Peru

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Dear family and friends

The Atacama Desert seems to never end.
In Chile we left it when we headed for the heights of the Bolivian Altiplano. Now, much further north, we've dropped down from the Altiplano into coastal Peru, and back into the Atacama, and we've been in it for the past 4 days while riding north through Peru. After a month in the arid areas of the Altiplano and the Atacama Desert, we're looking forward to being in the tropical vegetation of Ecuador (and eating some tropical fruit!).

We crossed the Bolivia/Peru border at Copacabana (a different one to the famous Brazilian town) near Lake Titicaca. We had our papers cheerfully stamped by the Bolivian border authorities and then we headed to the Peruvian border post 500 m up the road, but found the road blocked by a barrier of large boulders, mounds of dirt and numerous 44 gallon oil drums. Clearly no traffic was meant to pass here, and it was not recently constructed. Thinking we'd somehow taken the wrong road we turned around. Some men sitting nearby assured us that this was the road to the Peruvian border and pointed to a small dirt track (made by push-bikes or small motorbikes) that twisted up over dirt mounds and around the barrier.




The Atacama Desert - this time in Peru. Like a painting in places.

After a bit of a struggle to get our big over-loaded bike along the track and past the barrier, we arrived at the Peruvian border post. We asked why the barrier was there and they looked at us disbelievingly – they hadn't known it existed. After a bit of animated discussion amongst themselves regarding this revelation, they replied “That's something to do with Bolivia, not us.”







We found all this a bit bizarre. The Bolivian authorities had stamped us out of Bolivia and let us continue on to a border that was blocked and hadn't mentioned a thing, and the Peruvian authorities were apparently unaware that the border had been blocked (hadn't they noticed that no cars, trucks or buses had come across the border in weeks or months?!). There is another border crossing to the west, which we assume all the cars, trucks and buses must now be using.



Where the Atacama Desert meets the sea

 

We arrived in the beautiful colonial city centre of Arequipa (Peru) at night. I waited on the bike while Carmen went off to look for accommodation. A couple on a motorbike stopped and introduced themselves as members of a local bike club and asked if they could help us in any way. Carmen was surprised to find me chatting to people in leather jackets covered in club patches - like the tough gangs that ride Harleys. But this couple were really friendly and sweet. They made a phone call to a friend who had a hotel nearby and 20 minutes later we were in good hotel for about half the usual price. We accepted their invitation to take us out to dinner to meet two Venezuelans who were travelling around South America on motorbikes. Six bikes arrived at the hotel, and Carmen and I were doubled on the 250cc bikes (almost no-one in South America has anything larger) as they weaved in and out of the traffic (impossible to do that riding a big bike like ours).

 

Crossing Lake Titicaca in an old wooden barge (I'm sure this is filling with water...)

 

 

  Almost all the trees around the lake and on the altiplano are Eucalypts

 

 

Our Arequipa biker friends

 

 

 

 Some of the Arequipa bikers we met, with Carmen holding the Guardian Bell

These 'biker club' people all have university/college degrees. One of them is setting up a network in South America of bikers to help fellow travellers on bikes (there are similar networks various countries). Alex, a big bear of a guy (looking serious in the photo) who wouldn't look out of place in a tough Harley biker gang), has visited relatives in Australia and is currently raising funds to buy a television for the local kids with cancer. Over sandwiches and milkshakes, we were formally presented with a small bell to hang on our bike, with an accompanying speech about the legend of the Motorcycle Guardian Bell.

 

 

Arequipa main plaza (square)

 

Legend of the Motorcycle Guardian Bell
The Motorcycle Guardian Bell is hung on a bike to protect riders from bad luck and mechanical problems that are caused by evil road spirits. It only works if the bell is given as a gift. Legend has it that one night an old biker carrying trinkets and toys for a local orphanage was set upon by evil road spirits that caused him to crash. Lying there unable to move, he threw all the trinkets and toys at the evil spirits to keep them away. When all he had left were some toy bells, he rung one of the bells in the hope that it would scare the spirits away, which it did, and it also attracted the attention of some bikers camped nearby who came to the aid of the fallen biker. The tired, old biker gave each of the two travellers a bell and told them that with those bells hanging on their bikes, they would be protected from the road spirits and that if ever they were in trouble, just ring the bell and a fellow biker will come to their aid.

 

In many of the small towns in Peru we were lucky to see processions as the locals celebrated one of their Saints. In the photo above, these dedicated people carried this heavy load though the main streets to live music all afternoon and night until 1.00 am in the morning, at which time there was a fiesta and fireworks in the main plaza. We fortunately (or unfortunately) had a hotel with a room overlooking the main plaza, and saw and heard the whole event (until past 1.00 am in the morning...).

 

In Lima Carmen caught up with Lucy Southerland - a colleague from the Australian National Botanic Gardens. Another highlight was the famous Nazca Lines in the desert.

 

 

Dancing in the street as part of a religious procession

 

 

Peruvian wedding, and more dancing in the street...

One of the stalls at the local Witches Market (the actual name of the market).

 

 

Arequipa - demonstration by teachers for pay increase

 

 

 

Occasionally in the desert we would come across a large irrigated river valley - a brief splash of green in an otherwise brown landscape.

 

 

 

In the middle of the desert we also found this - Lachay National Reserve, which protects a few hills with a unique ecological community which is sustained by moist fog.  We walked though these lovely yellow flowers and soon discovered the plants sting like stinging nettles!

 

 

We saw many hawks (eagles?) in Lachay

 

 

 

 

The desert below, that surrounds the few lush green hills of Lachay National Reserve.  Amazing what a bit of moist fog can do! The dark specks are swallows swooping on insects above the vegetation.

 

 

 

 

 

 Carmen and friends