Peru is gone and we are moving on

Our time in Moquigua was just what the doctor ordered. It was almost as good as being in a private hospital. Claudio and his Mum did everything they could to help me recover. He helped to collect the prescription, arranged for a sun lounger to be placed on the veranda so I could laze in the sun and had a nice comfortable chair put in the room. His Mum made the world's best Pisco Sour which definitley aided my recovery.

She also helped to arrange for food to be delivered to the hotel for us and seemed to actually monitor what we were eating expressing concern if we missed a meal. On Monday the 16th I felt able to try and get on and off the shed in anticipation of leaving the following day. Very gingerly and awkwardly I managed to do this and then proceeded to pack the panniers ready for leaving.

An early start saw us arriving at the Chilean border by 11.00hrs. It was a nice, orderly and helpful crossing with both officials and other travellers assisting and advising us. Once in Chile we travelled though some very straight and well paved roads to Arica where we got some local currency and then paid 3,000 pesos for a chicken sandwich at the bus station. It was dam good. The bread had body and wasn't sweet and the chicken was just that - chicken - no sloppy stuff. Delicious. Another few hours found us in Iquique, a much, much bigger city than we expected. It was late, it was busy and we ended up staying at the first easy to get to hotel. Too expensive really but needs must. Here we discovered that the plug points had become roundand three pinned and we had to get a taxi into town to buy adaptors. This proved to be a good experience. We found a great Tapas bar and ate and drank to our hearts delight.

On the way out the next day we ran in to Sebastian and Diego, two guys from Argentina who had stayed at the Hotel Colonial, Maquegua.

We explained that we were riding to Tocopilla, as were they but they had heard that it wasn't a very nice place. How truethis proved to be. We rode together along a lovely coastal road

with high mountains to the other side of us and eventually arrived at this dusty and dirty harbour town where we said our farewells promising to get in touch when we got to Buenos Aries. We then tried to find a hotel. Because my knee and leg were still quite painful and weak Brian left me with the shed whilst he walked round town trying to find somewhere almost nice to stay. Not a hope so we agreed to ride on to the next town, Antafagasta. This part of the journey was more desert and the wind started to become very, very strong and blustery. Brian was having to watch the road ahead and behind for lorries and buses approaching because the cross winds from them were strong enough to blow us right across the road. Antofagasta was yet another big city and the first three hotels we tried were full. Again we ended up in a rather expensive hotel swearing that this would be the last time. We found a nice restaurant a bit further down the road and after a really nice meal we fell into bed. I still couldn't walk very far and sitting on the shed for long periods was making my leg quite stiff and painful once I got off. The strapping helps to support it but causes the skin to become sore so I'm pretty much wrecked by the time we stop.

The following day, after realising that we were 2 hours behind time due to the time zone change, we were off riding through the hot, very hot, desert again. However, at least on this occasion we had something interesting to look at – the 'hand in the sand' sculpture.

It's a very bizarre lump of rock, very large and just out there. Fortunately we didn't need to ride over any soft sand to get to it. Talking of which we did see a road sign for Taltal which would take us off the big, main ruta 5. Brian studied the map and informed me, jokingly, that this was a much more direct route. I'm sure you will all have a good idea of what I said to that and we continued safely on our way. He's such a comedian!

Taltal was lovely. A bit of a sleepy town with few hotels but a beautiful Plaza. The hotel was basic but right on the sea front with a fabulous view of the bay.

The following day was just a short run to Bahia Inglesa, a place that Sebastion and Diego had recommended. We thought that we had missed it at one point but then we came across the road sign and made our way down to a quiet beach town where we got booked in to a cabanas. A taxi ride into the next big town found us shopping in a supermarket and buying way too much food. I couldn't help it. The thought of being able to cook what we wanted and how we wanted it just prevented any rational thought. We spent a couple of nights there, really relaxing because we were in 'our' place. Lovely.

The next part of our journey was to Vino del Mar making it easy to get to Santiago ready to meet Brian's best friend, Richard, off his plane. Thankfully we started to leave the desert behind us and the scenery became a little greener. Brian took this opportunity to 'open up' the shed only to be 'opening up' to a policeman a little farther down the road. He'd been zapped by a speed gun. However, the cop was really nice and understanding. He accepted Brian's apology, explained the speed limit and sent us on our way. The road then became a dual carriage way so Brian could legally ride at 120kph and we made very good time finding our way to the Plaza in the centre of the city. It's a busy place, lots of shops and restaurants.

I've found a hairdresser and had my hair done specially to meet Richard. My leg still isn't 'fixed' enough to be able to Salsa with him but I think he will probably be relieved about that. More drinking time available if there's no dancing. We managed to speak to Colin, Brian's Dad, today to wish him a happy birthday (Skype's great) and now I'm sat watching the Plaza, all the people coming and going in the beautiful sunshine, people sat on the benches chatting and snacking and generally I'm having the time of my life.

Pleasure and terror

The next place we visited was Puno. It was a nice ride to the city but difficult to find the plaza so we hired a cab to lead us there. A fantastic solution and it takes such a lot of pressure off when trying to find your way round the strange cities with noisy and erratic drivers. Brian trekked round the streets and found us a nice hotel that offered us a cheap rate due to a low number of tourists and we booked our last tourist activity through the receptionist. Again, no receipt which unnerved us a little but as it turned out we didn't need to worry. Into town for a quick bite to eat and then we experienced the real persistence of street sellers. We stopped to look at some sheepskins but realised they were processed so we said sorry and walked on. This little, elderly lady then took it upon herself to chase us through the street, shouting things in spanish and trying to block our way. She chased us all the way to the hotel and then continued to shout through the door at us. Very embarrassing and unnerving.

The next day we were collected at 6.45am and taken to the motorboat. Our tour guide told us all about the reed islands on Lake Titikaka and their inhabitants. It was a beautiful, warm day but this was surpassed by the beautiful and warm welcome of the islanders. After a brief demonstration of how the islands are made we were invited by an islander to look around her home. She was so very proud and invited me to put on some traditional dress. Now ladies, this is not a good look. It makes these 4ft 10in womwn look like diddy men and even at my giant height of 5ft 2ins I still looked like a very colourful cube on two legs. Still, I didn't want to offend her so I dutifully put these on much to Brian's amusement. I've never known him take so many photo's!

A quick visit and hard climb up Isla Tequile (which had amazing views of the lake) and a 2hr 45min boat ride back to Puno filled the rest of a very enjoyable day. Thank goodness.

The next day, Friday the 13^th saw us on our way to Moquegua on the way to the Chilean border. We had studied the map and Brian had looked on google earth and we had decided to take the direct route to this town. After a lot of difficulty finding a petrol station in Puno we finally got under way. The road seemed a little rough but was quite straight and tarmacked.

However, we hadn't gone very far before we had to stop and put lots more layers on. It was starting to get very cold. Good progress was made and it was looking like we would get to Moquegua in plenty of time to ring Jack (Brian's great nephew) to wish him happy birthday. Then we hit the start of the roadworks. There were little stretches of road in between but pretty quickly it became one long continuous length of unmade road under construction, a bit like the Dalton Highway. I got off and walked at one point because it was too difficult to ride two up through this slimy stuff.

It didn't get much better as we progressed. Once we were out of the roadworks we were into the desert sand, something neither of us were expecting and without much warning the front end of the shed went from under us and we were down. Now it's not the first time this has happened so I was ready and just rolled away from the shed but Brian got his foot caught under the pannier. I was horrified and praying that he hadn't done any damage to his foot. Without turning green or any of my clothes tearing and becoming tatty rags I mustered up enough strength to lift the shed high enough for Brian to get his foot out which thankfully was uninjured. We considered turning back but then, foolishly, agreed that the road must get better a little farther on. I suggested that I walk behind the shed until the ground got firmer which it did just around the next bend. It was still sandy but not lots of loose soft stuff. I got back on the shed, off we went …..... more soft stuff and over she went again. No injuries, a brief planning meeting and on we went. We could see what we thought was the main road and agreed that we could make it there, me walking and Brian riding slowly ahead.

This was very tiring especially as we were at altitude and it really took it out of me but I think what worried me the most was that we had seen only one truck in all this time. The feeling of isolation was overwhelming and sometimes Brian and the shed were just like a little dot on the horizon.

There were no road signs and the tracks in the sand forked with no indication as to where we should go. Luckily, the truck came along at one of these junctions and the driver told us which way to go. Left to our own devices we would have taken the wrong road. Brian had another 'off' without me on the back and looked absolutely exasperated and frustrated with himself. We finally reached what we thought was a main road and to my absolute dismay found it to be exactly the same as the road we had just travelled. I felt like crying but what use would that be. By this time were were past the point of no return and had to continue.

The sky was now starting to show signs of an incoming storm but we carried on. The road was starting to climb a little and I found it harder and harder to keep up any pace. Then the heavens opened and the rain was icy cold. The wind had whipped up quite fiercely and it just felt too difficult to keep going. Brian came to meet me and suggested that we put the tent up to shelter us and to try to get warm. We were both dripping wet and had very little energy left. I was frightened that if the shed went over again I wouldn't be able to help him lift it up and then we really would be in a sticky situation.

As we were putting the tent up a couple of guys on off roading bikes stopped and spoke to Brian. I was just shivering, cold and wet and continued to put up the tent as they told him this was too dangerous and that there was a good chance that the tent would blow away and we would be at risk. They very, very kindly agreed to wait for us to put everything away and then ride with us so they could help us to pick up the shed if she went over again. Despite the cold and the wet I felt a lot better knowing we were no longer alone. It was a slow ans tenuous ride and I could sense that Brian was anxious and wary of the track – that's all it was - a track in the sand. Again, without the guidance of these chaps there was a very good chance we would have been lost in the desert as the road split and there were no signs directing us.

100 yards from reaching the tarmac road and the shed went down.... again. This time she went over on the other side and I wasn't ready. I twisted my leg badly and actually felt something snap. The pain was excruciating and I couldn't move. Poor Brian. He was so worried and just didn't know what to do to help me. Once I was up on my feet I knew there was no broken bones and agreed to travel the rest of the way on the back of the other guy bike. It seemed much easier to get on because it was a smaller bike. Not so. I tried to get on in the same way as I did the shed and get again I couldn't supress a scream brought on by the agonising pain in my left leg. It caught me off guard and I really didn't want to give Brian any cause to worry about me, but I couldn't help it. Still, we eventually made it to the tarmac road and the rest of our journey.

It was freezing. The storm was on us full force. My jacket wouldn't zip up because there was sand in the teeth so I had to hold it together. I couldn't put my leather gloves on because I couldn't find them so I had thin off road gloves on. We couldn't communicate with each other because we hadn't plugged in the intercoms. I cannot describe the pain of the cold, the feeling that this was never going to stop because the storm was following us. I can remember the point when I realised how high we were and just what the consequences of our situation could be . It was when I could no longer see through my visor because it had frozen over. Initially I had to leave it open a bit because it had become foggy with condensation. Once it had frozen over I then noticed that icicles had formed on the edge of it and I knew then that we were at very, very high altitude in freezing conditions and any pain in my leg became a secondary problem.

I also became aware that Brian must be almost hypothermic because I was sat on all the layers he had worn previously and also one of his gloves. He was riding in just a t-shirt and his jacket. I kept giving him a hug to try and boost his moral and let him know I was ok. I knew he felt terrible about the whole thing. No matter how cold I got, I knew I had to dig deep and think positively to get through this. Then, finally, we saw sunshine in the distance and I knew if we could just keep going we would finally reach some warmth. We started to descend and we got closer and closer to the sunshine. Finally we arrived at Moquegua and the Hotel Colonial. We were greeted by an amazing hostess who promptly directed her staff to get me upstairs and sent extra blankets etc to get us warm. We were both shaking like leaves. I needed the help and support of the staff to manage to get up the stairs but man – the bath I had that night was the best in the world. As for Brian, I still don't know where he found the depth and resolve to ride the bike in those conditions with limited protection from the extreme cold, but what I do know is he's my hero, my husband and I love him.

The highs and lows of Peru

Well, Peru is proving to be a country of ups and downs and I'm not just talking about the roads. After leaving Chiclayo we made our way to Chimbote. The road was boring desert, very little traffic and the wind was pretty cold at times.

We passed two riders, husband and wife, from the Netherlands and stopped for coffee and a chat during which they told us how they had been stopped by the police for failing to use a roundabout and also for having no insurance. The police emptied the guy's wallet of all his money before sending them on their way. We travelled together to the next town to see if we could get insurance but to no avail. After parting company we made our way, uneventfully, to Chimbote which could be called Chimbotty because it really is a dirty and pretty unwelcoming place. Very little accommodation and loads of traffic. Brian spotted the one decent hotel and there we stayed, on the sea front watching a beautiful sunset.

The following day we were off to Lima. Again through very boring desert with nothing to see and small dirty towns to go through. It was on this stretch that we were stopped by the police. Brian will tell you more about this in his blog but the long and short of it was we were pressured into paying a bribe to stop them taking the bike. When I say a bribe I really mean that Brian had to give them all the money in his wallet which happened to be the muggers wallet. They rest of the cash was secured in the pannier or about my person! Needless to say they didn't want their photograph taking and took steps to make sure I couldn't – headlights glaring at us, bonnet up to shield the cop inside and the cop outside standing in front of the number plate whilst he 'checked his oil' This experience did not enamour us to Peru. We passed through Lima very nicely and soon found that we were heading out the other side without having found anywhere to stay. It was important that we didn't travel too far out of the city because yet again we were going to head straight in more desert. More by good luck than by plan we found ourself in a small coastal town and eventually found a little hostal there. The stop was simply a sleep stop before moving on to Nazca.

The people we passed were becoming more friendly, waving and smiling and even the police acknowledged us with a friendly wave. Finding accommodation in Nazca was easy as we were approached by a young lady who led us to a hostel just on the edge of the busy and noisy town centre. We booked a flight over the Nazca lines in the desert and put our extremely stinky and skanky biking gear in for washing. The hostel environment was lovely and relaxing but that is where the relaxation stopped.

The following day we should have been collected at 9am for the flight. At 9.20 there was still no sign so Brian spoke to a guy who chased it up for us. Eventually at 9.55 we were collected, rushed out of the hostel and rushed into a hotel to watch a 30 minute video about the lines. We didn't even see the first bit before she ushered us off informing us that the plane was waiting for us. Not a good start and then when we got to the airport and were told we had to wait it was like lighting Brian's fuse and the fireworks started. To be frank, the whole experience was horrid. We didn't get the package we paid for, the little plane jumped, twisted and turned for 40 minutes and the lines were not as impressive as I had expected. It may have helped if we had know a little more about them – information we should have had from the video. The next day we took a cheap little tour to the Nazcan aquaducts. Much cheaper trip but much, much more interesting. I even got to see the insects on the cacti that are used to make lip stick.

Thank goodness I rarely use the stuff. We stayed in Nazca for three night before heading for Cusco.

The morning was lovely and bright but a bit chilly as we set off heading towards the Andes. Neither of us felt we needed warm clothes at this point. We were wearing lovely clean gear and knew we hadn't a very long a journey ahead of us. It was too far to go straight through to Cusco though it didn't look far on the map. It was a very twisting road high in the mountains and locals told us it would take about 15 hours to complete. The hostel we had stayed at recommended a place halfway. Higher and higher we climbed. Colder and colder it got and even a lot of this scenery was uninteresting and desolate. Not what we expected. We climbed to 15000 ft above sea level before stopping to put on extra layers. Believe me, at this altitude this was not an easy task. By the time I had my jacket on I was gasping for breath. We found the hotel just outside of town after asking a local guy and again found it to be a very quiet place where we were the only guests something that was becoming fairly normal as it is out of season here in Peru.

Off we went again, still riding in the Andes but now they were cultivated, green and lush. Snow capped mountains met us round some of the bends.

The sky was blue and the sun was shining. It made me start to feel a little better about Peru. The local people were waving and smiling as we passed through tiny villages and we made our way into Cusco with no hiccups.

What an entrance! We made our way to the central plaza as usual and parked the bike ready to start the often arduous task of finding somewhere to stay. In the blink of an eye we were surrounded by people, the main one being a local policeman asking lots of questions about where we were from, where we had been and where we were going. He in turn proudly told the ever increasing audience about our journey.

I felt like quite a celebrity. After taking his photograph with the shed he disappeared and quickly returned with his own camera, ordering a member of the public to take his picture with us and the bike. A guy, Walter, from a tour agency advised us of a couple of hotels and we agreed to return later to book our trip to Machu Pichu.

This trip was VERY expensive but you have to visit this historic site if you're in Peru. It would be rude not to. I desperately wanted this to be a memorable part of the journey because we had both been very disappointed with the Nazca lines. It started off very promising. The transport arrived on time, 5.45 am The train was very comfortable and we were provided a nice breakfast. We were sat across from a couple who lived in New Zealand and chatting to them about places each of us had been to helped to make the two and a half hour journey pass quite quickly. As we left the train we were given the ticket for the next part of the journey – by bus – to the top of the mountain where we met our guide, Charles Darwin. So far so good but then …..... we were told we had to collect our return train ticket from a restaurant back in the town and alarm bells started to ring. Still, it was easy to settle these as we were taken round the site.

It is in a spectacular setting and in very good condition though it has not always been protected from damage by the powers that be. Our guide was clearly very passionate about the site, the Incas and the significance of the various parts of Machu Pichu.

Back down in the town and, as we had expected, no tickets. Brian spoke to Walter who reassured us that the tickets would be there in 30 minutes. True to his word they arrived but they were not for the 3 o'clock train as we had been told. In fact, they didn't even take us back to Cusco but to a town 98kms before. Brian was absolutely furious and spent the next 45 minutes trying to get it all sorted out but to no avail. He came back to tell me that we had to wait another 3 hours for the train and we had to catch a public transport bus back to Cusco. Oh joy. Once we had resigned ourselves to our fate the wait wasn't too bad. Our return train was not a nice but went much, much quicker and we found a taxi to take us back to Cusco. Brian was still very angry and I agreed with him that we had been ripped off, yet again. Still, at least we were back and in time to go across to the Irish bar for something to eat and drink.

In the morning Brian went to the tour operator to give them what for returning an hour later with the taxi fare refunded and a promise of the extra night in the hotel to be paid for at 5 0'clock, not that we held out much hope. I spent the rest of the day uploading the SOS children's village photo album and we got ready for leaving the next day. I was starting to get apprehensive about the next port of call – Puno and Lake Titikaka. Our recent experiences of tourist attractions had left quite a bitter taste and I didn't want to travel all that way to be let down once more. However, through this fairly dark period came a ray of light. Walter had quietly been in and fulfilled the promise of payment of the extra night at the hotel. There's hope for Peru yet.

A shared experience

Dear blog reader, this is a very different type of blog. It is a joint blog and though the text is identical we have tried to post different pictures to enable you to get a good look at the charity we are supporting and to remind you to take a look at the SOS children's village link on the home page to jog your memory of this wonderful cause.


Part of the journey was not only for ourselves but to raise awareness and hopefully a little financial assistance for SOS children's villages, a global organisation that assists children throughout the world who are orphaned or families who are experiencing difficulties in providing for their children. We came across this organisation at a motorcycle exhibition a couple of years ago when we were looking at adventure trips. A company there organised charity motorcycle tours to Africa raising funds for SOS children's villages through the fees for the trip. We went away and took a look at this charity and were both impressed by the way these children were supported in a family environment and encouraged to develop life and vocational skills to prepare them for he future.

On Sunday 1st November we visited a village in Chiclayo, Peru. We hired a taxi to lead us there and were introduced to Senor Heredia,


the director of Aldeas Infantiles SOS Peru, and Denise who was our translator. They told us about the history of the charity and the work done at this particular village. Here they took babies in of only a few weeks old and supported them in a family environment until they were young adults of 22 years. There were 13 houses each with a Mother who was a single lady and devoted her life to up to 10 children. One of these ladies had been there for 20 years. The village also ran a kindergarten to enable the parents of these children to seek education or training to enable them to get better jobs and provide for their families.

We were told of the fine achievements of some of the children who had lived at the village and Senor Heredia was clearly very proud of them all. He told us of a young man who had become a family lawyer, of people who ran their own businesses and of a young girl who had won a competition recently.

After this introduction we were then taken to visit some of the families. Each house was basic, clean, tidy and well organised but above all appeared to be filled with happy and polite kids.


They were eager to show us their rooms, practice their English and offer us cookies, snacks and drinks. The families ate together round a big table, shared things and space and seemed to be supportive of each other all of which could be something that all of us in a more fortunate position could learn from.

We were then invited to join one of the families for a traditional Peruvian meal of raw fish marinated in lemon juice, duck with rice and glasses of corn juice. The whole experience was very, very memorable and left us with a feeling of being very special and welcomed guests.

We finished the day by taking photographs of children


and Mothers sitting on the shed


and the taking them for a short ride round the village. Some of the children were full of bravado until the shed roared away at which point they clung on and shut their eyes. Others remained defiant and many came back for more.

This charity is well worth supporting. We have seen and experienced the value of what it provides not only to the children but to the families of the children and we encourage you, dear blog reader, to visit the web site and read for yourselves and make a donation using the just giving link to the right of each blog page.

You may be waiting for us to complete the trip and if that's the case great, but it would encourage us and increase the funds if you could make a donation sooner rather than later. Just looking at the pictures and the enjoyment of the day, hopefully you will understand that this is a really worthwhile cause.


To the people who have already made a donation .. a big thank you and we hope you enjoy looking at the photographs of the children and Mothers at this particular village.