Muchas arenas (lots of sand)
Sand ....hmmmm
The coast, main drag, Pan Am ... sand ... wind .....wind .... wind.... at least it was sunny.
We struck some horrific head/side winds which saw us riding 45 degrees on the straight, to say it was hard work was an understatement, good training for Patagonia I guess.
See the horizontal branches
Parts of the coastline were fantastic and other parts were Peru's dumping ground laden with rubbish, at one point we were hit by flying plastic bags and stuff
Nazca lines, we had good hopes with this and arrived at the viewing stand, they were ok but to be fair I thought it was a lot more than what it was, we believe google images will give you a far better impression of what is there, you can take a plane ride too but google images are cheaper, it was still good to see.
Arriving in Nazca the township we were not really taken by it and decided to carry on to the coast in search of another Paracas, San Juan De Marcona on the map looked ok so off we set.
The wind got stronger and the sand storm got worse, so heavy was the cross wind we were down to third gear and battling to stay on the road, adding to that the windswept marbles blasting us and flying around inside our helmets .... whose dumb idea was it to come here!!
Finally getting to San Juan De Marcona there was a Miss beach contest on the next day so EVERYTHING was booked out completely, also the place didn’t give us “the feeling” onwards we go.
This was part of a subdivision, not sure if been used or ready to be used?
We took a shortcut rather than going all the way back, this proved a little interesting, wind swept sand covered the road in places and was up to 300 mm deep and softer than a rotten mango.
At one point we tried to avoid the rotten mango and dropped halfway to China, this required removal of the water bottles and top case to lighten the stranded whale, with me operating the throttle and pushing the bars and Ellen pushing the back we finally got Maya back on solid ground.
Yeah..
This time I was not waiting to see how soft it was so I feed it the message clearing the sandpit from under the tires ... gotta love 100 hp!!
The evening closing in saw us stop at a little place that was not a tourist trap.
Heading away to Arequipa the next morning was a long haul by our standards, tanking up at the local gas station a treat because we got a free cup of coca cola.
The winds soon picked up tossing us around a lot and being constantly sandblasted including sand right up inside our helmets ... noice.
This was pretty much the ride for the coastal section with only a few minor reprieves
Then there are these small oasis's carefully tucked amidst towering sand dunes
Turning inland was a gift and the wind started dropping quickly but the traffic started increasing quickly and with one bus coming up behind us then beside us trying to push us off the road ....nice guy.
Arriving in Arequipa Ellen starting looking for a hostal, Maya and I waiting on the street side minding our own business when a local lady stopped and asked, Australia? .. there was nearly a fight.
I replied neighbours but no we are from New Zealand, discussion was had about the differing flags, next thing another lady rocks up and we are talking about hostals so they want to help us, Ellen turns up to find me talking to these two ladies and soon I was left on the street alone again while they went off and sorted it all out.
After getting sorted we were invited for tea (dinner for you imperialists) and an awesome welcome evening was had in Arequipa .... we like this place even tho it is Perus second biggest city.
There are some truly beautiful people in this world and Anna Maria is right up there with the best of them, very warm and welcoming
__________________
Sand ....hmmmm
The coast, main drag, Pan Am ... sand ... wind .....wind .... wind.... at least it was sunny.
We struck some horrific head/side winds which saw us riding 45 degrees on the straight, to say it was hard work was an understatement, good training for Patagonia I guess.
See the horizontal branches
Parts of the coastline were fantastic and other parts were Peru's dumping ground laden with rubbish, at one point we were hit by flying plastic bags and stuff
Nazca lines, we had good hopes with this and arrived at the viewing stand, they were ok but to be fair I thought it was a lot more than what it was, we believe google images will give you a far better impression of what is there, you can take a plane ride too but google images are cheaper, it was still good to see.
Arriving in Nazca the township we were not really taken by it and decided to carry on to the coast in search of another Paracas, San Juan De Marcona on the map looked ok so off we set.
The wind got stronger and the sand storm got worse, so heavy was the cross wind we were down to third gear and battling to stay on the road, adding to that the windswept marbles blasting us and flying around inside our helmets .... whose dumb idea was it to come here!!
Finally getting to San Juan De Marcona there was a Miss beach contest on the next day so EVERYTHING was booked out completely, also the place didn’t give us “the feeling” onwards we go.
This was part of a subdivision, not sure if been used or ready to be used?
We took a shortcut rather than going all the way back, this proved a little interesting, wind swept sand covered the road in places and was up to 300 mm deep and softer than a rotten mango.
At one point we tried to avoid the rotten mango and dropped halfway to China, this required removal of the water bottles and top case to lighten the stranded whale, with me operating the throttle and pushing the bars and Ellen pushing the back we finally got Maya back on solid ground.
Yeah..
This time I was not waiting to see how soft it was so I feed it the message clearing the sandpit from under the tires ... gotta love 100 hp!!
The evening closing in saw us stop at a little place that was not a tourist trap.
Heading away to Arequipa the next morning was a long haul by our standards, tanking up at the local gas station a treat because we got a free cup of coca cola.
The winds soon picked up tossing us around a lot and being constantly sandblasted including sand right up inside our helmets ... noice.
This was pretty much the ride for the coastal section with only a few minor reprieves
Then there are these small oasis's carefully tucked amidst towering sand dunes
Turning inland was a gift and the wind started dropping quickly but the traffic started increasing quickly and with one bus coming up behind us then beside us trying to push us off the road ....nice guy.
Arriving in Arequipa Ellen starting looking for a hostal, Maya and I waiting on the street side minding our own business when a local lady stopped and asked, Australia? .. there was nearly a fight.
I replied neighbours but no we are from New Zealand, discussion was had about the differing flags, next thing another lady rocks up and we are talking about hostals so they want to help us, Ellen turns up to find me talking to these two ladies and soon I was left on the street alone again while they went off and sorted it all out.
After getting sorted we were invited for tea (dinner for you imperialists) and an awesome welcome evening was had in Arequipa .... we like this place even tho it is Perus second biggest city.
There are some truly beautiful people in this world and Anna Maria is right up there with the best of them, very warm and welcoming
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