16 to 17 May Kms
travelled – 13,906
As I return to life
on the blog as normal, we pick up my trip again at Nasca in Peru (or is it
Nazca? I´ve seen it both ways), heading
north. The place has, of course, been
long famous for motor racing, and they have even named a car racing competition
in the States after the place. Seems
that the ancients were such petrol-heads that they even built a whole series of
race tracks in the desert which can still be seen today! Well, perhaps not, perhaps they are in fact
something else, but the Nasca lines are still causing some debate as to why
they were laid out, and why they can only really be seen from the air!
I didn´t take to the
air, nor did I climb the observation tower just outside town to see the strange
figures in the desert. I had a date with
a new set of tyres and a chain change, and I wasn´t going to be late for
that. I´m not being much of a tourist in
this trip, and have been determined to leave some key visits behind in Peru as
motivation to return and spend more time here.
It truly is a spectacular country with fantastic people and great food.
But back on the road,
and the Pan American (1) north from Nasca beckoned. I was blessed with some very interesting rock
formations from the edge of the Cordillera Occidental, before the desert took
hold. But the locals are fighting back,
and I was impressed by the quantity and quality of agricultural land that had
been reclaimed from the shifting sands – this must be a better way of production
than chopping down rain forest.
Certainly the green stretches were a welcome respite to these eyes,
which were getting a little tired of the sandy stuff.
What I did encounter
was also quite a lot of mist. And I
wasn´t altogether sure at one stage whether in fact that was a sea mist or
perhaps fine sand being kicked up by the desert winds – perhaps a bit of both. In any event it countered my feeble attempts
to take anything near decent photographs until later in the day. I´m sure someone with more skills and better
kit than I would have turned some of those scenes into romantic images – all I
managed to achieve was a strip of road leading into whiteout! Clearly the eyes are the best lenses in the
world – but unfortunately the brain does not necessarily offer the best memory. My recollections, recorded here, report some
very pretty desert – I just can´t show you much of it!
Rolling into Lima was
fun - not! It kind of starts about 50
kms before the city, and I can´t say the traffic (ie driving) was as bad as
leaving Buenos Aires, but they do seem to be giving the Argentineans a good run
for their money. At least I was heading
for Miraflores on the south side next to the sea, so I managed to get in and to
my selected hostel without any scratches.
And this side of the city was a pleasant surprise. Clean, well kept buildings dotted around
green parklands – and with sophisticated shopping. If you are heading to Lima, I recommend this
area as the place to stay. It was most
certainly more developed than I had anticipated.
I noted earlier how
fab the people are – as I was unloading the bike outside the hostel a well
dressed chap pulled up in his car to admire Idris. Seems Julian´s company does work for Yamaha
and he was able to point me in the right direction regarding where best to get
Idris some new tyres. He also invited me
to a get together with some friends on the weekend, but I had to decline that
due to time issues – shame. As it turned
out the next morning Julian was spot on, when I headed straight to Direli
(Pirelli dealers) and got us a new set of MT60s at a price less than half what
you would pay in the UK. I also took the
opportunity to get the mechanic to swap out the chain and rear sprocket (now
done 21,000 kms) to use up the DIN ones I was carrying. Which by lunchtime, left me to make my (slow)
way back to my accommodation and take a long walk around the area. I am trying to make such walks every day, and
they seem to be having an impact on my struggling back.
Thought for the day
Lots of deep thoughts
as I rode through the desert – many of which I have yet to distil and return to
before recording them on this site. One
that did return to me (I´m not sure whether I have noted this one previously)
is when does a beach end and the desert begin?
See, I told you they were deep thoughts.
I had settled on the line created by high-tide, having discarded man
made barriers such as roads, beach bars etc.
But now I am not so sure. Surely
there are beaches that these days never, or hardly ever, get covered by the sea
and yet we still consider the whole area the beach. That being the case where do you draw the
line between a Peruvian (for Chilean for that matter) beach and the surrounding
desert? I feel it important that this
matter is resolved – so if you have any insight, please feel free to post a
message. Thanks.
Pretty desert - or is it the beach? |
Yey! Great to have the blog back! Very jealous that you'll be in Ecuador soon xxx
ReplyDeleteHope to make it tomorrow - nasty desert to cross first!
ReplyDeleteThat was Clare...this is me. Yey! Great to have the blog back! Very jealous that you'll be in Ecuador soon xxx I think the beach ends at the road. I had very much the same thought though. Strange to have desert right next to the water though. All that salt I imagine.
ReplyDeletethe demarcation line is to do with the change in the flora and fauna between the beach zone and the desert zone.
ReplyDeleteAh - I like it. Cheers RBJ.
ReplyDelete