Summary

We always sum up some of our impressions. Here are some….

The BMW F800GS was a terrific bike. It handled great even with a passenger and never skipped a beat even at 16,000 Feet elevation. We traveled a total of 2000 miles in 11 riding days. 

PERU & the PEOPLE

Beautiful country like no where else in the world.

Everyone was friendly and helpful.

Some in remote towns had never seen a gringo.

Everyone seemed very happy.

The kids were real friendly. They wanted to talk to us.

Kids could count to 10 in English.

No rough looking kids anywhere.

Few cell phones.

One mother brought out her son just to meet us.

In small towns everyone stopped to watch us go by.

We saw small motorcycles with whole families on them.

Scooters and motorcycles were fitted with bodies so as to be used as taxis and trucks.

People walking along the road out in the middle of nowhere.

Vans are used as people movers. Watch out for them.

People work very hard to survive.

Houses in most towns are unfinished.

Quality of the mason work is not too good.

DRIVING

The roads were great. Nowhere are there any better motorcycle roads.

We drove fast everywhere, passed whenever and wherever we wanted.

Police never bothered us.

No one stops for stop signs.

Speed bumps in every town.

Speed limits are only suggestions. We were usually at least twice the limit.

No informational/directional road signs.

Everyone honks their horn frequently at any time, anywhere, at any one with no discernable reason.

Never yield to anyone. Everyone drives aggressively.

Watch out for the big trucks. Particularly on the switchbacks.

Detours can bring anything. A lot of dirt and rivers to forge when there are no bridges.

Driving through some cities is a real challenge because of the crazy traffic.

We had a great leader and a great support person.

Our leader’s “corner marker” system worked great. We never lost anyone.

FOOD

French fries and rice together at all 3 meals

Sheep head soup

Baby goat 

Guinea pig

We were careful what we ate. Some of our people ate everything.

Bottled water is essential.

ROOMS

We couldn’t be too picky. The rooms were better on the inside than the outside.

Sometimes no hot water but still had two taps.

Put no paper in the toilet. Put soiled paper in the waste can.

Toilets. Maybe there was a hole in floor, better if a toilet, better if a toilet seat, even better if  there was paper. Bring your own paper.

ELEVATION

Many cities at very high elevations.

It gave some of us headaches but was not all that bad.

We were near 16,000 feet several times. No problem while driving.

The high altitude plains were beautiful.

Llamas were at all the high elevations.

Home again

Sunday & Monday May 12th & 13th

Sunday we had a lazy day. Our plane was not leaving until 10 pm so we had the day to see Arequipa. It is known as the white city as many of the buildings are made of white stone. The elevation of the city is over 7000 feet and it is surrounded by 3 large volcanoes. We could not get a good photo of the volcanoes down in the city because of the buildings but sometimes you see them peaking over the building tops.

It was Mother’s Day. That is a huge holiday to the Peruvians. It was a beautiful day and people were in the square enjoying their families. Family life is very important to the people there. Jan did some last minute shopping and we sat in the main square and people watched. These are the nicest people.

We went back to the hotel to wait for the taxi to the airport. The flight back was easy except for transferring in Dallas. We were home by noon. Going to South America is easy as you go south and north and there is no jet lag. It always feels good to get home. We love it as it is always clear, clean, sunny and warm. 

Back to Arequipa

Saturday May 11th

This is our last day on the bikes. We thought it was a short day but it did not turn out that way. We got out of Moquegua at about 9am and headed west out of Saturday May 11toward the Pacific Ocean.

The first few miles were through some of the ugliest country. There were just dry hills completely barren of any growth. There was a lot of trash along side of the road and the road was straight with only some curves. 

As we got closer to the ocean we were still at around 4500 feet elevation and we dropped off a bluff with some really nice curves and switchbacks. It dropped into a pretty valley with crops and small villages. We were down to sea level. 

This coast line is one of the driest deserts in the world. Every few miles however a river comes off the west side of the Andes and there are fertile areas where crops can grow. Then it is back to desert. We stopped outside one of the villages for lunch. Jan and I shared a meal. We took a group photo with our bikes.

We then continued north along the water with nice curves between small towns. Before turning inland toward Arequipa we went through one last town and then started west.

We were at sea level and Arequipa is at over 7000 feet. We had a great road for about 20 miles winding up into the mountains. It was a real dangerous road with traffic of cars, trucks and buses. We were riding fast passing everyone. On the top it leveled out again.

It felt good when we regrouped at the top.

Coming down into Arequipa we had another nice stretch of tight curves as we approached the city. Arequipa is surrounded by 3 huge volcanoes. I hope to get a photo of them Sunday. It was nice to get back to the hotel where it all started.

That night we met for the last time and went out to dinner. It was a great steak restaurant. Jan and I split a 1 pound steak. Our leader told us that he was proud of us. We had only one small mishap. He said he had had injury accidents on his last four tours. He was glad to get us all back in one piece. Our group had several minor tipovers but no real problems.

It was a good trip. He thought we did great as the only couple riding double and we were able to keep up with his fast pace the whole trip. The BMW F800GS was a great bike. We put on 2000 hard miles. The tires look worn without a trace of a chicken strip front or back.

Sunday Jan and I are going shopping and relaxing. Our plane does not leave until 10pm.

Moquegua

Friday May 10th

Before leaving Puno we drove to the dock on Lake Titacaca. The lake is 135 miles long and at 12325 feet is the highest navigational lake in the world. We boarded a boat to take us to the floating islands. This is the big attraction in Puno. About 10 miles off shore is a group of islands that float. They are made of straw. Natives live on them permanently all year round. We got off on one. They told us how they are built and maintained. The natives also sell crafts.

After returning to town we filled the bikes with gas and headed south. We were on a high plateau at about 14000 feet. It looked like parts of Arizona or Wyoming with high flat meadows and sweeping curves. There were few villages and little traffic. We were driving about 70 MPH and every few miles we would go up and over a pass with some great high speed and low speed curves. We went over 3 passes at over 15,000 feet.

As we approached Moquegua we suddenly dropped in elevation into the city. We had over an hour of tight switchbacks winding down the hill. The city is at only out 4,000 feet. Everyone was really relived to be back where there is enough air to breath. Last night half the people, including Jan, had bad headaches and no one slept well. We are looking forward to a good nights sleep tonight. Jan and I went out for Pizza. It tasted great.

To Puno

Thursday May 9th

                                                       

We had breakfast and then hit the road. We were only at about 4000 feet but in the next hourwe were at over 14000. Another great road. We are really out in the boonies now. There was road construction, a river we had to forge, long sections of dirt and curves that went up and up. For over 2 hours we climbed switchback after switchback. On top it is another world. We are above the tree line but there are little villages every few miles. They farm potatoes and other crops but you can’t see them. They climb up on the mountain sides and somehow find something of value. The towns were again spotless and the people were dressed again in more traditional clothes.

We were running out of gas so we found another station that filled us with buckets. A little 10 year old girl was helping. It was in a beautiful little town on the top of the world. They had church and a nice square. The people looked they had all came out of the past with all the traditional clothes. Jan and I went taking photos. The people are friendly but some did not want their photos taken. The kids were real cute. Our guidde said that there were many people there that had never seen a Gringo.

 We stayed at a high elevation the rest of the day. I looked like parts of Wyoming of New Mexico (except twice as high) with high plains, some high lakes, mountaoins around us and some straight road interrupted every few miles with switchbacks. We stayed at around 14,000 feet all afternoon. We found one sign for 4873 meters which is 16,000 feet.

We stopped at a town for lunch. These guys eat all day. While they ate I went for a walk in the town square, bought me two bananas and talked to the people and took photos. I love doing that. 

To get to Puno we had to go through Juliaca. Our guide told us that this is the ugliest city in the world. He might be right. He also said that driving through it is very dangerous. The traffic was heavy and completely out of control. Most of the streets were not paved and full of holes. We made is and continued to Puno.

Puno is at only 12,350 feet and we came out of the hills into town. It is on the shores of Lake Titcaca. It is a beautiful place. We have a nice hotel right in town. Tonight we have hot water and internet. I cannot feel the elevation effects at all. Jan however has a headache is real dizzy. That really added to the thrill of driving through Juliaca. She is resting and I am sure she will be okay. We have one more high day and high night. 

San Gaban

Wednesday May 8th

                                                                  

We were all anxious to get back to the bikes. We were up in the dark at 5 am with flashlights and ate breakfast at 5:30. The boat ride back to Puerto Maldonado was upstream but we made it in a little over an hour. The river was real pretty as the sun came up. 

We arrived at the dock and unpacked our wet riding clothes from the truck where we had put them 2 days earlier. 

Then we started the bikes and worked our way through traffic out of the city. For the first 100 miles we followed the same straight road that we had came in on.

We stopped for gas and lunch and then turned south toward Puno. It was another great road following a big river. We had great curves for about two hours. We had no reservations for the night so we were all a bit concerned. The towns were still real run down and dirty.

When we reached San Gabon our leaders went looking for a place that had eight rooms. They found the only place in town and it looked terrible. Around the back however there were fairly new units. Not fancy with no hot water and no internet but we were glad to have a room and a bed. This is not normal tourist country.

I heard a band playing down the street and went looking for it. It was at a school. I started talking to the kids and taking their photos. They were the nicest kids, 9 to 12 years old. About 30 of then followed me back to the hotel. Everyone had fun talking to them. That is a great way to practice Spanish.

We went to dinner in a small café. There is an internet place in town and I hope to get my blog updated tonight. It did not work.

Day 2 at the Amazonia Resort

Tuesday May 7th

                                                            

It is another nice day. We are ready to get out of here but we have one more day in the jungle.

I went on a guided hike. It was about 1 mile back into the jungle to a lagoon. Jan stayed behind. The guide showed us all the vegetation. There are some really unusual plants and trees. At the lagoon the guide chopped up a fish and placed it on the ground. After awhile what looked like a 10 foot alligator came out of the water. It was actually a Cayman. (Is that where they got the name for the Porsche SUV?) There are no alligators in South America. We returned to camp the same way we went.

Jan and I sat and read the rest of the morning, went to lunch and then went on anther nature walk. We have dinner at 7:00. Our guide wants to be on a boat at 6am. We will see. We are very anxious to get back on our bikes. I have not had internet access for 4 nights and the chances are not good tomorrow night either. We would like a hot shower at least.

Day 1 at the Eco Amazonia Resort

Monday May 6th

                                                                             

We are going to be here two full days; three nights. This motorcycle tour was a pilot tour and the first time they had driven here but they had flown people in. We have all concluded, including our leader, that 2 nights here would have been plenty but we are booked for three nights. Three of our people went on a 6 mile trek through the jungle that left at 6am. The others left at 7 for a 3 mile trek. We stayed in bed. It was nice to sleep in for once.

We went to breakfast and spent the morning reading. Jan could not stay awake and had a good nap. It is relaxing to have nothing we have to do. We went to lunch at 1:30 and then at 3:30 we got on large canoe and went fishing. We were looking for Piranhas. We went up stream a couple of miles and then up a real narrow tributary. We didn’t catch any but we returned to the main river and caught a couple of white fish.

Dinner is at 7. We have another lazy day tomorrow.

Arriving at the Eco Amazonia Resort

Sunday May 5

We found later that our jungle hotel had only one temperature of water, neither hot nor cold. It was too cold for a morning shower.  We should always appreciate how wonderful a hot shower feels in the morning. When I get home I am going to remember that.

During the night it started to pour. We had a good breakfast and then put on rain gear. We were still in the mountains. We had not seen a piece of straight highway in a week. The roads were still great but with the curves and the rain visibility was bad so we took it easy.

Then the rain increased… and increased. It was like the worst of a summer monsoon. There was thunder and lightening. Many times we had a mountain on one side and a river on the other with the water running across the road. The curves continued for about 100 miles. Then it started to clear, we came out of the hills and the roads straightened out.

We were now at less than 1000 feet elevation and in real jungle with thick foliage, ferns and trees with huge leaves. The road was straight as could be. It looked like we were crossing Louisiana.

There were again people everywhere but different than before. The towns were really bad with trash everywhere. The people dressed in traditional clothes with the pretty hats were gone as were the old ladies walking down the road and children watching. We  still had a lot of dogs and there were motorcycles everywhere. They were from 50cc to 175cc and they out numbered cars at least 10 to 1. Many of them were scooters and motorcycles with small taxi or pickup bodies on them.

The speed limit is 60KPH (about 36 MPH) but no one pays any attention and we rolled along at 75MPH. When little towns came up they put huge speed bumps across the road that slowed us almost to stop.

We stopped at one town that was built with the houses on the edge of both sides of the road. All of them were on stilts over the river. They were all right next to each other. It was crowded with people walking along and across the road and motorcycles going both directions. It was filthy with trash everywhere. We found out later that they are there to illegally mine gold. You wonder how people can live like that. This part of the county is definitely a different kind of Peru.

We continued on into Puerto Maldonado. It is a large busy port city crowded again with people, scooter taxis and motorcycles. There is trash everywhere. We found our way to the dock on the Rio Madre de Dios River. (Mother of God) It is one of the longest tributaries of the Amazon. We were only at an elevation of 600 feet yet this water has a 6000 mile journey to the Atlantic Ocean.

We all got on a long canoe type boat that was motorized and held about 30 people. We headed down stream at about 30 knots. After an hour or so we arrived at our jungle resort. It is a beautiful place and they served us juice as we arrived.

At 4 o’clock we got back on a smaller canoe and crossed the river to Monkey Island. They had given us all heavy Wellington boots. We walked on the very wet and muddy island for an hour looking at 3 different types of wild monkeys.

We returned to our cabin and then went to dinner. It was delicious. We returned to the room to find that we again have no hot water. We are taking cold showers. We are going to be here three nights. The power is only on from 5:30 to 10:00pm.