December 15th: Dirty Larry is Back!
Pan-American Highway views from the mountains in Ecuador
We left Quito on Saturday morning and headed south into the mountains. For two days, we rode nothing but twisty mountain roads going up and down in elevations. I believe the highest elevation we were at was 12,000 feet. Ecuador is a wonderful country of kind and generous people, beautiful scenery and awesome riding. I think we all agree that our time in Ecuador has been one of the best experiences of our trip so far.
At the Ecuador / Peru border
Paperwork in hand ready to go
On Monday (Dec 14), we crossed into Peru. Honestly, my first impressions were not what I envisioned Peru to be like. Northern Peru is where the Sechura Desert is located. The total area of the Sechura Desert is 188,735 km². A straight road lined with dunes for as far as the eye can see. Imagine riding at 80 mph in gusts of wind and sand hitting you. It is tiring!
Northern Peru has trash everywhere. Piles of garbage along the roadside for hundreds of miles. It smells terrible. People live in these areas in tiny shacks, with some that are only a few branches and tarps. By far, this is the poorest area we have been through. It is really sad and sickening. Ironically, the road conditions are some of the best we have seen. Smooth and well cared for. How can the infrastructure be so good, yet the living conditions so bad?
The people of Peru are extremely interested in us and our bikes. When we stop, crowds of people surround us and ask us where we are from, where we are going, etc. Lots of kids are very interested in us, too. I don’t know where all these people come from, but they surround us and are extremely curious.
Kids love Harley-Davidson’s, especially the Street Glide with the big batwing faring.
Today (Dec 15) we rode again through the desert. The further south we went, we started to see mountains in the landscape. It wasn’t until towards mid afternoon that the trash seemed to be not as bad. We decided to stop early in Chimbote and relax. Chimbote is right on the Pacific coast and our hotel is right across the street from the ocean. The town seems much more modern than what we have seen to the north.
Feliz Navidad desde Chimbote, Peru
Walking around town tonight, Christmas is in full swing. Shops are full of decorations, and people are everywhere shopping. The town center is decorated with lights, Christmas trees and nativity scenes.
The Christmas spirit hit Jay and I tonight when we met Maria. She was sitting on a piece of cardboard on the sidewalk holding her young son, who clearly was sick, peddling candy to make whatever money she could. We stopped and watched her for a few minutes and decided we should help. We first asked her if she was ok. She hesitated to tell us the truth, but eventually told us her son is sick with a cough. We insisted she come with us to the pharmacy a few shops down and we would buy her the medicine her son needed. We walked back to the sidewalk, and asked her if she was hungry. She said yes, so Jay and I went to get them some food. It is a small gesture, which I hope helps them. It really hit me tonight how fortunate we are, while some have so little. I am only sharing this to maybe inspire those reading to help another person as well. We need more kindness in this world, especially at this time of year.
Our mileage log for the last 4 days is:
446 km Quito, Ecuador to Cuenca, Ecuador
378 km Cuenca to Macara, Ecuador
341 km Macara to Lambayeque, Peru
357 km from Lambayeque to Chimbote
1522 km total in four days = 946 miles
