance is the tricky part. If you've read our blog you probably have a sense of the places we went and what we did. For more details on our costs and spending hit the <i>Trip in Numbers </i><span style="font-style: normal;">tab at the top of the blog page.</span> </span> </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15788577966737781330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2159813705628055340.post-40932399613511748992011-06-28T16:01:00.001-07:002011-06-28T16:01:56.504-07:00Security<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS,sans-serif;"></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS,sans-serif;">Throughout the entire trip is was clear that everyone is scared of their neighbour to the South, with the United States probably being the most terrified. Whenever we were in a particular country telling people about our trip they would warn us with genuine concern about the next country. They would tell us scary stories of things that had happened to people in those countries and while I do not doubt that they are true stories you can't do a trip like this in fear. You have to just take the leap of faith and hope that things will work out.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS,sans-serif;">One of the top questions people ask us is about safety. We have been lucky and during the entire trip never found ourselves in a particularly scary situation. Do bad things happen? Sure, but I think you can take precautions to safe-guard yourself and then you also need a bit of luck. We follow a few rules to help eliminate our interaction with dangerous situations. We don't drive at night. We don't really venture out at night (unless it is with trusted locals) or just around the corner for food. We try to stay away from large cities and generally trust your instincts for situations that make us uncomfortable. </span> </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS,sans-serif;">Alberto insisted on bringing disklocks for the bikes but after a few weeks in Mexico he stopped using them. <span style="font-style: normal;">We never went out of our way to secure things down (though most of our items on the bikes are relatively secure). We generally didn't leave the bikes unattended for long and on the rare occasions we did (Copper Canyon and Perito Moreno Glacier) we never had anything stolen. </span>The only time we had something stolen on the entire trip was 100m from Alberto's parents house. Oh the irony. Alberto's old, smelly, knock-off shoes were stolen off the beach.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS,sans-serif;">Security wasn't something we worried about too much, but that's not to say we were careless. The key is to be smart and trust your instincts. </span> </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15788577966737781330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2159813705628055340.post-9906749934760307552011-06-09T19:31:00.000-07:002011-06-09T19:31:40.197-07:00The Border<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS,sans-serif;"></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS,sans-serif;">Oh what a foolish person I have been to complain about the sometimes over-the-top Canada/USA border. The great thing about the getting to cross the borders in Latin America is that they make great stories, and they are always a great conversation topic when you meet up with other bikers.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS,sans-serif;">The Mexican border was quite tame, though it can be confusing as a first-timer because of the “travel free” zones for Americans. We thought we were lost since we had to drive 50km to the immigration offices. For the most part we tried to stay away from Panamericana border crossings but things were still hectic for pretty much all of our Central America border crossings. Even with the advantage of speaking fluent Spanish it's hard to make sense of the borders. Knowing Spanish did not seem to make things move any faster. South America was noticeably more organized though the experiences were still sometimes just as frustrating. </span> </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS,sans-serif;">We managed to get away without paying any bribes whatsoever, but it can happen because you will find yourself at the mercy of the border officials. Some time and money can be saved by having copies of your driver's license, title and passport cause almost every border before crossing the Darien Gap will ask for copies. I've included a list of all the borders we crossed and what we encountered (fees paid, time etc...). The list can be found <a href="https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ahv7oDA4XKvkdFBvRTdhd3RkaERRNHFtRnJlQU5yM2c&hl=en_US&authkey=COiLtrME">here</a>. Also there is lots of information on the <a href="http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/">HUBB</a> regarding border crossings and you can find lots of personal accounts on rider's blogs. I think that every experience is different but it's nice if you have an idea of what to expect. </span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15788577966737781330noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2159813705628055340.post-10828671384273082702011-06-03T14:03:00.000-07:002011-06-03T14:03:27.341-07:00My Police Rant<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS,sans-serif;">Numbers of Tickets Received: 5</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS,sans-serif;">Numbers of Times Pulled Over by the Police:</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS,sans-serif;"> Mexico: 1</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS,sans-serif;"> Nicaragua: 1</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS,sans-serif;"> Panama: 2</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS,sans-serif;"> Colombia: 2</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS,sans-serif;"> Peru: 14*</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS,sans-serif;"> Chile: 1</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS,sans-serif;"> Argentina: 2</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS,sans-serif;"><i>*Doesn't include times we ignored gestures to be pulled over </i></span> </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/IMG_3991.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/IMG_3991.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our Traffic Violation paperwork collection</td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS,sans-serif;">The times we were pulled over in Panama, Colombia and Chile were mostly harmless. Our interactions with the law in Mexico, Nicaragua and Argentina all resulted in one or both of us getting tickets. The Nicaragua ticket Alberto got was stupid but the other two were completely justified. Peru, on the other hand, very much felt like the exception because we were pulled over repeatedly by unbelievably corrupt police. The issues we had in Peru with the police got so bad that it really ruined my time in Peru and my opinion of the country. </span> </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS,sans-serif;">I am not going to go into detail about the specific interactions, you can retrace the blog for all the juicy details. What drives me crazy about the corrupt police in Peru is the inconsistency. We had mild police interactions, such as <a href="http://nomi-beto-adventures.blogspot.com/2011/05/day-191-447km-back-to-desert.html">Day 191</a>, which lasted only a couple of minutes to long drawn out paper work competitions like on <a href="http://nomi-beto-adventures.blogspot.com/2011/04/day-177-531km-why-not-go-all-way-to.html">Day 177</a>, to the most extreme where we just had to flee the scene <a href="http://nomi-beto-adventures.blogspot.com/2011/04/day-182-570km-running-police-gauntlet.html">Day 182</a>. The police officers had no shame and it ruins it for any legit ones that might be hiding out there. Alberto had already warned me about police in Peru before we got there, so I was already skeptical of their dubious honor but even if I hadn't been per-warned I would have caught-on pretty quick. It was clear after only a few encounters that the police were lazy and always searching for a bribe not justice. It is disappointing for a country like Peru which has so much tourism potential.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS,sans-serif;">Dealing with Police (in particular Peruvian Police since those were the only ones we had problems with):</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS,sans-serif;">Disclaimer: I am a total goody-two-shoes and always follow the rules, so much so that my own mother frequently makes fun of me. But I am also realistic and when the system doesn't work because the people in charge of enforcing the rules don't follow them it's every man for himself. I have never handed an official a fake document. All the documents I use are copies of real and valid documents, I just don't trust certain individuals with the real copies because they don't play by the rules. </span> </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS,sans-serif;">How to deal – Our number one trump card was speaking only English, and taking this to the extreme. Even if the average person would understand what was going on we would continue to play dumb and speak only English. Most police we encountered in Peru were pretty lazy so sometimes this was all it took. They would quickly realize that they couldn't communicate and move on. The other critical thing to do is do not to give the police any power and do this by only giving them documents you can afford to lose. This ensures that the power stays in your corner. With the more persistent police try paper-working them to death. If they are asking for a specific document, like insurance, give them every official looking document you have. They most likely will become overwhelmed, and give your documents only a glance before sending you on your way. The key is to remain calm and stand your ground. Being really stubborn and animated can work to your advantage.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS,sans-serif;">Chances are that when you undertake a trip like this you will be pulled over by the police at some point; either legitimately or not. My advice is to stay calm, stand your ground and enjoy the experience. Even the worst day of our trip (police-wise) really frustrated me at the time it makes for a great story later.</span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15788577966737781330noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2159813705628055340.post-39654754378355231882011-06-02T08:32:00.001-07:002011-06-03T15:57:10.501-07:00Final Final Thoughts<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS,sans-serif;"></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS,sans-serif;">Getting to ride the Americas on a bike is an amazing experience. I have had the chance to see many different landscapes and meet tons of truly fantastic people. Since the Americas were never really at the top of my list of places to go visit I was able to experience all of the different places and countries without any per-disposed bias or <i>favourites</i>. Our trip was simple, we just quit normal life and set out with a course due South. We never really had a plan more than a few days out and chose places to visit and roads to ride on the fly. Doing our trip in this hap-hazard way helped us get an even experience of all 12 countries we visited. But if I think back at the whole experience as an overall package it wasn't something I would go back to do again and again. </span> </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS,sans-serif;">Everyone has their own travel style and priorities and my main priority when I do motorcycle travel is the riding. For me it is not about where I end up but how I get there. This is why you will have seen throughout our trip that we didn't hit up some of the common places travelers do or when we did we didn't really get out and see stuff or stay long. In a perfect world I would have a day full of fun riding and then find somewhere remote and peaceful to camp for the evening. We were only really able to achieve this perfect travel nirvana in Peru and Chile, and not coincidentally these are the only two countries I would re-visit by motorbike.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS,sans-serif;">I enjoyed the whole trip overall but there were long sections where it felt more like endurance instead of enjoyment. In particular Mexico and Central America didn't really match well with my style. In hindsight the driver's in Mexico weren't as bad as they seemed at the time but the weather was way to hot to be wearing riding gear. It's hard to fully appreciate the beauty of a country when you are constantly uncomfortable. In Mexico's defense we didn't go during the favourable weather season, but in order to time reaching Tierra del Fuego there isn't really much flexibility for riders starting in North America. Also it felt that Mexico didn't offer anything specific to my personal tastes that I could not find riding in Canada or the United States. At first we were really enjoying Central America but as the weeks went by the whole experience felt worn and repetitive. The riding wasn't satisfying enough so we tried to compensate with typical tourist activities. This just turned into a continuous loop between beaches, volcanoes, colonial cities and jungles. We were missing out on diversity. We experienced spectacular spots here and there, Roatan and Playa Venao stand out in my mind, but they alone could not make up for the monotony. The mostly uninteresting riding and the <b>terrible</b> borders made a bad combination. And the funny thing I found on the road was that most of the other riders we met felt the same way about Central America: <i>fine to do once, but no need to do it again</i>. </span> </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS,sans-serif;">Arriving on the continent of South America was a huge breath of fresh air. The Andes breathed new life into our riding and scenery viewing. Also because of the difference in scale, South American countries are a lot bigger than Central American countries, it felt like there were more route choices which in turn resulted in better riding. There was also a downside to the larger countries, sometimes there were long periods of riding with little change in topography or scenery. </span> </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS,sans-serif;">This is all part of any long journey. The cruel reality is that not everyday will be filled with hand picked epic riding, at some point you need to get where you are going and it can't all be fun times. That's what makes it a worthwhile experience though, the diversity and adversity. But in the meantime I will focus my riding trips to selective epic riding adventures and focus my energy on conquering a new continent. The Americas.... been there done that.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS,sans-serif;">One of the best parts of traveling is meeting people, both locals and fellow travelers. There are exceptions of course but across the board we met amazingly friendly people in every single country we visited. Not to mention the joy you get when you meet a fellow adventure rider on the road. Despite having no clue what this person is like in normal life you immediately completely trust them and become friends. This trust is a two-way street as you will find that locals will invite you into their homes just because you are an adventure traveler. The human aspect is one of the truly amazing facets of travel. </span> </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS,sans-serif;">I think that 8 months of travel was the perfect amount of time for me, maybe even a little long. Near the end I just wanted to come home. I think that traveling through Latin America has advantages and disadvantages. For Canadians and Americans it is very accessible. No paper work required you can jump on your bike and leave today. Also there is only one language to learn, however I think the harmony of Latin America was a negative for me. I got bored. The fact is, a large amount of land and countries share the same cultural foundations and it means that you aren't confronted with anything really new or fresh during the trip. Africa or Asia, in my opinion, has more diversity to offer for a similar amount of distance traveled. </span> </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS,sans-serif;">There is a reason why it is called the comfort zone; it's comfortable. I missed my things and the freedom to do other things besides riding my bike. It was a great trip but I was okay when the end came after 8 months of travel.</span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15788577966737781330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2159813705628055340.post-1250973668037708532011-05-27T16:55:00.001-07:002011-09-03T15:57:24.873-07:00Shipping the Bikes Part II<div style="color: #666666;">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS,sans-serif;">After what feels like an eternity we finally have our bikes back on Salt Spring Island, but sadly this is a story of trials and tribulations. </span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS,sans-serif;">When we were informed that our bikes would be arriving in Vancouver (late I might add) we were also informed that they had been sent COD (cash on delivery). And thus started a several week fight between us, TBS Ship Peru and Choice Aduana Peru. As it turns out the money we paid for shipping before leaving Peru was not used appropriately and when it really comes down to it we got scammed. We made arrangements, we paid the agreed upon price and then things didn't go according to plan. Everyone is pointing the finger at everyone else and in the end we are the ones getting screwed. </span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS,sans-serif;">We waited and waited for things to get properly sorted out hoping that the right thing would happen, but this is Peru and do-gooder spirit was smashed. Meanwhile our warehouse storage charges were mounting. W<span style="font-style: normal;">e cleared the bikes through customs (96.32 CAD plus a trip to Vancouver) in the meantime so that we would be ready. Things in Peru started to become bleak at best so we cut our loses and paid the ransom for our bikes. Total legit charges were 305.50 CAD per bike in Canadian destination charges plus extra US charges (60 USD/bike) thanks to the shipping company that shipped our bikes through the US. Total additional scam charges totaled 540.40 USD per bike. We paid 80 CAD per bike at the warehouse plus an additional 15 CAD per day per bike for storage fees. What it amounts to is a lot of money that would have paid for the cost to fly the bikes home with Air Canada cargo. Lesson learned. To make matters worse both of our bikes suffered damage during shipping, though thankfully we were still able to ride them home. </span></span> </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/IMG_0595.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/IMG_0595.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our first glimpse of the bikes</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/IMG_0596.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/IMG_0596.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Happy to be reunited at least</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS,sans-serif;">What really pisses me off the most, apart from the frustrating feeling of being taken of advantage of, is that our bikes were shipped out of the country, nobody paid for the shipping (even though that the arrangement was set-up as pre-paid) and we didn't find out until the bikes had already arrived in Canada when we were getting billed for it (some 45 days later). Why was this not brought to our attention earlier!?! </span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS,sans-serif;">I obviously do not recommend using any of the companies we used to do your shipping. Also, if possible, don't let the shipping company send your bike through the United States (if it is returning to Canada), it will cost you more. </span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS,sans-serif;">What can I say.... it was a terrible experience and money NOT well spent. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/IMG_0599.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/IMG_0599.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Unpacking</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/IMG_0609.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/IMG_0609.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BMW #2 getting ready to be released</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/IMG_0622.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/IMG_0622.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Okay, let's go</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS,sans-serif;"> </span> </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15788577966737781330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2159813705628055340.post-7987796977211637922011-05-27T16:54:00.000-07:002011-05-27T16:54:54.019-07:00Shipping the Bikes Part I<div style="color: #666666;"> </div><div align="LEFT" style="color: #666666; font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"></span></span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="color: #666666; font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div align="LEFT" style="color: #666666; font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">We were chilling in Mancora and we needed to ship our bikes out of Lima. Mancora to Lima is two decent days of riding. When the time had finally come we set out for Huanchaco, our half way point and refuge. We got there with almost no problems. Alberto got a flat tire when we were still 1.5 hrs from his parent's house. It was getting late and if we stopped to fully fix it it probably would have been dark by the time we got to our destination. So being crafty, or lazy depending on your point of view, we decided to just keep filling it with air (since it was a slow leak) and hope for the best. This worked out and we made it to his parents house before dark. We only had to stop three times for a quick air boost. This was a Friday night. Knowing that we weren't going to be able to do anything productive in Lima on the weekend we decided to stay a second night at his parents house and sort out the bikes.</span></span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="color: #666666; font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div align="LEFT" style="color: #666666; font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">We spent Saturday organizing the items that would be flying home with us, and what we wanted to stay with the bikes. Oh and Alberto needed to fix his flat tire. </span></span></span> </div><div align="LEFT" style="color: #666666; font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div align="LEFT" style="color: #666666; font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">More than once over the past several weeks memories of corrupt police north of Lima had haunted my thoughts. I was absolutely dreading having to run that gauntlet again. I didn't think I would have the strength to deal with all the craziness again. So with great dread we set out for Lima on Sunday morning. To my surprise we didn't get pulled over by a single police officer. Actually for that matter we saw very few police today. I think the fact that it was a Sunday and a holiday (Mother's Day) worked to our advantage greatly. I was relatively happy to be in Peru. The one exciting thing that happened was that Alberto's exhaust fell off. Well the silencer part. It was amusing driving through Lima with his insanely loud bike (we just stuffed the silencer in one of our bags). </span></span></span> </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/2010-2011TTRS005982.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/2010-2011TTRS005982.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New exhaust configuration</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div align="LEFT" style="color: #666666; font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"> </div><div align="LEFT" style="color: #666666; font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">On Monday we started with the shipping formalities. We brought the bikes over to the Lima BMW dealer. With the whole engine debacle back in February we had developed a close relationship with the personnel at the dealer. We asked them to keep some crates aside for us and they did, so we went there to pack up the bikes. They also kindly washed our bikes down, removing all those foreign contaminants. While we were hanging around waiting for things to get done we started contacting our shipping agent to get the ball rolling. By the end of the day we more or less had the bikes packed up in the crates. Now the tricky part. Based on my experience in receiving personal mail in Peru I was somewhat fearful of the gongshow that might await us but it is what must be done.</span></span></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/2010-2011TTRS005993.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/2010-2011TTRS005993.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What a clean looking bike</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div align="LEFT" style="color: #666666; font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"> </div><div align="LEFT" style="color: #666666; font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">After a rocky start things went pretty smoothly. We handed over all the paper work to the shipping agent so he could take things from there, and then turned our focus to crating the bikes. This was a relatively simple task and we had the bikes ready for pick up Wednesday morning. We had to arrange for a forklift and the agent sent a truck. Soon we were saying goodbye to the bikes as they drove down the street in the back of a Chinese made cargo truck. </span></span></span> </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/2010-2011TTRS005997.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/2010-2011TTRS005997.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crating the bikes</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/2010-2011TTRS006000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/2010-2011TTRS006000.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Almost there, just need a roof</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/2010-2011TTRS005999.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/2010-2011TTRS005999.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Make sure everything fits inside</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/2010-2011TTRS006002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/2010-2011TTRS006002.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ready to be picked up</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/2010-2011TTRS006007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/2010-2011TTRS006007.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alberto keeping a watchful eye</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/2010-2011TTRS006015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/2010-2011TTRS006015.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Onto the truck</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div align="LEFT" style="color: #666666; font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"> </div><div align="LEFT" style="color: #666666; font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">The Lima BMW dealer was extremely helpful during the whole process. We used them as our base of operations and we thank them very much for their help.</span></span></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/2010-2011TTRS006025.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/2010-2011TTRS006025.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">THANK YOU</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div align="LEFT" style="color: #666666; font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"> </div><div align="LEFT" style="color: #666666; font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">We caught a bus back to Trujillo that evening because Alberto's friend was getting married. The bikes shipped out successfully on the Sunday. They are travelling via New York to Vancouver. Hopefully we will see them in 28 days. Total cost to us was 2,350 USD for both bikes.</span></span></span> </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/2010-2011TTRS006019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/2010-2011TTRS006019.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alberto sad to see his bike leaving him</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/2010-2011TTRS006018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/2010-2011TTRS006018.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Happy to see mine go. We both need a break from each other</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/2010-2011TTRS006024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/2010-2011TTRS006024.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See you in Canada Girls</td></tr>
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</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15788577966737781330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2159813705628055340.post-64526904159366499882011-05-03T14:29:00.000-07:002011-09-15T11:34:56.098-07:00Day 194 (41km): The End<div align="LEFT" style="color: #666666; font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">We couldn't get the house until 4pm so we still had lots of time to kill before we started our ~25km journey to Mancora. </span></span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">We lounged around on the beach, me hiding under our shelter and Alberto swimming. Eventually I couldn't take it anymore and we packed up to leave. We slowly took the scenic route to Mancora passing through Cabo Blanco. Even so we got to Mancora around 1:30pm and decided to kill some time by having lunch. I was hungry anyways. </span></span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">We found a nice place to have lunch, but the service was terribly slow. Ugh, back in civilisation. By the time we got our lunch we had to scoff it down to make sure we made it to the house by 4pm. I ended up with indigestion but as it turns out my family's flight was late and they hadn't beat us to the house (which was our main concern). We settled in and I made a b-line for the shower. After bush camping for the last few nights all I could think about was having a shower. Actually after being on this trip for 7 months all I can think about are regular showers with premium shower products. </span></span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Freshly clean we waited for my parents to show up. They got to the house just before dark, pretty exhausted from their Peruvian escapades. We had a nice evening chilling out and we are all looking forward to the next few weeks to relax at the beach. </span></span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">So this is the end of our bike journey; 41,026kms driven. We still need to ship our bikes back to Canada, which we will sort out over the next month, but this is the end of our bike travels in Latin America. </span></span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Thanks for following along and stay tuned for more posts with my reflections on different aspects of the trip. </span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The End</td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15788577966737781330noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2159813705628055340.post-2883833127148598822011-05-03T14:26:00.000-07:002011-09-15T11:33:10.379-07:00Day 193 (0km): Ahead of schedule<div style="color: #666666;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">I noticed little crab tracks all around the tent when I woke up. There are tons of them everywhere. They are bright orange and they tend to hang out at the water line. </span></span></span> </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cooking up some lunch</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">I'm a bit of an over the top planner, and I always allow a few days in a plan for incidentals. As it was, everything went well and we made it to Mancora, or at least pretty close, ahead of schedule. My parents arrive tomorrow to spend two weeks with us at a beach house we've rented in the area. </span></span></span> </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A surfing Pelican</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">So with nowhere to go, and a looming Easter weekend potentially filling up all hotels we decided to chill at the beach for the day. </span></span></span> </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our cooler made on the beach</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Beach camping isn't really my thing. I miss my West Coast homeland where shorelines are rockier and sand doesn't get everywhere. I'm just not a beach person, not enough going on if I don't have my windsurfing gear, so I was going a little crazy.</span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_3048.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_3048.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trying to fight off the sand blasts and boredom</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Alberto on the other hand was having a great time. I think he went for a swim once an hour.</span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_3091.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="256" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_3091.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Catching some waves</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_3094.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_3094.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boy, that looks like a big one</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another beautiful sunset</td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15788577966737781330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2159813705628055340.post-36226572987074804722011-05-03T12:51:00.000-07:002011-09-15T11:31:20.087-07:00Day 192 (245km): Going North on the Panamericana<div style="color: #666666;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">We wanted to break camp and get out of there as soon as possible. We managed to get away just after the sun was reaching full force and we were both sweating like crazy. Reminds me of our experiences on the Mexican coast. I was kind of hoping that that was all in the past. </span></span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Once we got to Piura we were fully integrated into the desert. It was easier to find our way out coming from the south than the north. Not sure why they have a round-about with a stop sign, traffic light and traffic control cop, that had me second guessing what to do. That single combination of three different traffic controls is probably the most hardcore roadway clusterf we've seen on the trip. </span></span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Not much to report from a driving perspective. Mostly straight and dry. We passed, as well as other vehicles, a traffic police SUV driving on the highway. From what I could tell it was going below the speed limit and all other traffic, except the moto-taxis, were passing it. It's no wonder that we managed to outrun one twice. </span></span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">We stopped for some ice-cream at a gas station in El Alto. I was craving an icecream during the heat of yesterday but never got one. A little further down the road is El Nuro. We almost bought a beach property here about 2 years ago so we wanted to check it out in person. So we turned off and followed the road. There is one finished house and two that looked like they were almost done at the development we were looking at. It seemed like a nice place. We continued down the road a little further to check things out. There were some more nice beach houses and then nothing. That's where we decided to stop. It's legal to camp on the beach in Peru, since beaches are public land, so that's what we did. </span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_3021.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="286" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_3021.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">La Gringa is a bit heavy for this sort of thing</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Our little spot was pretty quiet, just traffic passing every now and then going to the oil wells further down the road. Just us and the crabs. </span></span></span> </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alberto getting the bikes into position</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our camp set up</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting into relaxing mode</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our neighbours</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The sun setting on another day</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our camp from the opposite angle</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Goodnight</td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15788577966737781330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2159813705628055340.post-19286534839729267432011-05-03T12:38:00.000-07:002011-09-15T11:28:21.434-07:00Day 191 (447km): Back to the desert<div style="color: #666666;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">We gassed up before leaving Chachapoyas, where we had a chat with the local police. We were informed that the route was entirely paved, so that was the end of adventure, and that Bagua is really hot. Again I may have made a poor choice in riding clothing for the day. The road was smooth and followed the valley. Some of the corners felt like they were at an awkward angle for driving but it was fun. Also at some sections the rock formations hung over the road, which was kind of cool. </span></span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">While en route we noticed a turn off for a water fall we had seen in a poster at dinner last night. The poster stated that it was the third tallest waterfall in the world so we had to check it out. We didn't bother riding the full length of the road to get to it but we did get a satisfactory view from where we stopped. Quite impressive. </span></span></span> </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gocta waterfall</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Overhanging rock</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">We thought we'd be passing through some more mountains but the road followed a valley and it was quite hot the whole time. We were in the jungle transition, which means everything was green; banana trees lined the road and the wonderful fragrance of orchids was wafting. Peru can be so amazing at times and this morning was one of those times.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">We encountered a few toll booths and a new trend has been developing where the security-style police at the tolls booths direct us to the unsigned moto bypass. Such helpfulness has previously been unheard-of in our travels of Peru. </span></span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">After one of the toll booths we stopped for a break. A pick-up truck we had passed then pulled over and stopped to say hi. Apparently they had been trying to chase us down since we passed them but weren't able to. About 12 people came out of that truck to take their pictures with us. So many randoms pictures of us floating all over Latin America. What becomes of these pictures?</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">One of the unfortunate side affects of following the valley all day was the heat and I still wasn't feeling 100%. We haven't been this uncomfortable since Central America and the uncomfortableness continued well into the next day unfortunately. </span></span></span> </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_3012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_3012.jpg" width="552" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beautiful sunny day</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Things only got cold briefly when we had to cross some mountains. It rained a little bit then got foggy, but it was over soon and we had crossed our last mountains. We were back in the desert of Peru, but not quite. It was still partially green with lots of livestock roaming at the sides of the road. Also the humidity and subsequent heat was almost unbearable. I'm not sure how I survived Central America, I seem to have no tolerance for this type of weather again. </span></span></span> </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_3013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_3013.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Interesting tire selection</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">We had started our search for a place to camp but we were not having much success. The sides of the road were fenced for all the animals so options were limited. We passed through a nondescript town and suddenly two police officers appeared from nowhere; rushing out to the road from wherever they were resting. Of course no day on the Peruvian coast is complete without a conversation with the police. It was getting late and we still hadn't found a place to camp so I suspect that, as well as previous frustrations, contributed to Alberto ignoring the police and driving on. By the time my turn came the police officer was in the middle of the road, and since I'm the calmer more sensible one I chose to stop. I started with my best H-ola to get things started. The police officer began to tell me that my friend was supposed to stop for police blah blah and that he wanted to see my documents. During his speech I made great effort to look confused, looking at him and his partner who remained silent. When he was finished I just said “Canada” and smiled dumbly with my thumbs up. The one who was doing the talking was stopped in his tracks. He made some exasperated gestures and then tried to ask me where I was going. I said Ecuador in my best gringo accent and it took them about 3 tries to understand what I was saying. The first officer again looked at a complete loss for ideas and looked back over at the second one. He was fresh out as well, so I just continued with my smiles and thumbs up. He sort of gave me this eye rolling expression that conveyed <i>dumb gringa</i> and let me go. I doubt this new method of ignorance would work on the more aggressive Lima district police but I'll certainly try to use it on any police outside of the super corrupt zone.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Shortly after the police fun we found a break in the fences and camped. It was disgustingly humid and hot. It reminded me of some of the terrible nights camping in CA and I wasn't recalling those memories with fondness. I made some dinner and we hid in the tent because there were mosquitoes. Our USB fan was working overtime today trying to cool us down in the tent. It was an uncomfortable sleep.</span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_3019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_3019.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our camping spot for the night</td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15788577966737781330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2159813705628055340.post-31044419138872319362011-05-03T11:45:00.000-07:002011-09-15T11:23:24.584-07:00Day 190 (316km): My god the heat<div style="color: #666666;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">We had an early start to the day since we slacked off yesterday. We were rewarded though with beautiful blue skies so I think we made the right decision avoiding what looked like rain yesterday. We didn't see much camping further out of town either so it was even better that we found a roof to sleep under. </span></span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">I had a rough sleep due to a headache and a possibly resurfacing fever. My headache, even though I took some painkillers, persisted throughout the day and kind of affected my ability to full enjoy the ride. </span></span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Between Cajamarca and Celedin there were lots of dairy donkeys littering the road. A dairy donkey is a donkey, or horse, who is carrying two dairy containers like saddle bags. These guys were everywhere on this section of the road. As usual the Sierra scenery doesn't disappoint and we were even further spoiled by the blue skies. The riding was peaceful but there was far more traffic than our other adventures into the Sierra. </span></span></span> </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2954.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2954.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Back on the road to adventure</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2959.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2959.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Early morning cloud cover</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2961.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2961.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It is a bit dusty when you get stuck behind a truck</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2962.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2962.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"I don't remember seeing a big peruvian hat on my map"</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">After Celedin the road worked it's way higher and higher until finally reaching the summit at about 3,600m. Then we started the decent. The temperature rose to a high of 31.5 degrees and there was cactus. Not exactly what I was expecting since I was still dressed for 9 degrees but the mountain scenery was amazing and a nice reward for the almost unbearable heat. I think the views we saw on this section were the best views of the Andes we've seen in Peru. </span></span></span> </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2965.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2965.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fog near the top</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2970.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2970.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Surveying the scene</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2975.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2975.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The scene</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2976.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2976.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some more scenery</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2980.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2980.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lets go down</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2982.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2982.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another <i>stunning geology</i> shot</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">We encountered one temporary roadblock where a truck had lost its steering in a twisty mountain section. He was stopped in the middle of the road and there was a bus and another truck waiting to get by. This is where having a small motorbike comes in handy. We were able to squeeze by, but just barely. </span></span></span> </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2985.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2985.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oops</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2989.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="294" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2989.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just us and the mountains for company</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2990.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2990.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">La Gringa showing off</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2992.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="296" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2992.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My favourite part</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2993.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2993.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Still going up</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2998.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2998.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finally the top</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">There were tiny sprinkles of rain throughout the day but we were never fully rained on. Our full decent was completed when I started to see banana trees at the side of the road. Everything was suddenly more lush and jungle-like. </span></span></span> </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2999.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2999.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Quick that rain is catching up!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">We were searching for a camping spot but had no luck. We were riding in a valley and there was no room on either side of the road to go hide. We pulled into Chachapoyas and found a hostal near the plaza with parking. It's Easter Week so everywhere is pretty busy and we were lucky to find a place. We miss camping. </span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_3003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_3003.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some repairs were needed</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_3004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_3004.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nothing a few zip-ties can't fix</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_3001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_3001.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking for a hotel</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_3006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_3006.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My tourist? poster</td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15788577966737781330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2159813705628055340.post-66390784690110295672011-05-03T11:19:00.000-07:002011-09-15T11:19:02.182-07:00Day 189 (299km): Into the Sierra<div style="color: #666666;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">We said our goodbyes to the family and hit the road. It was hot to be riding again with all our gear on. The Panamerican Highway was its usual craziness. A police officer pulled us over. He went walking straight past me, but I said hello so he paused and shook my hand. He shook Alberto's hand and then went straight to asking him to take his helmet off. Alberto said no, it's a lot of work. A legit police officer would first identify why he pulled us over. After unsuccessfully trying to get Alberto's helmet off he asked where we were from. Alberto answered and the cop let us go on our way. The traffic was terrible. Lots of slow moving vehicles clogging up the road. </span></span></span> </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2942.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2942.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alberto and his niece</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2943.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="290" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2943.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The soulless road</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2945.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="302" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2945.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Returning from my bathroom break</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2948.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2948.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sand as far as the eye can see</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Just before the turn off for Cajamarca I noticed some grain being dried at the side of the road. My first thought was, oh my I hope I'm not eating that grain, all the pollution it was getting from the road was a little unnerving. Then a little further up the road there was more grain at the side of the road also drying. This time there was people walking around in it in their bare feet (to mix it up?). Either way I was doubly scared of that grain. </span></span></span> </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2949.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2949.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leaving the sandy coast behind</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">It took a while for the temperature to cool after we turned off to go into the mountains. Also the whole experience reminded me of Mexico because there were so many speed bumps. The road quality would suddenly deteriorate, also a very Mexican characteristic, so that kept us on our toes. There was some nice valley/mountain scenery thrown in with some crazy drivers. Overall though pretty good and I guess a typical experience for a busy Peruvian mountain road. </span></span></span> </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2950.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2950.jpg" width="616" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A mountain with interesting geology</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">There was only one traffic interaction of note from the drive. We were in the mountains, but on a straight stretch out of nowhere a car suddenly turned into my lane right in front of me. I think my heart stopped beating for a minute or two since it came totally by surprise (most other attacks are well telegraphed). I later identified the problem, after some hand gestures in the driver's direction, as being a tiny little rock in their lane. I pictured the accident conversation sounding like this:</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Driver: “I know I killed a biker officer, but there was a rock in my lane. What was I supposed to do?”</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Officer: “I understand. Peruvian cars will turn into dust if they drive over even the smallest of bumps. You had to do it. Bumps must be avoided at all costs.”</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">It felt really ridiculous that I was almost run over because the driver of a station wagon couldn't continue driving in their lane because of one small rock, but such is the driving culture. </span></span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">There was a tiny bit of fog in the pass leading to Cajamarca but it soon cleared and we were overlooking the city. We got some gas and decided to quit while we were ahead (no rain so far). We figured that staying in Banos would be cheaper and easier so we went on the search. At first things were looking expensive but the road leading to Cajamarca was very populated so we thought it might be difficult to find a good place to camp if we continued. That and it looked like it might rain. We tried one last search and found a really cheap Hospedaje, so we stayed in Banos del Inca for the night. </span></span></span> </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2952.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2952.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cajamarca comes into view</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2953.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2953.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our parking spot for the night</td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15788577966737781330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2159813705628055340.post-13089267417915403672011-05-03T11:05:00.003-07:002011-09-15T11:14:44.552-07:00Day 188 (0km): Thy drugs are quick<div style="color: #666666;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">I'm feeling much better today and hope to be fit for riding sooner rather than later. I of course blame Peru for my illness, but specifically the cultural custom of greeting people with a kiss. Since coming back to Peru I have received far too many kisses from strange people for my personal liking. My new policy, which was always my policy before since I am not a big fan of germs, is to more strongly push for the handshake (which is only marginally better germwise). Some people refuse to take the handshake though. </span></span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">By the end of the day I was still feeling good, and I no longer had a fever. Without the fever I may actually be able to sleep so that will lead to health improvements on many fronts. We are planning to leave tomorrow and get back on the road. </span></span></span> </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15788577966737781330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2159813705628055340.post-14306011842470302612011-04-18T13:16:00.001-07:002011-09-15T11:13:44.347-07:00Day 187 (0km): On the antibiotics<div style="color: #666666;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">I was still not feeling well this morning so I saw a doctor. He confirmed that I had tonsillitis, and hooked me up with some drugs. My fever was still killing me though and it was more or less a day of suffering. </span></span></span> </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15788577966737781330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2159813705628055340.post-47272546594858600822011-04-18T13:15:00.003-07:002011-09-15T11:13:12.802-07:00Day 186 (0km): Hard to get moving again<div style="color: #666666;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">I'm still sick and Alberto was happy to putter around the house getting things done. </span></span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">We met two bikers from America (BMW and Suzuki), and then an additional biker on a KLR. We had a nice chat with them while they had lunch and then went on our way. </span></span></span> </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15788577966737781330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2159813705628055340.post-20161649428111713732011-04-16T09:05:00.000-07:002011-09-15T11:12:40.502-07:00Day 185 (0km): Sick<div style="color: #666666;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">I woke up with a terrible virus and pretty much couldn't do anything all day. Alberto made himself productive and kept tackling <i>the list</i>. In the evening I dragged myself out to a dinner with a bunch of friends as we had planned. Luckily I was feeling marginally better by that point, but I still had a painful headache and muscle cramps. All in all though dinner was fun.</span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2935.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2935.jpg" width="494" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alberto hard at work</td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15788577966737781330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2159813705628055340.post-17903843510812458962011-04-16T09:01:00.002-07:002011-09-15T11:11:49.426-07:00Day 184 (0km): Work continues<div style="color: #666666;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">We just kept working on our list; visited with a few friends. More or less nothing noteworthy. </span></span></span> </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15788577966737781330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2159813705628055340.post-55228672054821037872011-04-16T09:01:00.000-07:002011-09-16T15:36:15.586-07:00Day 183 (33km): Back in Huanchaco<div style="color: #666666;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">It was all too familiar waking up in the tent, on the roof, to the fog rolling in from the Pacific. We didn't really have plans for the day just a long list of things to get done over the next few days. So after breakfast we started with the list. </span></span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">In the afternoon we met up with a local Trujillo biker club that had tracked Alberto down on Facebook. One of the members, Julio, came to the house on his KLR. We chatted for a bit and then rode the bikes into the city. What followed was a bizarre experience and it felt like I was in a commercial. As we rode our route into Trujillo more bikes joined our convoy. These were members of the club meeting up with us on the road. It was surreal as we weaved around the city at night in a bike pack that was getting bigger and bigger. I had no idea where we were going I just followed the bike in front of me and hoped we'd end up somewhere that had food. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">We eventually pulled up to a place to have dinner and by that point the group was six bikes. Two KLRs, our BMWs and two Harleys. We had a nice time talking about the trip and bike related stuff over dinner and that was that. </span></span></span> </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_557.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_557.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Parked up at the restaurant</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_559.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="346" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_559.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Everyone at dinner</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_560.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_560.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking over the map</td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15788577966737781330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2159813705628055340.post-40394059473376864062011-04-16T08:52:00.000-07:002011-09-15T11:09:27.822-07:00Day 182 (570km): Running the police gauntlet<div style="color: #666666;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">We were too tired from the previous few days to make an attempt to get out of Lima under cover of morning darkness. We had a leisurely breakfast with Alberto's grandma and then packed the bikes for our departure. </span></span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Riding out of Miraflores was pretty simple because there is a new bypass part of the way. Getting on to the Panamericana is signed so that was pretty straight forward as well. We were cruising down what we thought was the Panamericana (there were no signs indicating otherwise) when all of a sudden the massive highway just suddenly ended. Surprised and confused we continued in what we thought was a northerly direction and then the road really did end. End in the sense that there were barriers and no where to go. WTF?!! Where were we, and where did the Panamericana go? We escaped through a tiny gap in the concrete barriers. On the other side was a cop with florescent gloves and a whistle trying to stop us. We didn't have time for whatever he was selling so we just ignored him and continued our search for the Panam Norte. We drove a little further down the road and suddenly found ourselves in a dense pile of traffic. Ugh. We were lost.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">A friendly moto agreed to lead us back to the Panamericana, very nice of him. His driving was a little too opportunistic for our large bikes, but he waited for us when we fell behind and showed us how to get back to where we needed to be. It took us a while to get back on track and we have no idea how we got so far off track. We were on a major highway and then suddenly we were not. Getting back on track consisted of driving in heavy traffic in sketchy neighbourhoods. A passing women commented to her friend that we were most definitely martians. </span></span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Safely back on the Panamericana we continued our quest to get out of Lima. No easy task for all of those that know the messed up situation that IS the northern section of the Lima Panamericana. There were plenty of close calls and crazed bike messenger driving. After 1.5hrs we had exited the city. That's what we get for not trying to leave at 5am. I think without a doubt the section of Panamericana that goes through Lima (and I am taking into consideration the entire road) is the worst section of the entire highway, we have ridden. It is embarrassingly chaotic. The highway should not go through Lima but the city is such an out of control monster there is nothing that can be done. </span></span></span> </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/GOPR0424.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/GOPR0424.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Traffic</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Still feeling a bit angry about the whole detour we found ourselves doing we arrived at our first toll booth. Still not completely in the distance crunching groove, we were casually approaching the toll booth and I specifically slowed down to the posted speed limit cause I was feeling law abiding. There was a whole bunch of police officers in attendance and one was kind enough to pull us over. </span></span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">He was wearing earphones which I thought seemed kind of rude. He immediately asked for Alberto's license, in English. Alberto, wholeheartedly playing dumb, told him we were going from Lima to Trujillo. Again he asked for his License. Still avoiding the issue Alberto asked why we had been pulled over. Normally we are speeding or passing on double lines, something illegal, but in this case we were on our best behaviour. Apparently this particular police officer doesn't like answering questions because his reason for pulling us over was because <i>he is the police</i>. Since he seemed quite proud that he was the police Alberto asked him for identification. Once he showed his ID Alberto gave him his license; seemed like a fair trade. The situation then proceeded to go downhill fast. He was very annoyed at having to produce identification and then asked Alberto to take off his helmet. Alberto just gave him a straight-up no. The officer wanted the bike's documents. Alberto kept saying he didn't speak spanish. At this point the officer could be heard, saying in Spanish, <i>now you will see what's going to happen to you. I'm going to keep you here all day.</i> This was the point of no return. He walked over to me and was looking over my license. Alberto used this distraction as an opportunity to escape. He took off and the cop got all worked up. He was making a phone call, or pretending to make a phone call to scare me. He was telling me something about our licenses being copies and while he was looking at them I took off as well. Now YOU will see what's going to happen loser. It's always a good idea to leave the bike running. </span></span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">We fled the scene of the tool booth and figured that we should keep our eyes pealed for check points just in case he actually did phone ahead to someone. We had a pretty good idea of where we'd find police (since we'd come this way before) and we used a shield strategy. When we were approaching police we would stick like glue to the back of another car. This strategy was very successful and I think that we managed to avoid being pulled 3 or 4 more times today by using this method. </span></span></span> </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/GOPR0465.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/GOPR0465.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Typical</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">We made it through 2 police points using a shield before being pulled over again. These guys were standing in the middle of the road and we were all by ourselves, so there was nothing we could do but pull over. There were two this time. Again we weren't even speeding. They asked for our licenses but we had left the other cop with our copies and didn't have any more on hand. Alberto did however have his ticket from Argentina which also doubles as a duplicate license. This is what he gave the police and I was in the middle of explaining my situation with hand signals when the officer got tired of me and went over to double team Alberto. They asked for the bike's document and Alberto explained that we were robbed. I was surprised that the officer understood the word robbed, but later Alberto explained to me that he used the universal peruvian hand gesture for thievery and that's how they knew what was going on. Anyways, one of them halfheartedly tried to tell us we were speeding and then pointed to the 240 on our speedometer. Alberto just laughed and, since they only had a piece of paper representing his license, quickly gave up on him and sent us on our way. </span></span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Soon we had passed the highly concentrated police zone just north of Lima. We noticed that a white new F150 we had been following got pulled over twice by the police along the same stretch. Crazy. It's just shameless targeting of people they think will pay up. </span></span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Things were mellowing out policewise and we were getting into the groove of the day. The desert reminded me of the Atacama (cause they were sand coloured mountains) but with sand dunes thrown in. Personally I think the Atacama scenery is more spectacular.</span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2932.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="412" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2932.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Large sand dune</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2928.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="256" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2928.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A different angle</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">We were coming through a town and on the lookout for a gas station. There was a slow moving truck ahead of me that was pulling over to the right so I went around him to the left. It was even a dotted line. To my horror there was police only 20m away; one in the truck, one on the road. The one on the road motioned for my attention. I pretended to be dumb and gave my best stupid tourist wave back. He then gave me the slow down arm and tried to pull us over. When we both just drove by I could see in my mirror that the truck had it's lights on and the guy was heading for the truck. Crap. Then they started to chase us. Knowing from previous experience it took a cop car 15 min to catch us and we didn't even know we were outrunning them at the time we figured we should just make a run for it. So that's what we did. We took off at breakneck speed down the road. We kept up this pace for a while, and to our advantage the road got twisty and hilly. Our only worry was getting pulled over by other police and these guys catching up to us. That would have been awkward. We made it through two toll booths though and no police ever showed up in our mirrors. Serves them right for trying to pick on Adventure Bikers. </span></span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">We continued to use the shield technique for the rest of day, especially when approaching toll booths. Which brings me to my critique of the toll booths in Peru. They do not have consistent moto bypasses and there are no signs. You have to figure each one out and sometimes the bypass is on the other side of the road. You have to cross traffic to use it. Very stupid and dangerous. </span></span></span> </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/GOPR0495.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="444" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/GOPR0495.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Driving</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">The only other incident with a cop was when we passed one, AT the speed limit and he gave us the slow down hand gesture. These idiots have no perception of how fast we are travelling. What little respect I had for Peruvian cops completely vanished today. I'm dreading having to drive to Lima one last time. </span></span></span> </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2930.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="268" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2930.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Neat texture</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">All you have to do is follow your nose to find Chimbote. The smell of fish is overpowering and quite frankly disgusting. It gave my tummy an uneasy feeling it was so powerful. At least by that point we were getting close to Huanchaco though and the terrible day was coming to a close. Corruption puts such a sour taste in your mouth and pretty much ruins a day.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">We pulled up to Alberto's parents house in early evening and resumed our <i>usual</i> spot camping on the roof. </span></span></span> </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15788577966737781330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2159813705628055340.post-6500474090745106712011-04-16T08:39:00.000-07:002011-09-15T11:00:38.825-07:00Day 181 (442km): Driving a familiar road<div style="color: #666666;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">We had breakfast with my family and then said goodbye, as they were off to have a flying tour of the Nazca lines. Before we could go anywhere Alberto needed to sort out his front tire, which was completely flat now. This turned into a huge ordeal. The 17 wrench from under the seat is useless we discovered. Try as he may he could not get the wheel off with the tools we had. No worries, he repaired the tube by leaving the wheel on. Take that BMW toolkit!</span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2903.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2903.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flat tire</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2907.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2907.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Buffet breakfast</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2912.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2912.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taking a short break</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2913.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2913.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Good-bye</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2915.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="562" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2915.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trying to make the under seat tool useful</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">While we were packing up my sister phoned saying that they had finished their flight and were hanging around Nazca. We finished packing and found them in town. We had a nice sit down lunch with everyone. This was the first sit down lunch we've had on a riding day since leaving the US. It was kind of weird. My family were happy to be able to consume beer for the first time since arriving in Peru (no alcohol sales during the election).</span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2918.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2918.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sitting down for some lunch</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2920.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pretty bikes</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2923.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2923.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My dad was happy to be drinking beer now that the election was over</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2924.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2924.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A selection of Peruvian food for lunch</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2925.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2925.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pollo saltado</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2927.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2927.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pollo Relleno</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">We parted ways at around 1:30 and we were soon riding on familiar turf. This is the 4<sup>th</sup> time we've driven this section of road now, and it's not exactly the most thrilling. Shortly after leaving Nazca I had the most dangerous road encounter in Peru ever! A bus saw me, then decided to pass a truck anyways. He was completely taking up my lane and I was happy there was a firm shoulder for me to use. I was not impressed with the situation. </span></span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">You know how things go. It's the Panamericana and there is sand. Today was pretty much all business, we were just trying to pound out some kilometers in a north direction. We saw lots of police but didn't get pulled over a single time. Shocking for Peru. Maybe our luck is changing?</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">We were planning to camp but as it got late and we got closer to Lima the camping options became limited. We decided to push on and get all the way to Lima, where we could stay with Alberto's grandma. </span></span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">It was dark for the last little bit, but we made it to Alberto's grandma's without incident. Well except for missing our exit again (we missed it last time) and then had to backtrack. All part of the fun right? </span></span></span> </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15788577966737781330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2159813705628055340.post-11002185138267136932011-04-16T08:26:00.000-07:002011-09-15T10:57:27.769-07:00Day 180 (362km): Plenty of twists<div style="color: #666666;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">The morning was sunny and warm. We had a delicious breakfast prepared at the restaurant and caught up on the Peruvian election situation on TV. In anticipation for our decent to the desert I packed up all my warm clothes and was wearing my warm weather riding gear. We had seen plenty of traffic coming on the road so we were confident that the slides were cleared.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Back on the road we approached the first slide, which was half cleared. The second slide was quite a bit bigger than when we left the area so more material must have come down. It was about 600 tonnes the amount of material that had fell. For several kilometers we passed slides that had been cleared enough for one lane of traffic. A very unstable area it would seem. </span></span></span> </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The state of the road</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">At one of the slides I had a chance to talk to a traveler on a KLR coming the opposite direction. He had just come from Ayacucho where he had to detour around the bridge that was out. He said that the Sierra was a mess with mudslides, and detours etc... so I guess it's probably good that we were heading to the coast now. </span></span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">As well as slides to keep an eye out for there are tons of small river crossings on the highway. Water is allowed to flow over a man-made drainage. In theory this is okay, despite being weird on a major highway, but sometimes debris builds up and it can take you by surprise as you are driving down the road at highway speeds. </span></span></span> </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some nice riding</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Instead of descending, the road kept going up. Up, up, up until I got so cold I had to put my heated vest on. We encountered some typically crazy drivers and for the first time on this trip Alberto chased down a mining pick-up that tried to run us off the road. The driver got a not so pleasant earful of spanish when Alberto pulled him over. There is very little skill demonstrated by Peruvian drivers when travelling at speeds. </span></span></span> </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Curving upwards</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yay for sun</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Curvy road</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cruising</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nice mountains</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Take note Peruvians, I manage to stay in my lane and still have fun</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Keeping a close eye on that bus</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Attempting knee down</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The photographer</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2876.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="252" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2876.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scenery</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">It was sunny for most of the morning and then the dark clouds appeared on the horizon. I could still see some blue sky and lived with the hope that the road would take us that way. We were rained on a tiny bit but it soon stopped raining and our clothes dried from riding. As we were coming into Puquio Alberto was complaining about handling problems with his bike. I said he should check the air in his tire. Sure enough it was low. We had a small compressor but it takes a while to pump up a tire and we were practically in town so we limped the last few kms into town to find some compressed air. First gas station didn't have any; the second gas station didn't have any. They sent across the street where there were some tires laying around and a small child of about 5 years old supervising a store. They didn't have air, but I did buy some snacks from this kid. Oh <i>the experience</i> you get when travelling in 3<sup>rd</sup> world countries. </span></span></span> </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A typical highland town</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Alberto spotted a real tire shop just down the road and walked his bike over. The tire was repaired in no time but the wheel took some trouble to get back on. After all was said and done 2 hours had passed. The blue sky we were previously staring into had become dark clouds and rain. </span></span></span> </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Front wheel off</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2880.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2880.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking for the leak</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The culprit: a tiny spike of metal</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Patching the tube</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting everything back together</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">At first there was rain as we climbed back up into the mountains, but just sprinkles. Then there was just fog. We were driving in the fog for a really long time. When we came back out of the fog there was heavy rain and some hail. The hail hurt like hell. The road just kept going up and slightly down not seeming to make any net gain in a downward direction. I kept thinking to myself, do we ever go down to Nazca?? </span></span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">When the rain was really hard I got soaked (since I didn't put my rain liners in) and the road just kept going up with the temperature dropping rapidly. It was very difficult to see because with all the moisture from the rain and the cold air, my visor stayed in a permanent state of fogginess. </span></span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">At first I thought I was seeing things, but no, there were small patches of snow at the side of the road. Then without warning there was snow on the ROAD. I guess the small patches at the side of the road were the warning. Alberto was leading and he was sliding like crazy in the slush. Luckily he did not crash. I had a sliding experience myself but not as scary as his. Still sliding in slush at speed isn't fun no matter how well it turns out. Because of foggy visor situation it was really difficult to pick out the snow on the road and that's why it took us by surprise.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">By this point I was freezing especially my hands. I had all my heated gear turned up to the max and was desperately watching my temperature gauge in hopes that it would start rising. I kept picturing the hot desert in Nazca. The temperature accent was slow at first but once we got into the drier topography it started to rise more quickly. It didn't matter. I was already chilled and left my heated vest on max until we got to Nazca (a comfortable 26 degrees). </span></span></span> </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Starting our dry descent</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The twisty road</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Naomi being twisty</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">The entire day was twisty mountain roads; which was quite challenging given the smorgasbord of weather conditions we encountered. A few easy days on the Panamericana might be nice. At least we are pretty much guaranteed no rain. </span></span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">We had never planned to meet up with my family before our little vacation in Mancora but since we have had so many plan changes over the last few days we ended up being in the same city as them so we thought we'd put in the effort to find them. We phoned up their tour company and found out the hotel they were staying at. </span></span></span> </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alberto modeling the latest in duct tape fashion</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">It's a little out of town and on the way there Alberto got another flat tire (in the front again). We didn't want to deal with it (it was getting dark) so we pulled into a gas station, pumped it full of air, and went to the hotel. My family wasn't there yet so we waited. We were under the impression that they were supposed to arrive in the late afternoon or early evening. We waited, and waited. It was dark and Alberto's tire was less than 100%. </span></span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">The hotel was out of our budget and they wouldn't let us camp in a corner of their parking lot (hidden away). We could have bush camped but the tire was suspect and we didn't know what the deal was with my family. We decided to suck it up and pay for a room at the fancy tourist hotel. We waited as long as we could to have dinner with them but they never showed up. </span></span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Eventually, after I had fallen asleep, they arrived. We went out to greet them. Their bus was late and they'd also had a long day. We socialized for a while and then went to bed sometime after midnight. Sounds like they have been having a great time in Peru so far, which is nice to hear. </span></span></span> </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sharing stories</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That must be one hell of a story, eh Nik?</td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15788577966737781330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2159813705628055340.post-58572345945390132052011-04-16T07:49:00.000-07:002011-09-15T11:31:14.693-07:00Day 179 (302km): Stopped, dead in our tracks<div style="color: #666666;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Today we had to say goodbye to the luxurious lifestyle we had enjoyed through the comfort of the Marani Hostal and the delicious food options around Cusco. Also we had to say goodbye to Loren. We had lots of fun with him, and I hope we get to see him again in BC this summer. Loren, being the awesome guy that he is, offered to direct us out of town and we were out of the city in no time. I bet that following him probably saved us over an hour of frustration.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Once on our way we were enjoying the legendary twisties. It was very twisty until well after Abancay. It took a lot of focus and at some point before Abancay I started to feel a bit sick; probably from the altitude. So I wasn't really enjoying myself as much as I probably could have. The good part was that we weren't rained on though. That would have added insult to injury. </span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Packing and getting ready to leave</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO3taWN02DzFN0EdUYqL5obCYIW3DkUep5G4UkgLzVYtSSp_6JJwgBlXqRk1i2ZDuB3oIc-7rT-jli2VOp7R1uKyizn4qU6LDVODICMpPGmBmxukCZosMAHSnarj_0B_eXUQHzcv2BLc8/s1600/DSC_3174.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO3taWN02DzFN0EdUYqL5obCYIW3DkUep5G4UkgLzVYtSSp_6JJwgBlXqRk1i2ZDuB3oIc-7rT-jli2VOp7R1uKyizn4qU6LDVODICMpPGmBmxukCZosMAHSnarj_0B_eXUQHzcv2BLc8/s640/DSC_3174.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is where Loren and us part ways</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bye Loren, have a good ride</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the road again</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2786.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2786.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The highlands</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More scenery</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">We reached a plateau of sorts and the road flattened out. We were able to actually stay in 6<sup>th</sup> for long stretches (not possible before in the twisties) and started to make some good progress. We had just stopped to put on our rain gear when we noticed a line of traffic ahead. At first we thought it was road construction and then once we got close enough to see, we discovered there had been a landslide. Great.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">No sooner had we parked, there was another landslide further up the road. There was a lot of material in the way in the first landslide in front of us and the mud was very unstable. Alberto, cause he always has to try, tried to take my bike over but it was always going to be a losing battle.</span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2792.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2792.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The situation; note the second one in the back</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2793.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2793.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alberto needs to discover his limits in real time</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2794.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2794.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Needs help to even get out</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2798.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/betitolara/South_America/IMG_2798.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This guy on his tiny bike BARELY made it past</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">After that failed attempt we waited. While we were waiting we turned our engineering brains on and decided that the slope we were parked under was potentially unsafe and decided it would be a good idea to move. After we had moved there was another large failure up the road (not where we were). Clearly this was an unstable area and not somewhere you want to hang out.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">We talked to the police and they said it would be about an hour before the road was clear. It was already 4pm so we decided it wasn't worth waiting around to see if the road cleared on time. We retreated and went in search of a place to camp. There wasn't many options since the road ran along side a river but then Alberto remembered a fancy hotel he'd seen only 10km back. So we went there and asked the guy if we could camp on the property. We thought we'd have to do some convincing and explain that the road was closed but he immediately said that it was no problem if we camped. </span></span></span> </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cutting our losses and camping</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">While we lay in the tent relaxing we could hear the road opened shortly after 5pm. Even if we had waited it out I doubt we would have found a better camping spot than this further down the road. </span></span></span> </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We went exploring the grounds</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A peruvian dog</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">William, our tour guide, and the fish pond</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Hotel </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Awww, isn't he cute</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A peacock roaming the grounds</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Analyzing the sticker wall</td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15788577966737781330noreply@blogger.com0