Day 40 February 23, 2012 Loja, Ecuador to Piura, Peru
Miles: 230
Exchange rate: $1usd to 2.68 Peruvian sols
From Loja to the border we rode in the mountains. Lots of twisty roads and mud and rock slides. They had had a rain the day before and this caused many different areas to slide. If this road was in the US in this condition they would have closed it, here they just put up a cone, a colored rock or a pile of branches a few feet in front of the problem to warn you of danger.
In Ecuador the low lands is considered to be about 8000 feet. Riding out of Ecuador it was cool, cloudy and felt like it could rain any minute. When we started to drop in elevation we arrived at the border and it was hot and dry! We are now in the desert, sand dunes and very barren. It is funny how the scenery can change in a few short miles.
The border crossing into Peru was very easy; 3 quick stops and one a little longer at Peru Customs. Insurance is mandatory in Peru, the customs officer sends you over there before he will do the paperwork. It cost $35 per motorcycle for 30 days.
When we got to Piura we hailed a taxi and had them take us to a hotel. We received an email from Michael Boge, he will be in Lima on Saturday night and leave for Anavel’s hometown, Satipo, on Sunday morning. Do we want to go along? Hell, yes! So, now we have to put on some miles and make it to Lima by Saturday!
Day 41 February 24, 2012 Piura, Peru to Trujillo, Peru
Miles: 331
Today was probably the most stressful, hard day we have had so far! It started out with leaving the hotel about 6:30 and I hit a dog. Dogs in Central and South America are very street and car wise. I saw these 2 dogs starting to cross the street in front of me and I thought, they will stop, they did not and I T-boned the first one. Bam to the left, hard I went, almost hit the median, correct to the right and a couple more left, right, and left then straight and I am going down the street. It was close but I managed to stay upright! Well, that got the heart pumping!
Then we get to Chiclaya. This is where the nightmare begins. I was behind Carl, the traffic picked up quickly, I got behind a truck, then there was a car, truck, mototaxi and little motorcycle going across the street in front of me. I got on the CB and told Carl I was in a traffic jam, he said “Yep, that happens!” That is the last I heard of him. A few minutes before he had radioed to me that we had a turn in what I heard was 4 miles but it was 0.4 miles, then there was a roundy so I go straight through it. Traffic thins a little, where is Carl? I am looking for his yellow high vis jacket and all I see is yellow taxis! I go a little further, another roundy, I decide I need to back track, I am now so confused I do not know where I was to begin with. Usually every morning we review the route and I write down which towns we are going through, this morning we did not do this. I have the map of South America on a memory chip and have not installed it yet because I will lose my music with it installed. So here I am lost and no map or route and do not have a good sense of direction anyway. so, I hail a taxi to take me to the Pan American highway heading to Lima. This was my second mistake. Our rule on past trips has been if we get separated we are to go back to the last place we were together at. I was thinking we need to get to Lima and I will head that way and Carl will catch up. Well, Carl went to the spot we got separated and sat and sat and sat some more. I ended up in a little town about 20 miles south of ChiclayaChiclaya.. That is what I decided to do because Morgan had mentioned that the SPOT had not moved for several hours. I was almost to Chiclaya and had not met up with Carl yet so I pulled into a gas station to see if anyone had Internet or someway for me to check the SPOT. No one did, what the hell do I do now? Here comes Carl! I was so glad to see him as he was me. We now have a firm what to do if we get separated plan. We will go back to the spot we were last together and Carl has the spot so he will stay put, if I do not find him I will go to the nearest Internet and get the location he is from the spot and return there. I now know to use the track back on the GPS, too, so this would have helped. Long story and good ending, now we need to ride to get to Lima by Saturday.
Miles: 346
Gas: $14 to $18 Sols per Gallon
Exchange rate: $1usd to $2.68 Peru Sols
Good riding today, the roads in Peru along the coast are in great shape. It continues to be desert and sand dunes with a glimpse of the Pacific Ocean now and again.
We made it to the hotel in Miraflores without any difficulty. Mr Garmin got us within 2 blocks. Michael will be here late tonight. I am going to bed since I did not sleep well the night before, still wound up from getting separated from Carl. Carl waited up and was sitting outside when Michael rode up in the taxi at 1AM.
Lodging: Suite Service Apart Hotel A suite for $150Sols
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