1. Hallo Peru
Day 120
It is an early wake up call today. My last riding day in Ecuador. The morning came way to early. But I want get a head start as it suppose to be pretty warm, close to 30˚C. I have this packing stuff done to the science and I am leaving at 0700. Pretty cold out there, 12˚C.
I didn’t bother downloading today’s route to my GPS. It should be very straight forward, right? The road starts to climb right away. And it twists and turns. Constantly. There are no straightaways in Ecuador. At least not on the roads I’ve been riding. The views are incredible. I need to concentrate on ride otherwise there won’t be any future blog.
I ride up on the ridge only to reveal another valley on the other side. Down the valley, up on the ridge. Repeat. Countless times. There is almost no traffic. Road is good, but sometimes it changes to a dirt double track for no apparent reason. But I am having fun. I have enough fuel to reach my destination. I plan to go only about 50 km past the border. And there are no gas stations until Peru.
I said I don’t need my GPS, right? Not until I get to a small village and there are half a dozen exits and no signs. Well, back to old school navigation. I ask for directions. Many times. Everybody is helpful and I am always back on right track in now time. The road is windy and narrow. You need to pay attention all the times as Ecuadorian drivers have tendency to cut their corners. And this road turns into a one lane road. A big drop off on one side and rock wall on the other. Take your pick. It is getting warmer and I stop to shed some layers. I am down to just a T-shirt and my riding jacket. I stop few times to capture a Kodak moment. But to be honest, there is one at every turn.
After about 100km the road turns into a dirt track with many ruts and potholes. A little bit more to worry about. But for the most part is a non event. I worry more about the traffic than the road. But one of my friends dropped the bike on this section twice yesterday. I am quite conscious about it and I am holding back my horses.
My Garmin GPS is TOTALY useless. There are no roads where I ride on one and on the other hand it wants to send me over the cliff showing the road when there isn’t one. I absolutely hate it, especially when you pay lots of money for the unit and maps. Especially when a free alternative like Google Maps on my iPhone works perfectly (most of the time).
I start my last descent towards the valley which is a border with Peru. I can see it way down bellow. I put my bike into the 2nd gear and let it ride so I don’t need to be constantly on my brakes. I get down and there it is. A few building which is way past their expiry date. One says ADUNA which is Ecuadorian Customs and right beside it is Immigration Control. I am the only one there. I start with Aduana to cancel my Temporary Import Permit. Done in 5’. Off to the next door with passport control. Another 5. I am done with Ecuador. I am thirsty so I spend my last $2 on a bottle of Coke. I hope on the bike and ride across the bridge to Peruvian side. First the passport control. Lady there asks me bunch of questions then takes my finger prints and foto for her family album 😂. Boom, I have visa for 90 days. That should be enough. I take my papers and go to import my bike. This is usually the hardest part. But it takes only about 15’ and I have a brand new import permit for Peru. All in all, less then 45’. And nobody on Peruvian side either. That’s why I picked this xssing because there is virtually no traffic.
I am in Peru. Now what? It is not even noon yet. My destination is only 30’ away. The road on Peru side is now paved so I am heading to the first town. I need gas for my baby. Nice ride but they have potholes in Peru as well, so I am being careful. I find the gas stating and get a full tank. The gas attendant looks at the meter which is quickly adding up the volume and looks at me asks how big is a tank. Big enough to fill at least 5 local bikes …I want to pay but my card is not working. I try another one with the same result. None of my 4 card work here. That’s not good. Usually at least 2 out of 4 work. But not here. And I don’t have any local currency, this is my first stop. But I have USD on me. It takes a while and few phone calls and I am able to pay in USD. But at a horrible exchange rate. Well, I am happy that they took my USD otherwise I’d have to just run away 😉. I plan to get money out of ATM but now I am worried. What if the same happened with ATM and none of the cards work? I have enough USD on me but that’s no solution. Lets keep my fingers crossed.
It is still early and I do not have any hotel booked tonight. I am winging it. I continue to the next town about 100 km down the road. The valley widens and I keep descending to about 400m. I follow the river and the temp is killing me. It is 40˚C here. Remember when I was complaining about being cold in Ecuador? I din’t really mean it… There is a nice road where I can open it up and ride pretty fast. However, every few hundred meters there are nasty speed bumps. These are really bad so I have to come to a crawl and shift down to 1st gear. Very annoying.
The valley is wide and entire surrounding is very dry and dusty. Quite a change from Ecuador. I get to the next town which is a dust bowl. Ugly and dirty city full of tuk tuks. There is no rules here. Give me crazy Colombia any day. At least I know what to expect there. Quite a big town but there is no way I will stay here.
My next chance is a small town not to far where my friends should be staying tonight according to their text message. Except that “town” is only a few houses with no hotel. Oh well, the next plan … Lets go to the next big tow. By now my water run out and I am getting thirsty. The last meal I had was the last dinner. It is past 1700 so I’ve been in the saddle for more then 10 hrs. I am getting tired. I’d camp but I need food and water.
The next town looks promising. It is another dust bowl but it looks like there might be some hotels here. I ride the main street up and down and none of the hotels look appealing. That’s the problem when you don’t have anything booked. I hate looking for a place to sleep when all I want to ride right in, take a shower and crash in a comfy bed. Well, I look up hotel in my GPS and picked one. A few blocks off the main street, thats good. I got it and got a room with an a/c. Nice! I leave my bike right in front of the reception but I put the cover on it anyway.
I take a quick shower and head out to try to find an ATM. The lady in the hotel reception desk says there is one one around but Mr. Google says otherwise. I try google’s suggestion and violá there is one! And to my huge relieve, 3 out of my 4 cards work. Now I have a big stash of local currency. Off to a dinner. After I am fed and 2 Coronas and a frappé later I head to the supermarket and buy a lots of liquids. Water, juices, power drink. By the time I’ve written this, I drunk over 3.5 litres …. I was pretty dehydrated.
My friends ended up in a city on a different route so I don’t have to look for them, Maybe down the line. I figured the plan for tomorrow, it should be pretty cool. But I am tired now is I will quickly post this and hit the bed. It was a long day …. Almost forgot, I am staying in town called Bagua Grande.