This was supposed to be Caraz to somewhere different. Maybe Huanuco or Oyon. However to go to Huanuco involved going over a mountain pass at 15000 ft. Then I looked at the mountains I saw this

There’s already snow there and as this is the start of the rain season at this altitude it falls as snow. OK I thought maybe I could go straight to Oyon but that involved a lot of very small back roads which might not even exist.
I have been to Yungay on my first visit to Peru. I thought I would go and visit. I remember the road was steep and rough but its a lot worse. With a loaded adventure bike I ended upside down at this corner

Maybe it doesn’t look steep but it is. A wee Peruvian woman came to help and we got the bike up facing down the hill. If we had been able to get it to the side I would have walked. However stuck in the middle of the road I decided just to go back down.

Road closed again. I’m now doing as the locals do and riding up to the front. Inside or outside I don’t mind. This time the yellow lines are being painted.

Crossing the Altiplano I came across this statue of Francis de asis

He must have come this way at some time.
A decision had been made just to stay on good tarred roads and head back to the coast.

A very small part of the down. To the middle right of the picture the valley falls away. I am heading to the coast from 12000 ft. OK the curves do stop and its a gradual run down but it would be two hours of turning.
Where to stay? A lot of the towns are not much more than a few mud built houses. Nearest decent sized town was Huacho. Not desperately busy roads just slow moving lorries, beautiful fast moving buses I’m sure stagecoach would be envious of, mototaxis that seem to go anywhere and of course the speed bumps. Imagine the choas if there were speed bumps every few miles down the M90 in groups of two.
The first hotel I saw looked OK. £8 per night. It had a garage so that’s good. There is a restaurant but it doesn’t start serving til 7.30 pm so I walk into the centre. It’s just cars and mototaxis tooting horns, sirens going off and music shops blaring music into the street. And of course the policeman blowing his whistle.

They don’t really do Christmas trees though. It’s easy to find a place to eat. Main course about £2.50 but if you want a dessert and coffee £1.50 you’ll probably need to go a few doors up to another cafe. Not many places seem to do both.

Not sure what is was called but it tasted good. Of course I stand out being the only gringo as I’m not really on the main tourist places. No trouble so far.

I don’t have GPS with me relying on maps and asking people. However if I have WiFi I use Google maps to plot a route. I had looked on the map and the nice red road headed to huallanuca north of chimbote. However google maps showed a short cut. I could see this on my paper map as well so decided it would be ok

This is what I ended up in. I asked someone who told me it was a route but it was very dangerous. So about turn and go on the nice red route. There’s a lot of sand about here.

This display was in the main square.
Back onto the main road to Santa. Lots of santas here. I found the sign for Huallanuca but it pointed directly into the middle of a y junction. There was nothing to distinguish between the roads. Better ask! The locals point at the road as though it was obvious.

Riding through a green valley.

Not for long.

This road was basically type 1 very rough and hot. Managed 20 mph. Took me 3 hours to do this section.

Then came the tunnels

Supposed to be 43 but I never counted. The road improved and I headed to Caraz

Just got there before the rain started.

I was unsure how this day would work. I was trying to work out distance and the ability to find somewhere to stay. I decided to make a big loop back to Cajamarca as everything had been good there. Nice breakfast and easy to get out of town. Couple of turns and head straight. Until I came to a big hole in the road. Turn round and find another way out. On to Pedro Ruins. There was a queue but I thought it was at the toll booth. I’m not sure the charges ad motorcycle is free. You have to go through a special channel. I pulled in fir fuel to find that it was another landslide. Nothing for it but to wait. I asked some of the locals about the road to Cajamarca and they said it wasn’t that good. I then decided to head for Chiclayo as it would be a good road.

Good road but high twenties
So far I haven’t been stopped at any check point. Today I got stopped twice. I saw these uniform guards and they stopped me asked me what language I spoke and produced a jotter with very badly written english. The gist was that they were a volunteer security service and I needed to give them a loan. I told him it was very bad english and I didn’t understand. I then thanked him for the great job he was doing, shook his hand and left him standing looking most confused. This is a problem in Peru and if I had given him money I would be stopped everywhere. The next was the real deal with guns. Very polite and official and they checked my documents. The younger of the two was more interested in my body armour. He was really fascinated and felt my legs and was really taken with it.

It’s well ventilated but I never thought about the sun going through the holes.
It was still in the highly twenties as I headed for a range of hills. With the hold ups I was well behind were I wanted to be. I had no hotel booked so thought I w stop once over the mountain. Lots of curves and hairpin bends.

The nearer the top I got the windery it got. Very windy. Still brilliant sunshine. As I went over the top I ran into fog like I have never seen. I tucked my self in.behind a lorry and thought if he goes over the edge I’ll be going too. We crept a long way down before I was able to pass. It was getting on for six o clock and starting to get dark. I couldn’t find anywhere to stay and kept going in the dark. I eventually got to a bigger town and found a hostel but no garage. The young lad was very helpful and had me follow him in his mototaxi to another place with a garage. It wasn’t the best place in a rough town but I didn’t care. I got settled in and went for something to eat. No idea what it was but it was very good.

Lot of rain over night but so far I have been blessed with good weather. No breakfast provided in this hostel but for six pounds a night I maybe could not expect that. The wee cafe across the square didn’t serve til 8 so it was a little later before I was on the go. An interested crowd had gathered. The bike was parked outside the hotel as I was assured it would be safe. It was still there in the morning.

Interesting Christmas tree. Zoom in for better view. Every small town right up to large citys seem to be built around a main square with a church on one side. The church clock here chimed every hour.
So with crowd watching I set off and move 6 inches before ending up on the ground. Much hilarity when it was realized I hadn’t taken the disc lock off. Many hands were available to get the bike up again. It’s not easy by myself but I can do it. No damage so off I go. Only about half a mile as the bridge is not there. Quick check to see if I am allowed over the foot bridge and off again. About three miles. There’s been a landslide and it will be about an hour or so before it’s clear. Considering that Peruvian drivers drive like maniacs on the horn all the time they accept blockages very readily. They stand about talking until the all clear then jump into their cars, busses, lorries and are off. In the middle are mototaxis and people on motorcycles. It all cleared but you can see why there are so many landslides.

The heavy machinery arriving.
On to Kuelap. The sign said 37 km but it felt more like 37mls. I had stopped at a small cafe at the bottom of the road where I asked for a coffee and biscuits. I saw the woman run across to the grocery and come back with the biscuits. Anyway this road was classified as afirmado. I had only been on afsalto up to now. This road turned out to be what we would consider a poorly maintained forest track. Maybe fine on a small 250 cc trail bike. I’m on an 800 cc big brute of a thing.

The road snakes up one side of the valley and climbs up to the fortress site.

I can assure you that its a lot steeper than it looks.

Kuelap is a site of the ancient chapoyas people reckoned to be occupied from the 6th to 16th century. I’m not sure who the expected to attack them. It’s a huge site built on the top of a hill in the middle of nowhere.

The entrance.

A restored house

All the houses were built so that only one person could pass at a time.

The view is the same on all sides.

The inevitable high priests house where sacrifices were made. I was unable to get an english speaking guide so had to make do reading the information boards.
Well it was time to head back down the road. It wasn’t any different going down though I did manage it a bit quicker.

There is fresh air if you go straight on. No barrier and no way of knowing if a bus or 4×4 is coming.
On to Chachapoyas. I had considered taking extra fuel with me but was assured there were plenty filling stations. It probably wouldn’t have been a good idea as the temperature is in the high 20s. I was watching carefully how many kms I had left but made it with some to spare. I had taken my gloves off and laid them on the back of the bike. I was away from the filling station before I realized I had not put them on. I went back but the young lad denied seeing them.
I still struggle to figure out the one way system. Again folk are pointing to me and saying you are going the wrong way. Anyway I found a hostel near the main square with a garage. Very nice too but dearer. £16 but that did include breakfast.

I feel that I didn’t do chachapoyas justice. It was a very nice place with lots more to do. However my time is limited so tomorrow I move on.

Got breakfast better organised today. Managed to have it at 7.30. On the road by 8 as this was going to be a long day. Fuelled up and off through very easy traffic. Did have video but not quite got the hang of it. Poor quality and no sound but I wasn’t going to by a go pro to replace my lost one. Good road all the way to Celeden.

Good quality tar wide single carriageway. Unfortunately Peru and I believe a lot of south America has a thing for speed bumps. These things are about 9inches high and appear at random places. Usually before a town or village but can be anywhere. You get used to spotting the brake lights and the vehicles bouncing up and down. On occasion I have not seen anything and emergency breaking is needed

Celeden is famous for its hat making industry. Didn’t think about the hat disappearing into the clouds. Apart from that there’s not much to say. A few trips round the streets and I couldn’t find the way out to leymebamba. There are no shortage of police with large guns about so I asked one. Donde esta la ruta por leymebamba por favour?
primero a la derecha y seguir recto. Seems OK. Now here I am on a wide road. I can see the junction so off I go and turn right onto another wide road. This road turns left and straight on is a little road not much more than an alleyway. Surely that can’t be correct. I stay on the big road and stop and ask someone else. He directs me back up  the road to this little alleyway. As Matthew 7 v 14 says not many people find the narrow way. Eventually I came across a sign that said Leymebamba. Peru has either a lot of road signs or junctions where you just have to guess

What the road ahead looked like from the top

And from halfway down.
Cajamarca sits at 9000 ft the mountains are 12000 ft. So you climb up over the first set and go down into the valley below which sits at 3000 ft and then climb over the next range at 12000 ft before dropping back to 6000 ft at Leymebamba

Not sure if this video will load but it will give an idea.
Leymebamba is famous for its museum of mummies.

These were found at the lagoon de la condors very well preserved. It looks like they are in pain or struggling but because they were buried in a sitting position the jaw has dropped. To counteract this some of them have their hands tied to their jaws.

Can’t be Peru without a picture of an alpaca.
Down into Leymebamba itself. Hostel is clean but basic. No garage but the owner says it will be fine on street.

Spent day in Cajamarca. Just as well. I was offered room service for breakfast. I got the impression that it probably suited them. I went looking for it a few times before it arrived at nearly 9 o clock

Off to the centre which is a couple of miles or so. Got on a combi but not really having much clue I got off too soon so still had to walk. Riccardo the owner had given me an address for a travel agent who was very helpful in discussing the next stage of my trip. Tomorrow will tell. I discovered yesterday that my waterproof bag is not completely dry so I went to the local barrios to look for some bin bags. I imagined a roll of 10. No you by them single!

Cerro Santa Apolonia is a small church that sits over looking Cajamarca. It is reached by steps. Lots.

Once up there you have to pay 1 sole to get round the garden. Not much of a garden but the view was good

This is probably only a fifth of the city.
One thing that Cajamarca is famous for is that it was here that the last Inca warrior Atahualpa first met the Spanish conquistadors. He offered to fill the room once with gold and twice with silver.

Unfortunately it didn’t do any good and ended with the fall of the Inca empire. The Inca were a very peaceful culture and had never seen guns or men riding horses and thought they were gods.
The streets here are quite narrow but with big gutters. Rain only comes for a short few months of the year but the city is able to cope. What is not easy is watching for a space in the traffic to cross the road and then realise that gutter is 10 inches deep. What happens to the mototaxis at that time I don’t know.

They are every where. Very few people wear helmets on motorcycle or scooters. Three seems to be a good number on a scooter with anything from babies to sheets of plywood being carried. So far I haven’t been able to get a picture of this sort of thing.

Another sunny day but with all the bike gear on not good unless you are moving. I managed to get the bike out of the lounge without doing any damage. Off to the bank. I think I have been conned with this cash card. No ATM fees if you with draw $300 or more. Someone did their homework as so far I have not found a machine that will give me more than $200!
I have managed to get a small cheap sports cam. Unfortunately it seems to have recorded every thing upside down. If I was recording constantly then its the right way up but if I want to record in minute sections then its upside down! I can easily mount it upsidedown the it should be th right way up.

A few trees but still desert

Paddy fields. I had just crossed a very dry river. This must be why.

The water was actually greener than the picture really shows.

Many more corners like this to go round. It’s not always easy to find somewhere to stop. Keeping hydrated is really an issue which I am working on. If you are in a car then you just have a drink as you go. On a bike you have to stop, park the bike up,get off, remove your helmet,open the panniers to get water out. Then reverse the process. I had wondered about a camel back. Maybe another time

It’s not really easy to get a picture of exactly where the road was going. Lost count of number of turns. At least on bike you have the power to overtake in a very short space. You just have to watch for buses and lorries taking the whole road to get round. It started to rain not long after. Again do you stop or hope that it won’t be much. I didn’t stop got wet but had dried before I reached the hotel. Partly because I had paid a lot of attention to the map about where the hotel was. It showed a small icon so I went looking for it. The icon was in wrong place so a good hour was wasted. However a found it and its a very nice new place. The owner was very proud of his cows which I had to go and photo them

They produce their own milk. They also have a winery so I had to go and sample the wine

.

Cajamarca cathedral . There is another on the opposite of the plaza

Clara the owner of the hotel I was staying at in Trujillo had been an archeologist who had done some of the first excavations at these two important sites. She was keen to take me so for a very small fee I had my own expert. I got a far more detailed interpretation of the Chimu and Moche cultures than I would if I gone alone

The lattice work is representing fishing nets. Everything is in groups of 4 as in four seasons, seven as in the colours of the rainbow.

The sea is straight lines when it is good to fish and waves when it is good to surf. The pelicans at the bottom of the picture were trained to fish for the community.

This is the Moche Huacas del sol it is called this because it is on the west side of the site . The Huacas de la Lune is on the east. Only the Huacas de la Lune has been excavated.

Everything here has its opposites. Good and evil, happy and sad. Put simply the Chief had a very nice fancy house where he did all sorts of horrible sacrifices. When he died the people buried him in a reed basket put him in his house and built another house on top. Eventually a big pyramid was built. It was explained in a lot more detail than that!

Most of the scenery was like this.

Occasionally a small village would appear around a small oasis. It seems hard to imagine how people can even make a small living

Even the fishing port of Chimbote seems to have most of the boats in the harbour.
There are major road upgrades going on along the panamerian highway. Where the need to have a control over traffic one lane is blocked. Somewhere a mile or so away someone let’s traffic through for a random time and then radios their colleague something like when the red bus is passed I stopped the traffic. I had time to stop, get off and get juice out of my panniers have a drink and get back on and still have to wait. Arrived in Trujillo after a panic whilst stopped at some road works. Looking at the time and the kms ridden I felt I should be in Trujillo. To see a bus going the other way with a Trujillo sign on I thought I had somehow missed it.  Considering I had the ocean on one side and mountains on the other and this is a city of over half a million people I couldn’t understand how. Shortly after I arrived in Trujillo to find that at least half the population was out in their cars. Again I got lost so stopped beside a taxi and paid him a few soles to lead me to the hotel.
I asked the woman where I could store my bike. She opened what I thought was the garage door to find it led straight I to the sitting room. In here she said. There had been a water leak on to wet tiles. I had visions of things going pear shaped. However the bike is now beside the Christmas tree.

Down town Trujillo

Sunday 6th December. The theory was that getting out of Lima on a Sunday would be easy as very little traffic. Had breakfast and ready to go by 8am. One thing I never tried was how to load a motorcycle so that everything thing that I needed was to hand. I’ll get it right by the end of my trip. Bike loaded and I was in all my full body gear. Down to reception. Sorry our card machine is not working. Do you have cash? In Peru you can use dollars or Peruvian soles. Well no I don’t have enough of either. Off with the bike gear and walk to the bank. Fortunately someone was already at the machine and couldn’t get it to work so I didn’t panic too much when my card didn’t either. I opted for a dollars cash card but had never used it. Off to the next bank where I got money. Back into gear etc and off to the fuel station. Vehicles are filled for you here as too many people would just drive off. My Peruvian friends cannot believe we have self service check out in supermarkets!
I checked the map again and set off. The road names are sort of hung over the road. It’s difficult to describe and just as difficult to follow. That’s my excuse for having a tour of Lima harbour. Eventually sitting at lights beside a car and able to point and say panamerica norte si??? Si, correcto.
There are no pictures as I could not see anywhere suitable to stop. Most of the way was dual carriageway with a very narrow gravel shoulder. Basically even if I had stopped you would have seen sand sand and more sand. O and at random intervals small shanty towns. What the people do and where they work is a mystery. In the distance there are large things that look like chicken sheds. Don’t know if they are. And occasionally green belts with maize or bananas growing. One interesting point was when the road was single carriageway and I thought it was now dual and I had somehow missed the turning. It’s only because I was on a bike that I was able to squeeze past the two lorries and three cars overtaking coming towards me at speed.
I did stop at one of the many fuel stations for a coffee. If anyone can remember Camp coffee its sort of like that poured into hot water with evaporated milk in.
It was hot and very windy so I was glad to get to Huarmey. I found the street the hotel was on but no hotel. I have been using booking.com and have arranged some hotels. I asked locals which caused much debate. I looked where they said. I stopped at the local police. There seems to be a local police, a national police and a transport police. I passed three check points but they were all busy so never got stopped just as a wee aside. The local police brought up the hotel on his phone and got me to follow him. Somewhere in the following hour I lost my webcam which I had stuck in my pocket for safety. Anyway still following my friendly police man, onto the national police. I think i was the most exciting thing to happen today. How could a hotel have a website showing a map and not exist? In the end I was taken to another hotel. Bit more expensive but at least I have somewhere to eat and sleep.