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Peru

(Macara - Chiclayo - Lima)

In the desert until the rapid death

[January 9, 2005] Leaving the Andes in Euqador entering the deserts in the north of Peru. The temperature rises until it reaches easily 90 F, hot but pleasently not humid. After the cooler nights in the mountains this is a nice feeling. And so I continue my travels South on the Panamericana. Once more the lonelyness and the quiet desert give me a chill,



only broken by the noisy trucks and busses. I have to escape these crazy drivers more than once by leaving the road and heading for cover off the street. Locos... On the next morning I see the results of these crazy maneuvres, many people died I learned later. So I promise to myself never to drive at night, the chances to win a far greater in the Lotteries...

The people in Piura and Chiclayo are rushing for their last Christmas shopping, there are lights, decorations and the musik everywhere. And I also get this feeling for Christmas, although it´s 90 F outside. On Christmas eve I continue my travels South. Shortly before noon I hear a rattling sound in the clutch cover, 2 minutes later the cover bursts and the oil spills out. The fast end, luckily the engine should be o.k. As there are no chances to repair that in the desert, there are limited alternatives. A truck stops, and we lift the wounded bike in the truck.



It is extremely dangerous here, the truckers tell me, even during the daytime. Robbers take you at gunpoint, so I am thankful for the lift to the next town of Payachula on the coast. Here I need to stop a truck heading for Lima. But who on earth is driving a truck on Christmas eve? Luis Neyra is, a trucker fom Chala, South of Peru. I offer him a nice present, he willingly transports me along with 30 tons of rice to Lima. And so I stay with Luis, the truck and the Panamericana for Christmas. In these 15 hours I learn a lot about the life in Peru, the corruption of the police, how to trick the weightcontrols and about the friendlyness of the Peruvians.

Luis, his friend also called Luis and his family in Lima help me through the next days with safe storing and transporting the bike to the dealership, and they show me their city. They invite me for dinner during the Christmas days as well as invite me for their new years party. Great people, once again I am lucky to meet good people with a great heart. And I have time to spend in Lima learing about politics, the situation of the Peruvians and study the nightlife.



Or did you know that here everybody uses the colo yellow for good luck on New Year? And then finally I continue to practise my language skills.
Shortly after Christmas I take the bike apart and luckily it shows a minor defect in the cluch gasket. I order the parts via Germany and can assemble it myself. But the origen of the falt makes me mad. A bad quality repair in Guatemala city leads to this major breakdown. They had welded the gasket, although I had paid a new part. Amazing that it did last for 1500 miles. Shit...I made one more experience the hard way, I guess.

Well, let´s relajar and await the parts.

Hasta la proxima

Rasmus


Finally back on the road heading for the Incas

(Lima - Nasca - Cusco - Lake Titicaca)

[January 31, 2005] The smile is back, sitting on the KTM again, feeling the vibes as of the first 17.000 miles of the trip and the heart beats again. Yeaahh. Luck and Sadness can be really close...

After this little delay I am finally back on the Dream, my Panamericana heading South. In one of the Andesregions there was some trouble during New Year. 400 soldiers rebelled, roads were blocked and unpassable, but now its all quiet again and I can head for the capital of the Incas, Cusco.

First along the Panam is Nasca with its geometrical figures and lines. These have lead many people to speculate about the origin, right or not. I take a small airplane to get the right view, and get to see amazing items roughly 3000 years old.



One can see and ape, a spider, the condor and fantasy items, incredible.

On the way to Nasca I run into Sabine and Ernesto from Columbia on a KTM 950. We chat and exchange informations and some beers and decide to continue together to Cusco, passing the Alti Plano with its 4500 meter high fields and Llamas. The thin air was quiet tough for me and the bike, but finally we arrived in the ancient Cusco. And there the 2 bikes do look good in the hotel. Better than us after the following hard days. We had decided to hike along the Inca trail, a 50 Km trail through the Andes to the famous Manchu Picchu. Breathtaking nature, ruins and the interesting history of the Incas let us forget the endurance. And finally Manchu Picchu, these pictures from early morning are unforgetable.


It is like to travel back in time. We learn about Pachamama and the Coca Leaves, talk to the very poor Indios that have to survive and feed their families with a daily income of 5 to 6 US$ right in the nature of the Andes, rough and cold, then warm and humid. We need to remind ourselves of our wealth in the Western World...
My Columbian friends continue towards Bolivia, there are some political uprises there as well. Take care and see you soon. I continue to learn about the Inca culture and the special dialect in and around Cusco



and the Valle Sagrado, the holy valley. Patricia knows the town and the area very well and shows me parts of the life and the town that no tourists see, just as in Lima with all the goods and bads.
And while touring through the area my Swiss friends Nadine and Cello show up. The guys I have had such a good time in Mexico and Guatemala. Great reunion, topped by a local specialty, Cuy. Cuy is a small animal the boys and girls at home play with. But tastes well, just like little piglets...

The Swiss friends are now on their way on the trail, no surprise, are Swiss, or? And I just decided to leave Cusco after weeks of luck and have arrived on the Lake Titicaca, the highest lake in the world. Tomorrow I will head for Bolivia, where luckily the political situation has improved a lot. More than later.
Peru, you country with ups and downs, geographically and emotionally, you have got me interested a lot. Maybe to live? We will see in the future...


Hasta luego,

Rasmus