Well, after much anticipation and planning we had a great time with the ladeez in Lima. Luxuries and benefits of two weeks of female companionship with our wives was fantastic, along with staying in nicer places than we had become accustomed Machu Pichu and Cusco were great (with its Qoriqancha, Inca temple of the sun overbuilt by the Convento Santo Domingo as a particular highlight), Nasca was OK too although the rest of Peru was a disappointment. Quite frankly, it was just plain hard work to get around such a big country by car, with interference from cops trying to blag bribes, bad roads and worse weather and a car that was mechanically unfit. Nevertheless, the quality time spent with the ladeez and their great company made it all worthwhile.
Whilst we were on the road a diplomatic row and potential military conflict erupted between Colombia, Venezuela and then somewhat reluctantly, Ecuador. Colombia crossed the border into Ecuador to attack a FARC camp there and killed the second in command, taking his laptop with incriminating evidence against Chavez and Correa on it. Anyway, eventually Chavez restores diplomatic relations after 10 days of tension on March 9th and Neil and I breathe a collective sigh of relief after the threat of a regional conflict barring our progress north is removed.
After saying goodbye to the ladeez at the airport, Neil and I de-camped to a cheaper hotel around the corner in Miraflores, Lima. We checked in and went up to the rooftop bar, where we enjoyed a good time with Olga & Reina, two spirited barmaids and Andreas, a Harley riding German, living in Mexico and in Lima on Business. We got on well with the three of them, even managing to share some jokes in Spanish, and I'm sure that Neil and I got a much better breakfast in the morning because of it.
Next morning we were up early to the BMW workshop to pick up our bikes. Sergio the Service Manager met us there and our bikes certainly looked clean and sounded good with fresh oil and filters. Neil's bike in particular looked great with all the new front end on it. However, more shoddy South American workmanship became apparent when Neil's seat was found to have been ripped off, rather than taken off with the key. This was glued back and we left still satisfied that all was well. However, at the end of that day, we discovered that whilst Neil's front end looked good, it was just slotted into place and not a single screw or nut held the beak in place.
Anyway, we returned to the hotel, loaded up and headed north straightaway, keen to make progress before the weather got too hot in Central America. We didn't allow for the scamming corrupt police that prey on foreign bikers on the Panamericana, north of Lima. They are in fact vultures and not the "los angeles guardianes" that they like to proudly proclaim on roadside hoardings and their patrol cars. We got stopped 3 times that afternoon and went through the same routine. You have committed an "infracione and you must pay 100 dollars to get our licences back". We just laughed, shook our heads and repeated "No,no,no" a la Amy Winehouse and eventually they got bored and gave our licences back. One Officer even had enough of a lack of a sense of irony to warn us to get off the road before dark as there were a lot of bandits on the road at night. Unfortunately my Spanish wasn't good enough to tell him that he didn't have their shame and so was able to stand in the middle of the road in broad daylight, with a gun in his holster and demand money from us! Needless to say, this left a bad taste in our mouths about Peru and we just headed north as fast as possible to get out of the damned place as soon as possible.
Into Ecuador through the border crossing which was in the middle of a bustling, smelly market and the hottest border crossing since getting into Bandar Abbas in Iran and then heading away from the sweaty coast and banana plantations up into the mountains through the rain and landslides into the Andean city of Cuenca. Never have I experienced such a range of heat and cold in one day's riding. The road was cover in thick porridgy mud, sometimes almost a foot deep. We went out to a great place owned by an arrogant American and encountered Franziskaner weissbier for the first time on the trip and fell into a frenzy of refreshing ourselves , meeting and befriending a bloke called Carlos in the process. He took us on to a dodgy looking nightclub in his truck and then gave us a lift back at 4am, screeching through the rain sodden cobbled streets of Cuenca with me in the back of the truck. Up and out relatively early the next day we make it through the cold and the rain to Riobamba, hoping to reach the Colombian border the next day.
We are in Quito now and unfortunately, we will be here for a little while as I had an accident yesterday, north of here, just short of the Equator, near the Colombian border. I am absolutely fine, hardly a scratch, but my bike is a wreck and possibly a write - off. We got it to the BMW shop here yesterday and will check out the cost of repair and other options on Monday, so watch this space!
Today I am feeling pretty flat and low, enhanced by a bad cold and a hangover too after Neil and I went out last night and got hammered. Dangerous Franziskaner Beer did the job again - this time in the Turtle's Head pub, owned and run by a gregarious motorbiking Scotsman, Albert. He commiserated with us, gives us complementary shots of Jagermeister and puts us onto to a potential plan B - 1500 USD for a Honda Dominator. Apparently, it was left with his mate, Carlitos, by a french couple over a year ago and they never returned as originally planned and so asked Carlitos to sell it for whatever he could get for it.
I went out into Old Town Quito today, whilst Neil slept off his hangover. There was great atmosphere that really lifted my spirits as people were out in their best clothes celebrating Palm Sunday and the beginning of Santa Semana. Lots of people were carrying bouquets of flowers and rosemary, palm fronds and woven palm crosses. Only South American country where we have seen more gothic churches than baroque ones and this enhances the split personality of the country as the Switzerland of Latin America. The country is split in many dimensions - racially, geographically and economically, making it one of the most politically unstable countries in an unstable region. Anyway, that's all for now folks as we should have more news after going to the workshop tomorrow...
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yeah, Peru is an interesting place, lots of it was frankly not so rewarding i didnt realise the miles and miles of arid desert land with nothing-ville towns in between, however the high moments certainly made up for that!
I asked my mum whether the machu pichhu trek was like childbirth i.e absolutely agony and the worst kind of punishment but you forget it all when you see the face of your child/machu pichhu - she didnt comment. It was i can tell you the hardest pysical thing i have ever done and every day i questioned whether i could make it, some people dont; either they are just not up to it, or the altitude gets to them or becuase the terraine is quite tough at times they hurt themselves.
They allow 500 people a day on the trek to try and preserve it, I would say the average age must have been........25, Mum was by far and away the oldest person she was awsome, I am so proud of her and I know Dave and Neil are too, she out stomped me the entire way Frankly i felt very aged indeed looking around.
We had a private rather than a group arrangement so we let the 'youngters' skip on ahead thankful that we were not holding a group up. Neil was amazing, he strode on ahead and david hardly broke a sweat the entire way
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