Trans Americas 2009 - The Blog

Today is not only a border crossing day, but also Kevin and Julia's 8th Wedding Anniversary... so they get to spend it trying to get us all out of Ecuador and into Peru with the correct stamps in the correct places...

Jim and Mac set off early as they didn't want to be last across the border, leaving the rest of the group eating a hearty breakfast and then going in search of a petrol station that will let motorcycles fill up (the first one refused). With full tanks we then rode the 2Km to the border, a small bridge separating Ecuador from Peru. The usual exit formalities were quickly dealt with, getting an exit stamp in my passport and handing back the temporary import permit for the bike, then we rode the bikes out of Ecuador and onto the bridge, where we parked them up whilst we dealt with getting ourselves and the bikes legally into Peru. Oh, and my new camera packed up with a lens error, so I've had to revert back to my trusty Ixus 850IS, so if the images are not quite as good, then please accept my apologies... with any luck I'll be able to get the new one looked at in Santiago.





The customs guys at this border were very efficient, giving us the forms to fill in before they issued the permits, and the process only took around 2½ hours. As I'd been first through the last border, I held back and waited to go last through this one, but everyone also waited to leave so we could have a group photo, which, like all the group photos so far, has a couple of people missing, in this case Jim and Mac – who had gone through the border on their own before we arrived, and Late Guy (Andrew) who... well, was late and missed the photo call...





Once we'd finished posing for pictures we rode as a large group across the border and into Peru. Almost immediately the landscape changed in a very dramatic way, from the lush green of Ecuador to the arid desert of northern Peru. Where there had been cows and pigs grazing in the fields in Ecuador, now there were skinny goats grazing in the scrub and dust at the roadside. As we descended from the mountains onto the plain, the desert opened out even more, the small towns looking more like landfill sites than places people could live, the ramshackle buildings built of either yellow mud bricks or woven wood, more like a cardboard box than a permanent place of residence.





When we stopped for a drink and for those with smaller tanks to fill up again, we were completely surrounded by tuk-tuk drivers eager to look at the bikes and chat to us in Spanish. They blocked most of the group in, so after a drink of Inca Cola (a bright yellow pop drink that tastes a little like bubble gum), Nick and I made a bid for freedom, glad to get away from the group riding for a change. The ride then took us into a real desert, as the towns disappeared and the landscape became flat and barren, nothing but sand as far as the eye could see, with a ribbon of straight black tarmac cutting through the middle. We simply had to stop to take some photos, as this really wasn't what I was expecting Peru to be like...





The wind was really strong as we continued on to Chiclayo, causing us to ride along the straight road at a steady lean, which will at least mean we don't wear out the centre of our tyres... On the outskirts of town we caught up the main group, who had passed us when we were stopped in the desert. Following Kevin at least meant we didn't have to find our way to the hotel, but when he did a sharp u-turn and then rode up the pavement, we were wondering what the hell was going on. It seemed they'd dug up the road that leads to the gates into the car park and he wanted to ask at the front desk of the hotel how we were supposed to get in. But there was no problem as there was a new gate, and soon we were all parked up and checked in. A quick shower and then off to find a bank to get some local currency and then into the hotel bar for a complimentary drink. The local drink is Pisco Sour, which is alcohol made with the grape that's also used for making brandy and egg white, and tastes really quite nice. It's also very alcoholic. And very nice too. After a couple of pisco sours, Aaron showed the bartender how to make a Mohito (a rum drink with mint and lime) and bought a round of them for everyone. Kevin and Julia then arrived and bought us all a Pisco Sour as our “welcome to Peru” drink, and that set the tone for the rest of the evening. We had the weekly Prat Hat ceremony which looked for all the world like it was going to go to Simon again, for “dissing the hat” by not wearing it at the border into Ecuador, and then actually losing the hat (we've had to replace it with Chris' woolly gimp mask), but in the end Al won it again for his drunken actions 2 nights ago (full details are being withheld as part of an ongoing blackmail deal...).





We ate in the chinese restaurant across the road, which was excellent, and had some more drinks before returning to the hotel bar, where we had yet more Mohitos, and took advantage of the karaoke to clear the bar of anyone else... it all got a little loud and raucous and it was gone 1am when I finally gave up and went to bed...