Riding to Patagonia

[ducpainter]

Haha.  I've managed to limit the facial hair to five-o'clock shadows.  But I did discover my first gray chest hair on this trip.  He now has a siblings, no doubt fathered by a few close calls with oncoming trucks. 

I have hair.

[DarkMonster620]

Wow!

You better write a book.

Or become a travel writer of National Geographic or Smithsonian

This, again, I repeat . . . pay attention . . . or let's go grab another shifter screw

[1.21GW]

After the neverending day, I was happy to seek out asphalt, which made up 90% of following day's ride through the Cañon de Pato, a narrow, arid, and lifeless canyon formed by the Rio Santo flowing from the Cordillera Blanca mountain range down to the sea.  Lots of short tunnels on this route.  Empty mines and burned up tankers made it a little like riding through a Mad Max wasteland.

[1.21GW]

Next stop was Huanuco on my way south.  I got a chance to do some basic maintenance at a moto shop recommended to me by some folks at ADVrider.  Great group of guys, and I ended up coming back to the shop with some beers and just hanging out in the evening.  We talked bikes, Peru, Dakar, and more, while they took every chance to haze and ridicule El Tigre, the shop apprentice.  Just proves that bike shops are the same in every language, in every country.  This pretty much captures the spirit of the day:








Didn't take many pictures on the road to Huanuco, but the section that cuts through the Cordillera Blanca and Cordillera Huayhuash ranges was the highlight of the ride.











From Huancayo, I had two options: SE towards Ayacucho or SW to the coast.  The former is a popular mountain route that leads to Cusco and Machu Picchu.  But I wanted to see the Nazca lines and check out Huacachina, so I headed SW.   That route took me up to flatlands in the 4000-4500m range before defending down through a canyon that follows the Rio Cañete for hours until it spills out into the coastal flatlands.  The coast of Peru, unfortunately, is the ugly stepsister in the family: an overcast and featureless desert.

[DarkMonster620]

So, how did the cojinete greasing go?

[1.21GW]

Worse than thought.  Whole inside of starter was rusted, bushing cracked in two, and carbon ends needed replacing.  Luckily my guy is a on it.  Should be good to go tomorrow.

[1.21GW]

The southern coast of Peru is dry desert, getting 5cm of rain a year.  Very different from the snow-capped mountains and jungles of the central and eastern part of the country. 

Near Ica, there is an actual desert oasis: a small lagoon crowned with palm trees located in a boundless sea of sand. I didn't think they existed outside of Victorian adventure novels and Arabian folklore.  But they do and the hamlet of Huacachina is proof.









The main activity is to take a dune buggy ride over and around the surrounding sand dunes, some hundreds of feet high. The Dakar passes through this area, so it’s fun to imagine the riders going full throttle over the dunes. The dune buggy rides are as thrilling as a roller coaster.


































Nasca is famous for its mysterious lines carved into the desert floor by an ancient civilization. Visible strictly from above, and with no nearby mountaintop or cliff to view them, there purpose and creation remains a bit of a mystery. There is a lookout tower to view a few drawings clustered near the main highway. However, the best views are from aircraft ($80USD). Without a zoom lens, I couldn’t capture much detail so if you want to see more just goggle "Nasca lines".

[duccarlos]

The Atacama is also the driest desert in the world.

[Mhanis]

I just saw something on TV about the lines this weekend, and there you are!

Intriguing read as always! Stay safe.

Mark

[1.21GW]

The Atacama is also the driest desert in the world.

So I've read.  Was on my list (the Lagunas Route between Uyuni and Atacama: 400km unsupported through raw desert) but due to a variety of reasons, I'm taking a different path.  I actually read this little nugget on Wikipedia: "Evidence suggests that the Atacama may not have had any significant rainfall from 1570 to 1971."  That's crazy! 

[koko64]

Wow.
Good write up man.

[1.21GW]

Did a tour of the salt flats of Uyuni today. When I booked the tour yesterday the guy noted the date (7-7-7) and said it was good luck. I joked that maybe I'll find El Dorado.  What happened instead is I dropped my camera into a salt lake. No more photos.


Have a few pics still to post and catch up, but this may signal the end of the ride report.  We'll see...

[Speeddog]

make the beast with two backsbiscuits!

That sucks!

 

[ducpainter]

Did a tour of the salt flats of Uyuni today. When I booked the tour yesterday the guy noted the date (7-7-7) and said it was good luck. I joked that maybe I'll find El Dorado.  What happened instead is I dropped my camera into a salt lake. No more photos.


Have a few pics still to post and catch up, but this may signal the end of the ride report.  We'll see...

Could we send you a new one?

[Speeddog]

Could we send you a new one?

I was just thinking that ....

What camera did you have?